While BSC, part of Motion Asia Pacifc’s group of businesses, is well regarded in the mining industry as a supplier of specialty bearings and power transmission solutions, BSC Welding Product Manager Michael Rowe would like to reiterate that BSC staff are also all qualified to help their customers when it comes to choosing the right welding machines.
“BSC is a distribution partner with Welding Industries of Australia (WIA), which offers a range of versatile welding solutions from leading welding brands such as Miller and Hobart. BSC branches across Australia have access to the full range of WIA products. Our staff are also supported by the WIA sales teams in every state, who provide them with assistance not only in choice and selection, but also through training and education on the WIA product line,” says Michael.
Fuhai Liu, WIA’s Product and Sales Manager for End Markets, says WIA’s engine driven and multi-process invertor welding machines are designed to address many of the common challenges faced by welders in remote mines sites – both on the field and in the workshop.
One of the usages for welding equipment in the mining industry is for gouging. These types of repairs often take place on remote sites, where the welder is working far from the power source. Fuhai says the engine driven Miller Big Blue® machines are the perfect fit for such applications.
“Our engine driven Miller Big Blue welders are typically used in mine sites to repair cracks and damages in earth moving equipment. Apart from using the Air Carbon Gauging (ACG) process for high speed and efficient welding, the 400X, 500X, 700X and 800X Big Blue welders are also now equipped with ArcReach® technology, which enables remote control of the power source without additional control cord,” says Fuhai.
“Miller’s ArcReach technology uses the existing weld cable to communicate welding control information between the power source and wire feeder or stick/TIG pendant. This is particularly beneficial on a mining site as the feeder could be 50 to 100 metres away,” he adds.
In addition to the convenience of being able to adjust welding voltage and amperage at the weld, ArcReach also comes with safety benefits, according to Fuhai.
“There could be all kinds of obstacles and safety risks that would make it difficult for the welder to walk across a mining site. The ArcReach technology eliminates this risk. This also means more productive time for welders. If an operator walks four times a day to a power source to adjust the settings, and each walk takes an average of 15 minutes, this will waste 250 hours a year per operator,” he says.
According to Fuhai, people’s view of a multi-process inverter welding machines is often that they do not offer the same capabilities and quality as a transformer-type welding machine. “That’ is certainly not the case with the Miller DimensionTM 650 multi-process machine.”
“The Miller Dimension 650 is a relatively light-weight machine that exceeds welding performance of larger, heavier machines in its range. It is developed for the harsh environment and has already proven its reliability in the mining MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) segment. It’s the only welding machine of this calibre specifically designed with a process selection for carbon arc air gouging,” says Fuhai.
Energy efficiency is a big winning factor with the Miller Dimension 650, according to Fuhai.
“Dimension 650 draws only 43 amps at rated load and can operate on a 50-amp service. Four new machines can work at maximum loads simultaneously on a 200-amp service, drawing less amperage than three previous models. In fact, the energy cost savings mean that the Dimension 650 can pretty much pay for itself within only two years, depending on the rate of usage,” he says.
The Dimension 650 welder is now also available with Miller’s unique ArcReach technology.
Finally, Fuhai says all Miller welding machines are tested extensively before being rolled out to market.
“Before any machine reaches the international market, it is trialled locally for an extended time period. Even though the Dimension 650 is a relatively new product in the Miller range, it has already received great feedback in the mining market, and we’re excited to work with BSC to offer it to the mining industry in Australia,” Fuhai says.
