California Fabricator Increases Productivity by 30 Percent with Metal Cored Wires
It can be difficult to be both “artistic” and “cost effective” in the high skill trade of metalworking. Just don’t tell that to Douglas Banks. As the owner of Banks Welding & Fabrication (headquartered in Inglewood, CA), he has built an empire of twisted steel and eccentric clientele through hard work and a keen business sense. Specializing in both structural and architectural steel design, Banks has spent the last 12 years perfecting his business: an intriguing mix of art and metal that is both eye-catching and structurally flawless.
But like anyone else in this industry, the cost of materials and labor is a constant concern for Douglas Banks. How does a business owner balance the need for impeccable craftsmanship and the desire to keep costs down? Banks found an answer to that question by switching its welding consumable from flux-cored wire to a gas-shielded metal cored wire - Hobart® FabCOR 86R from Hobart Brothers. Combined with welding equipment from Miller Electric, the metal cored wire has provided numerous process efficiencies and has increased Banks’ production by more than 30 percent.
Extreme Custom Metalworking Gets Streamlined
Banks Welding & Fabrication serves both commercial and residential customers and takes particular pride in jobs that are “eccentric, artistic, difficult-to-build designs.” Whether it’s a private staircase, structural beams or extreme sports ramps for the X-Games, Douglas Banks tackles each job as both a businessman and as an artist.
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| Bank's welding operator, Ray Amaya, uses Hobart Brothers' FabCor 86R to complete passes on an I-beam. |
The company performs much of its work out of its Inglewood headquarters but is fully equipped to tackle any nature of fieldwork. Banks’ welding operators build most of their creations almost entirely of A36 mild steel with wall thicknesses ranging from 3/16-in. to 1-1/2-in. In the shop, they use Miller Electric’s CP-302 MIG welding power source (300 amps at 32 volts, 100 percent duty cycle) matched with a 22A, 24-volt constant speed wire feeder, also from Miller. In the field, the company uses Miller’s Trailblazer® 301G engine driven welding generator (300 amps at 25 volts, 100 percent duty cycle). Both systems provide the ideal rated duty cycles for Banks Welding as they create all their welds at a setting of 32 volts. Banks’ welding operators set their wire feed speed at a constant 475 inches per minute (IPM) – well within the operating ranges of the 22A wire feeders.
Prior to 2002, the company used an AWS classification E71T-8 flux cored wire on all its projects. While this relatively high deposition, self-shielded wire performed well, Banks was looking for a way to further increase the pace of production. Local distributor Sims WeldingSupply introduced him to .045-in. FabCOR 86R gas-shielded, metal cored wires and the difference was immediately noticeable.
In contrast to self-shielded flux cored wire, metal cored wire contains more iron powder in the flux, which helps increase deposition rates (the amount of wire burned, measured in pounds per hour), deposition efficiency (amount of wire used that goes directly into the weld) and faster travel speeds. But even more important to Banks’ production is the fact that the FabCOR 86R requires little or no post-weld cleanup because it creates minimal spatter. The fact that Banks’ welding operators don’t have to spend time grinding after making each weld is a huge cost savings, considering almost all of the company’s jobs require multiple passes. Flux cored wire on multiple pass jobs requires the operator to stop the welding process after each pass to chip or peel away slag. With FabCOR 86R, the welding operators can keep laying bead after bead without worrying about inter-pass cleanup.
“The good thing about FabCOR 86R,” says Banks, “is that we can run one pass and then another pass right over it. And what happens is that we don’t have any type of slag inclusions, which keeps the welds really clean.”
This multi-pass capability of the metal cored wire matched with high deposition rates and the ability to weld at higher amperages, creating faster travel speeds, is a major benefit for Banks’ operations.
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| FabCor 86R allows welding operators to create quality welds, even in tight corners. |
“On a smaller job, where the metal is only ¼-in. thick, we’d generally only do one cover pass. On 1-in. thick material we can do five to ten passes. Even so, the welding operators can get a higher deposition rate. They turn the wire speed up, set the heat up more and put more wire down in each pass. In the end, you have less passes and it takes less time, whereas with the other wire, you couldn’t do that.”
Banks matches the .045-in. FabCOR 86R wire with a 75/25 Argon/CO2 gas mixture, which helps create a smooth arc and gives the welding operators more control for those tough weld passes. This improved control reduces the amount of spatter and allows Banks’ welding operators to complete the job even quicker because they have minimal rework.
Douglas Banks acknowledges that there is a higher upfront cost with the metal cored wire versus flux cored but that the savings in time makes it a profitable choice. “The process of welding with metal cored wire is about 80 to 100 percent faster than with the flux cored,” says Banks. “So despite the five to ten percent increase in cost for the wire, we still have about 30 percent better overall productivity. The main thing is that the welders work longer and harder than before.”
Improved Weld Quality through Metal Cored Wires
In addition to issues of speed, metal cored wires like FabCOR 86R offer technical benefits that improve overall weld quality. All of Banks’s structural welds must meet AWS D1.1 requirements and even more stringent local restrictions due to the increased risk of seismic activity in southern California. The FabCOR 86R wire meets and exceeds all required impact values, and all welds undergo ultrasonic testing to assure quality. The key to passing these tests is a strong, solid weld with proper penetration and no slag inclusions.
Take into account that each welding operator needs to weld T-joints, butt welds, groove welds and full penetration welds so the need for an extremely versatile wire is clear. The design of the FabCOR 86R wire allows Banks’ welding operators to perform spray transfer welding effectively (spray transfer causes the molten filler metal to burn in fine droplets and to be deposited in a broad conical shaped welding arc ), which is ideal for bridging gaps. “It helps us bridge gaps a lot easier,” says Banks. “You get that nice flat bead profile. You get the best of both worlds. You get penetration like a solid wire as if you were short arcing. And you get that wide depth profile with the tie-ins on the side walls like flux cored wires, without the slag of course.
The only limitation to the wire, according to Banks, is that it is not designed for vertical-up or overhead welds. To remedy this problem, they simply roll the work piece into a flat position using an overhead crane - a job they feel is a small price to pay for a wire that is proving itself by passing test after test and drastically improving productivity. “We have great success creating x-ray welds with the FabCOR 86R wire,” claims Banks. “Add that to the fact that we weld faster and you can see why we are so satisfied.”
Industry Still Learning Benefits of Metal Cored Wires
Although metal cored wire is not a new technology, many in the metalworking industry are still unfamiliar with its benefits and how it can improve their productivity. Welding schools today teach new welders how to perform AWS D 1.1 structural welds with a self-shielded flux cored wire. However, Douglas Banks trains each of his new welding operators on the benefits of metal cored wires like FabCOR 86R and says they immediately see the difference. “We school them right away (on the metal cored wires),” says Banks, “and they love it. Life is much easier.”
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Owner, Doug Banks, improved productivity by 30% since switching to metal cored wire. |
One concern that many fabricators have regards the use of a gas-shielded wire outdoors. Wind can disperse and weaken the gas coverage, which can lead to porosity in the weld, a factor that prevents many fabricators from even experimenting with gas-shielded metal cored wires outdoors. But according to Banks, the concern over using a gas-shielded wire outside is minimal. “I think our welding operators are the perfect example of how metal cored wire in the field can be successful. They just use their bodies or backs to shield the weld pool or they put up a curtain,” he explains. “It’s a minimal effort to get the advantages of the metal cored wire.”
With tactics like these, Douglas Banks and his team at Banks Welding & Fabrication have not had many problems. Since commissioning the new wire into the company’s operations, productivity increased by more than 30 percent and Banks’ welding operators are happier and more constructive than ever before.
Whether it’s a moment frame, an I-beam for a multiple story building or an ornate residential gateway, Douglas Banks knows that his eye for business and art both serve him well. And the cost savings and improved weld quality he’s seeing with FabCOR 86R wire appeals to both of those sensibilities.