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AXXAIR's technical expertise

Transporting fluids

Tubes are a means of transportation in countless industrial sectors. They all have the property of conveying hazardous or delicate fluids. These fluids thus call for quality installations.
Constructing a tubular circuit involves connecting straight tubes with elbows, T-pieces, flanges and valves among other components. In most cases, the assembly is welded. However, it can also be done by crimping or sleeving. Nevertheless, welding the joints normally offers at least equivalent, if not superior, characteristics over the material making up the tubes themselves. They are therefore nowadays considered a preferred solution. Different types of welding can be applied depending on the use and above all depending on the wall thicknesses of the tubes and the characteristics of the materials to be welded: steel, stainless steel, titanium, austenite steel...

The most frequently used welding process for stainless steel is TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding as it allows for perfect control of the weld pool and is therefore highly suitable for precision welding.

Junction points are virtually the only places in the installation where problems such as leaks, microscopic cracks, corrosion and mechanical brittleness can occur. Depending on the fluid conveyed and the characteristics of the installation (pressure in particular), the junction points and the welds must be carefully checked during the production and in the traceability of welding parameters.

Pipefitting

Pipefitting involves creating tubular circuits to convey, process, pump and filter fluids or gas required by the production chains of:

  • Electronic components: semi-conductor industry
  • Medicine: pharmaceutical industry
  • Food and beverages: food-processing industry
  • Chemical products: chemical industries
  • Petroleum by-products: petrochemical industry
  • Water, fuel and air: aeronautics industry
  • Steam: energy, nuclear and solar industry
  • Petroleum and gas: gas and petroleum industry

AXXAIR's extensive product range

Eversince 1997, AXXAIR has been offering solutions for high-quality tube preparation and orbital cutting as well as machines for perfectly squaring thin tubes with wall thicknesses of up to 3 mm. Our product range also includes machines for beveling tubes of larger wall thicknesses to ensure that you can conduct controlled, high-quality welds.

AXXAIR supports its customers throughout the global process of orbital cutting, squaring, beveling and welding in over 60 countries worldwide.

We are focused on providing a high quality service in this process while always putting our customers first. This starts by determining the welding parameters and analysing the necessary preparation during the pre-sale phase. We then train the welders and welding machine operators on the equipment to ensure that our users can handle every type of application they might be confronted with later on their own.

Axxair orbital technology

Orbital welding and TIG welding power supplies

When a weld is created automatically with an orbital welding machine, the machine is capable of logging the real welding parameters at any given moment and can therefore document each weld precisely. Needless to say that skill is still required to correctly set up the machine and adjust the welding parameters but once it has been calibrated correctly, the machine can infinitely repeat welds of very high-quality. The operator can therefore use his knowledge to control the welding process.

The axxair orbital power sources

Our target markets

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Aeronautics

The industry of aeronautics makes use of very thin walled titanium tubes, mainly for cooling systems. After the tubes have been cut, they need to be squared/faced in order for them to have a burr-free surface and be suited for orbital welding. The welding is done with full gas protection which subsequently makes the use of a closed head mandatory.
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Manufacturing of semi-conductors

The manufacturing of semi-conductors requires the installations to be suited for transporting compressed air, pure gas and pure water. Leaks or possible retention zones are hence intolerable. In order to bypass such problems, the tubes need to be squared prior to being welded. Installations in this industrial sector are often subjected to x-ray testing of 100% of the welds.
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Food and beverage industry

The food and beverage industry makes use of thin walled stainless steel tubes. For these tubes, it is often sufficient to execute an orbital cut before they are welded together. In this industrial sector, an external discoloration of the tube is tolerated which is why it is possible to use both open and closed welding heads. Weld testing is carried out by sampling.
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Chemical and petrochemical industries

The industrial sectors for chemicals and petrochemicals work with pipes (thick walled tubes) often made of stainless steel or other refractory materials with a high corrosion resistance but also of black steel. The pipes are cut and beveled before being jointed through orbital welding. The multi-pass weld is carried out with AVC (Arc Voltage Control) and Oscillation of the welding torch.
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Cosmetics and pharmaceutics

The industry of cosmetics and pharmaceutics requires precise cuts and quality welds to avoid any bacterial contamination: the welds are often subjected to 100% x-ray testing (depending on the country). These high-purity sectors use thin walled tubes, mainly with wall thicknesses of less than 3mm. In some cases, the tubes need to be squared/faced after being cut in order to obtain a higher quality and burr-free surface finish.