AUTOMATED STUD REPAIR LINE For the Primary Aluminium Smelters Efficiency Safety Ergonomics

Mobile and stationary equipment for the aluminium industry HMR Hydeq's business idea is first and foremost to design and build special vehicles and machinery for the aluminium industry with high quality that satisfies the strongest demands regarding safety, technological solutions and working conditions in the smelter. The enterprise, which in 1989 was named Hydeq, grew out of a department of the Hydro Aluminium Ardal (one of Norway's largest aluminium smelters), that had been established in 1973. It is today a private company, incorporated in HMR Group. The holding consists of nine companies,...

5 HOW IT WORKS HMR's line is fully automatic and requires one operator only. Cleaning The area where the studs are to be cut and re-welded must be cleaned, because rust and remaining bath reduce the lifetime of the saw blades and the quality of the weld. The cleaner on HMR line is installed on a robotic arm, programmed to clean the intended area only. The operating costs of the device are low and the reliability high. Cutting The cut is made by a CNC-controlled band saw. This results in an accurate and effective accomplishment of the cut and a surface perfect for re-welding of the new stud. Welding...

PERFORMANCE, CAPACITY AND QUALITY HMR’s ASRL brings the studs distinctively to the same condition as on the new anode yoke. The operation provided by ASRL results in a low electrical resistance of the joint owing to optimized cutting and welding procedures developed by HMR and executed repeatedly by the automated robotic line. The system has a repeatability of < 0,1 mm (NB. depending on anode rod condition) and a productive capacity of ≤ 6 min. (NB. depends on groove welds design, number of studs per anode rod and a conveyor speed). The welding time is about 4 min. per stud. Safety System and...

Steinariversen.no Foto: HMR Group as HMR Hydeq AS, Øyni, N-6884 Øvre Årdal, Norway Postal address: P.O. Box 93, N-6882 Øvre Årdal, Norway Tel.: (+47) 57 64 87 00, Fax: (+47) 57 64 87 01 E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.hmr.