Welding & Fabrications
At LTi Metaltech, we employ one of the largest groups of coded welders in the South of England, working to pressure containment and structural standards including; AD Merkblatt 2000, PD 5500, ISO 3834, EN 13445 & BS1090.
To achieve the highest levels of quality and accuracy, we deploy a variety of the latest welding processes and technologies, both manual and automated.
MAG Welding
Metal Active Gas (MAG), a welding process in which an electric arc forms between both the consumable wire electrode and the work piece. Both wire and shielding gas are fed through the welding gun. The shielding gas protects the process from contamination. LTi Metaltech has two fully automated 13 axis robot systems that can utilise MAG Welding at very high speeds. Each robot has coaxial cells which can be configured for different products or tandem loading. The machines are programmed, loaded and operated by LTi’s coded technicians.
TIG Welding
TIG Welding is an arc welding process that uses non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area and electrode are protected from the atmosphere by an inert shielding gas. (Argon or Helium). LTi Metaltech has over 60 coded manual TIG Welders, with the capability to weld in all positions and thicknesses.
Plasma Arc Welding
Plasma Arc Welding (PAW) is an arc welding process which is similar to TIG Welding as the arc is formed between the tungsten electrode and the work piece. This is different to TIG as the electrode is within the body of the torch, the plasma arc can be separated from the shielding gas envelope. Plasma is then forced to fine-bore copper nozzle which constricts the arc. When increasing welding current and plasma gas flow, a very powerful plasma beam is created which achieves full penetration up to 9mm in stainless steel in one pass. LTi have bespoke linear gantry plasma welding system for welding many different sizes and thicknesses of product. This is particularly effective for welding high quality linear seam welds.
Autogenous Semi-automated Seam Welding
LTi use autogenous seam- automated longitudinal seam welding on their aluminium products using DC current instead of the usual AC current. This ensures a high-quality weld without use of filler wire up to 6.5mm thick on square edge plate in one pass with full penetration.
Our welding processes have been developed over many years assuring quality and optimising process times. Our latest improvements look to reduce heat input and minimise weld distortion. A combination of highly skilled welders and automated welding processes are used to ensure that welds are accurate, precise and repeatable.
Fabrication
We specialise in precision fabrication, using Stainless Steel, Copper and high purity Aluminium.
Fabrication capabilities:
- Water Cutting – our latest machines allow us to work with sheet materials up to 200mm thick with a cutting and etching area of 8m x 4m.
- Plasma Cutting
- Plate Rolling and forming – our CNC Rolling capability enables us to produce tubes, shells, cones and up to 30mm thick to diameters ranging from 400mm diameter to 3 meters.
- Port Pulling – our port pulling capabilities enable us to minimise the need for welding ports and flanges to container shells.
- Bespoke fixtures and tooling
- LTi has also recently added a 5 axis Bending Machine to its capabilities with; 850 kN press force, 2.2m bending length, ability to profile bend to wide range of dimensions and enables high level of angular accuracy.