Month: November 2020

What NOT to Do When Stud Welding

Posted on by norfas by norfas

At Northland Fastening Systems (NFS), we understand the significance of quality in a weld. Not only does the strength of the weld depend on the quality of the stud welding process, quality practices also directly impact worker safety on a job site. Whether you’re working with drawn arc or CD stud welding tools, you can find quality and reliability with NFS supplies. We provide a comprehensive range of welding studs, including pins and bar anchors with custom options available. We also offer welding tools for rent or purchase, welding accessories, and the expertise of our own stud welding technicians. No matter how big or small your stud welding project is, you can get the job done with the help of NFS.

When it comes to achieving a quality weld, there are many technical aspects that are key to being successful, such as calibrating the welding unit and using the right metals. However, for non-automated welding operations, a large part of achieving a quality weld depends on the skills and performance of the welders themselves. Stud welding technicians can do many tasks right or wrong during a welding operation. The following are some of the basic “DON’TS” that welders should steer clear of if they want a quality stud connection point:

  1. Do not weld in an unventilated work site. No matter what type of welding process you’re using (stud welding or otherwise), the chemical changes that take place when metals are heated and bonded release fumes. These fumes can be toxic to inhale. That, in addition to ventilation helping to minorly improve the results of a weld, is why it’s critical to have a ventilated work site.
  2. Do not weld on an unstable surface, especially when working with stud welding. It’s important to weld on a clean, flat, and secure working surface. If you do have to weld on a painted or a slightly uneven surface, for example, take the necessary precautions to clamp, clean, and stabilize the surface as much as possible before welding. Unstable surfaces can cause injury to welders and result in a poor quality weld.
  3. Do not weld in an unsafe work site. An unsafe work site can include factors like water on the ground, nearby flammables, coiled cabling near the weld point, and even welding without the proper safety equipment. Not only does an unsafe work site risk severe injury to welders and anyone working in the vicinity, any danger to workers will most likely also play a role in sacrificing quality welds.
  4. Do not weld with unclean or unmaintained tools. Drawn arc and CD stud welding tools alike inevitably gather dust and contaminating particles over time. Because the damage that dust does to the welding tool itself is often minor, many welders are guilty of neglecting routine cleaning and maintenance. However, an unmaintained tool can be the reason for a poor quality weld. Preventing this potential problem is as simple as performing regular cleaning and maintenance checks.

To learn more about the “dos” and “don’ts” of stud welding, contact NFS at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online today.

What Makes a Perfect Stud Weld?

Posted on by norfas by norfas

Stud welding is a manufacturing operation that shows up in subtle ways throughout our world. From planes, trains, ships, and automobiles to bridges and even food-grade kitchen products, stud welding is a heavily utilized production tool that plays a part in making many items that we interact with daily. At Northland Fastening Systems (NFS), we support manufacturers relying on stud welding to get the job done. We provide comprehensive stud welding supplies, including welding tools for rent or purchase, studs in a range of dimensions with custom stud options available, stud welding accessories, and the skills and expertise of our own technicians. With our quality supplies and services, you can continually perform the perfect stud weld and fabricate with reliable, strong fastening systems.

 

If you are utilizing stud welding as a key manufacturing operation, it’s critical to understand what makes a perfect stud weld connection. If a weld is even slightly less than perfect, it’s not going to be effective, and it could cause some severe issues and potential safety concerns if put into a functional setting. To perform a perfect stud weld, there are three factors to take into account.

 

  1. Heat: Welding requires heat, but the temperature needed to get the perfect weld will vary depending on several factors. Typically, heat requirements depend on the kind of stud welding operation, the stud material and dimensions, the surface material, and any contaminants that might be on the surface, such as paint or rust. Calibrating the specific temperature needed to perform a perfect weld requires welders to be knowledgeable, experienced, and skilled. While the technical information concerning heat requirements is very detailed, it’s relatively simple to adjust heat specifications on most welding units.
  2. Pressure: The second factor involved in creating the perfect stud weld result is pressure. Even if you have the correct heat, if you have inaccurate pressure, the weld will be weakened. If you apply too much pressure, the weld could go too deeply into the base material and cause splattering, molten spread, misshapen welds, and other cosmetic defects. Additionally, too deep of a weld could create functional issues like cracking. Too light of a pressure application has its own issues and often creates a weld connection that isn’t fully formed. This can result in porous welds, brittleness, and cracks.
  3. Time: Finally, the time spent applying heat and pressure is equally important. Depending again on the weld type, materials, and other particle factors involved, the perfect stud weld will need to be applied for a specific time frame. Because the weld time varies within frames of fractions of seconds, it’s incredibly important to calibrate your tool to meet the necessary requirements. Failing to meet the right time requirements always means sacrificing the perfect stud weld.

 

To learn more about the other factors involved in creating a perfect stud weld, contact Northland Fastening Systems at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online to get started with us today.

Stud Welding Market Growth

Posted on by norfas by norfas

A recent comprehensive study done through ICRWord Research estimated a significant growth in the global stud welding market over the next five years. This forecast of trends and overall growth considered several aspects of the industry, including the major suppliers, geolocations, and specialized sections of each industry. Because we play a part in the global stud welding industry, we at Northland Fastening Systems (NFS) know how important it is to understand market trends. NFS supplies a complete range of stud welding supplies from stud guns for rent or purchase to a wide choice of stud dimensions.

 

There are many reasons why there is a forecasted growth in the global stud welding market even in the face of a global pandemic. While the market growth can be broken down into details as specific as #-thread count stud sales, generally speaking, there are some aspects in our changing world that have contributed to projected increases in the market. Some significant factors include the following:

 

Population and world growth: Because Earth’s population is continually increasing, it’s understandable that demand for products made with stud welding practices would also increase. In addition to an overall upturn in demand from population growth, there is also a rise in developing nations. Countries that in the past showed lower demand for new stud welded products are now generating their own increases in demand for common goods like automobiles, food industry equipment, electrical equipment, and more. This also includes increases in city planning, leading to the need for more stud welding construction projects like bridges and housing complexes.

 

Technology advancements: We live in a time of extreme technological growth. Smart technology is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the new designs and engineering involved in many tools used globally. From electrical enclosures to shipbuilding, stud welding is indispensable for a large number of advanced products in the manufacturing world today. Because stud welding is such an efficient and clean operation, manufacturers work it into a new design whenever possible.

 

Online distribution: Accommodating increased demand for stud welding products globally wouldn’t be possible today without the capabilities of online distribution. Digital distribution systems with the help of WiFi and online processing systems help suppliers get a wide range of stud welding products where they need to go quickly, accurately, and efficiently. Processing products with high-powered software systems and logging tracking data digitally is a key part of the industrial grade online distribution of stud welding supplies.

 

Increased demand from a growing population, newly developed countries, and more advanced technology set up the potential for serious market growth. That, paired with the extreme efficiency and capabilities of online distribution, are a large part of the market growth forecast for the next five years.

 

To learn more about the stud welding supplies we offer, contact Northland Fastening Systems at (651) 730-7770. You can also request a quote online to get started with us today.

Quality Stud Welder Highlight: ACE-P100

Posted on by norfas by norfas

At Northland Fastening Systems (NFS), we offer a broad range of stud-welding tools for rent or purchase, welding studs in comprehensive dimensions, custom stud options, stud-welding accessories, and the expertise of our own stud-welding technicians. For drawn arc, short cycle, and capacitor discharge (CD) stud-welding operations, it’s critical to get the stud welder and welding equipment that will not only fit the operation, but also fit your work schedule, portability, and on-site power needs. When it comes to choosing the right stud welder that will meet your production needs and be calibrated to worksite electrical sources, NFS experts are here to help. We can work with you to determine exactly what your production needs are and which stud-welding tool would be the best option for you to rent or purchase.

 

For hand-held, non-automated stud welding, there are a wide variety of tools that could be useful in your arsenal. If you’re working with CD stud welding operations, one highly effective, reliable tool is the TRUWELD ACE-P100 stud welder model. The ACE-P100 is a hand-held CD stud welder that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies into a compact unit that is both rugged and portable. With a new user interface and system design, the ACE-P100 can weld CD pins in sizes up to 10 gauge and CD studs with dimensions up to #10 with more efficiency and speed than ever before.

 

Specifications: The ACE-P100 is 12.5″ x 10.1″ x 6.0″, making it a lightweight yet powerful piece of portable equipment. It can weld up to 15-30 pins per minute, and it uses a universal power input of 85-250 VAC at 50/60 hertz. The recharge time between pin welds is less than one second, and it has built in thermal/voltage protections. The gun tip is engaged with contact and a hand trigger.

 

Features: The most recent updates to the ACE-P100 features include its intuitive touchscreen, set-point discharge, universal input voltage, contact and trigger indicators, thermal and voltage protection, and low-input voltage capabilities that allow continued operations with long extension cords. These features all make the ACE-P100 more portable, easier to operate, and more readily adaptable to a range of worksite power capabilities. Along with its new features, the ACE-P100 design still includes an increased airflow for better weld cycles, tough interior construction that holds up to rough handling and transport, a rugged grade exterior casing that protects the interior from on-site contaminants, an ergonomic hand tool that reduces operator fatigue, added internal spring for adjusting the spring pressure in the hand tool, and the ability to swap the hand tool from standard tapered chuck configuration to B, CI, or Euro collet configurations.

 

The ACE-P100 is one of many high-quality stud-welder tools available for rent or purchase at NFS. Contact Northland Fastening Systems at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online to learn more about the stud welding products we supply.