Metrode Products Limited New Year 2007 Newsletter

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1 Metrode Products Limited and Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc are pleased to announce that Metrode has recently been acquired by Lincoln Electric. Metrode will stay under the leadership of Alex Morton, Managing Director of Metrode, and his team. The company will operate as a business unit within Lincoln Electric Europe, which is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. It is planned that Metrode will become a key location as part of Lincoln Europe s Center of Excellence in specialty consumables, focusing on growing its core business in this sector while optimising the benefits of belonging to a larger group. The combination of Metrode with Lincoln Electric will allow the company to offer complete welding solutions for the process and power generation industries, as well as strengthen its capabilities on product and application development. Additionally, Metrode will complement the existing specialty portfolio of Lincoln Electric. as standard (as are the electrodes and flux cored wires). The products are available off the shelf complete with 3.1 certification showing batch analysis, ferrite content, impact properties at C (minimum 0.38mm lateral expansion) and ambient tensile strength. Metrode not only have the full range of arc welding consumables for stainless steel LNG work but they also have the knowledge and experience to provide the technical support fabricators and contractors may require to successfully complete the work. Copies of our in-depth technical profile on our extensive range of controlled ferrite consumables for LNG and Cryogenic applications is available on the website We are confident that this exciting development will further enhance both companies capability to develop and produce new application solutions, products and services for the specialty consumables market, which we will continue to serve as before. In control of our ferrite The growing demand for energy has meant a rapid growth in LNG projects both in the UK and worldwide. Metrode have established a leading position in the manufacture of stainless steel consumables for LNG applications where there is the need for good impact properties down to C. The controlled ferrite CF electrodes are well established in the market and the Supercore 308LCF and Supercore 316LCF flux cored wires are being increasingly used. The Supercore 308LCF flux cored wire has now been used on both the Isle of Grain and South Hook projects in the UK in addition to smaller quantities being used on other projects worldwide; the Supercore 316LCF wire has been used in Australia and Kuwait. To support the electrodes and flux cored wires Metrode also offer TIG wires (ER308LCF and ER316LCF) and submerged arc wire-flux combinations (ER308LCF/ER316LCCF + LA491 flux). The TIG and sub-arc wire/flux are all batch tested South Hook Milford Haven in South Wales is potentially the largest LNG receiving terminal in the world. The existing jetty is one of the longest jetty structures in Europe. The jetty, constructed between 1960 and 1970 previously served the adjacent ESSO Herbranston Refinery until it was dis-invested in the 1980 s. With the impending reduction in natural gas from the North Sea the UK has a strategic requirement to secure alternative sources of gas supply. 3 rd Party Approvals Zeron 100XKS electrodes, Zeron 100X TIG wire and Zeron 100X submerged arc wire in conjunction with SSB flux have all recently gained third party approval. The consumables are now listed as approved products by both ABS and DNV. Copies of our in-depth technical profiles on our Zeron superduplex consumables are available on the website. Packaging Update The following shows the typical packaging used for the various processes with nominal dimensions Metrode Newsletter New Year 2007 Page 1

2 taken from national standards (eg. BS EN ISO 544 and AWS). If packaging is critical then this should be confirmed at the time of order with Customer Care. MMA Standard MMA packaging is hermetically sealed metal tins with a ring-pull top; tin weights vary depending on product and diameter. There are three tins to a cardboard carton. TIG Standard packaging for cut TIG lengths is 2.5kg or 5kg plastic tubes. Superoot 316L flux cored TIG wire is packed in a 1kg plastic tube. MIG Standard packaging for MIG wire is 12.5kg or 15kg 300mm diameter spools, in a cardboard carton. Some wires are also available on 0.7kg 100mm diameter mini-spools or 5kg 200mm diameter midispools. Different spool types and dimensions are shown below. Flux Cored Wire Standard packaging for flux cored wire is 12.5kg or 15kg 300mm diameter spools, vacuum sealed in barrier foil and in cardboard carton. Different spool types and dimensions are shown below. Submerged Arc Wire Standard packaging for submerged arc wire is 20kg or 25kg coils in a cardboard carton. Different spool types and dimensions are shown below. Submerged Arc Flux Standard packaging for flux is 20kg or 25kg plastic bags in a sealed metal drum. More Packaging? Was this a reject from one of our packaging suppliers? No it was a special cake to mark Tracey Benton s 40 th birthday. Tracey has worked for Welding Supplies UK, located in Cannock in Staffordshire, for some 23 years, and for all that time has been a regular contact for Metrode. Two legends from the welding industry in the UK also turned up to the surprise party, Brian Stackhouse (a former colleague of Tracey s) and Bob Cummins (who worked for Metrode for many years until his retirement a few years ago) and was our man on the area Not surprisingly Tracey is known as The Metrode Girl to all The girls L-R Nicola, Tracey and Sue Graham Holloway Far East Tour 2006 Thai Nippon Steel are currently undertaking a Total EP project involving 22%Cr duplex stainless steel and they asked Metrode to provide background information on the welding of this alloy. As part of the technical support Metrode organised a seminar at Thai Nippon Steel s Bangpakong Yard which was attended by about 35 people. Alex Ong and Graham Holloway of Metrode went to Thailand and on 1 st December 2006 a seminar was held on the welding of duplex stainless steel. In addition to the Thai Nippon Steel personnel there Metrode Newsletter New Year 2007 Page 2

3 were also attendees from Technip and PTT (Thai Petroleum). The aim of the seminar was to try and provide guidance on the precautions required to ensure not only successful completion of weld procedures but also consistent completion of weld joints during production. There was discussion on the properties of duplex stainless steels, testing requirements and procedural guidance. In addition to the presentation and discussion on duplex stainless steel there was also a session on 300H stainless steels. The event was chaired by Edy Hutapea of the fabrication company PT Gunanusa Utama who have had recent experience of duplex stainless steel fabrication work. Edy acted as translator, when required, and also provided some helpful practical knowledge during the question and answer sessions. In addition to the presentation on the welding of superduplex stainless steels there was a second presentation, in the afternoon, on 300H stainless steels; but it was the superduplex presentation that sparked the real interest of the audience. The knowledge of the participants and the current high level of projects involving duplex stainless steels were well demonstrated during the question and answer sessions which covered just about all aspects of duplex stainless steel welding procedures. Owing to the tremendous success of the event Metrode and PT Alfa Metalindo Indonesia hope to be able to hold another presentation in From left to right: Alex Ong (Metrode), Jimmy Octavianus (PT Alfa Metalindo), Graham Holloway, Danny Wong (PT Alfa Metalindo). On the 28 th of November 2006 Graham Holloway of Metrode Products Ltd gave two presentations to the Indonesian Welding Society. The event was jointly organised by Metrode and PT Alfa Metalindo Indonesia and was supported by the Indonesian Welding Society and Komunitas MIGAS Indonesia. The main presentation was on the welding of superduplex stainless steels; an area in which there is currently a high level of activity in Indonesia. The interest was reflected in the high attendance at the event with over 100 delegates participating. Metrode Newsletter New Year 2007 Page 3

4 The delegates at The Indonesian Welding Society Railrod A rolling success story Railrod is a basic coated low hydrogen MMA (SMAW) electrode. As its name suggests Railrod is primarily designed for the welding of rail using a square edge joint preparation and a slag-over-slag welding technique. The special electrode design allows good side wall fusion without interference from the slag cover. This process has not generally been accepted for in-situ welding of passenger track and is primarily used on rails for rolling stock and cranes in dockyards, mines, steelworks, etc. Cranes operate best when the rails on to which they run are welded into continuous lengths. However rails are difficult to weld as they: - Have high carbon content to give them wear resistance Have a high carbon equivalent and must be welded using special techniques Are considered to have a large and awkward section for welding Railrod is used for welding rail steels with up to 0.8% carbon and nominal tensile strengths in excess of 700MPa. Railrod provides a good match, or even overmatch in some cases to standard grades of rail steels. This has advantages in that the weld metal will provide good resistance to collapse under compression by rolling loads; lower strength weld metals would show a tendency to mushroom (or collapse) under compression. It also provides comparable hardness to rail steel grades containing up to 0.8% carbon with a typical hardness of 300 Vickers/Brinell. Dockyard Crane Rails Typical applications for Railrod Baking capacity increases No, we haven t moved into cake production! At the on a damp Wednesday end of October, we took delivery of a new electrode batch baking oven. As you can see from the pictures the delivery of the oven down Hanworth Lane by truck and then by crane up and over one factory was a tricky one. However as you can see by the bottom picture the proud father (M.D. Alex Morton) was very pleased with the addition to the production family. Moving parked cars was a tricky job Railrod has been sold in large volumes over many years to key fabricators mainly in the UK but also abroad and is available ex-stock from Metrode in the following sizes: - 3.2mm 5.0mm 6.0mm Now that is a very tight fit! but it made it safely Metrode Newsletter New Year 2007 Page 4

5 to liquid helium temperatures -269 C (4 K) for superconducting applications. Unlike conventional 316L weld metal containing ferrite, which suffers preferential attack in concentrated nitric acid, the nil-ferrite alloy has excellent resistance and is suitable for deposition directly onto CMn steel to provide corrosion resistant overlays. Left Superconducting magnets, manufactured by Tesla Engineering Limited The proud father after the delivery! The oven is now fully commissioned with the expected increases in electrode production fully realized. Below - HMS Penzance (M106) the initial ship in the second batch of Royal Navy Sandown class minehunters built by Vosper Thornycroft. Specialist Non-Magnetic 316L Consumables The use of stainless steels in critical areas of ship construction, particularly those likely to be exposed to corrosive environments, has expanded in recent years. In particular, there has been rapid growth in the construction of bulk chemical carriers with stainless steel tanks, initially in type 316L steels, but more recently in duplex stainless steels where the combination of higher strength and increased corrosion resistance has proved to be advantageous. Metrode manufacture a complete range of welding consumables for all major welding processes for 316L and Duplex stainless. Another,more specialised, application in shipbuilding for which Metrode offers a range of welding consumables is the use of fully austenitic stainless steels for engineering components in mine hunters where a low magnetic profile is an essential requirement. Metrode offers a range of consumables, listed below, which, with their high nickel and controlled nitrogen contents, give a fully austenitic and nonmagnetic weld deposit with a maximum permeability of In addition, the consumables are designed with a relatively high manganese content which ensures freedom from microfissuring and hot cracking in the ferrite-free weld metal, particularly when used for the fabrication of thicker and more highly restrained components. The fully austenitic microstructure gives excellent strength and toughness at cryogenic temperatures for joining 304L and 316L LPG and LNG storage vessels. Useful toughness is also maintained down Process Product Specification MMA Ultramet 316NF BS EN E L R Ultramet B316NF BS EN E L B TIG/MIG ER316MnNF BS EN Mn L FCW Supercore 316NF (BS EN T N L R) Zeron 100 Applications in Aggressive acid Environments ZERON 100 is a superduplex stainless steel which has shown itself to be particularly good at resisting corrosion in severe service in North Sea oil and gas installations. Whilst it will continue to be used for oil & gas service, Weir Materials have begun to widen its application and also make it a more universally used material. To this end they have targeted applications other than oil and gas where severe corrosion conditions exist. Of particular interest are chemical plants and mineral processing industries where Metrode Newsletter New Year 2007 Page 5

6 aggressive acids are present. Testwork and service applications have shown that ZERON 100 has corrosion resistance as good as, and in many cases better than, some of the stainless steels which have been the traditional choice for such service. Also, because of its very high strength, compared to other stainless steels, there is scope for more economic use of materials by virtue of being able to design vessels, pipework systems etc. in thinner sections. The remarkable properties of ZERON 100, especially its high corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties, have confirmed the material as the standard for critical offshore applications. It is interesting, therefore, to note that these characteristics have been identified for use onshore in the power generating industry. As part of the environmental challenge to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions, two coal fired power stations in the UK have been fitted with flue gas desulphurisation units (FGD s). The process involves the use of limestone to react with the acidic components in the flue gas, producing a byproduct of calcium sulphate which has to be extracted and dried by the use of centrifuges. Thomas Broadbent & Sons Ltd of Huddersfield, are the UK s leading designer and manufacturer of centrifuges for the process and chemical industries, designed and fabricated centrifuges for this purpose. ZERON 100 was chosen because of the necessity of achieving long term reliable service despite the aggressive, corrosive conditions existing in the plant and Metrode Zeron 100XKS electrodes have been used throughout. These electrodes combine the necessary corrosion resistance and mechanical properties with an excellent operability, producing weld beads of good profile and finish. Data Sheet Updates A new edition of the Metrode Technical Handbook will be available early in However, all the new data sheets are already available on the Metrode website at Year end is drawing to a close and it has been a momentous one for Metrode. We finished our financial year at the end of September with record sales and on the 1 st of November we became part of The Lincoln Electric group. Sales have continued to grow both at home in the UK and in all our export markets worldwide so as we say goodbye to 2006 we can look forward to 2007 being an exciting one! We would like to thank all our customers for their business during the last 12 months and pass on season s greetings and wish everybody a very happy and prosperous Metrode Products Limited Hanworth Lane Chertsey Surrey, KT16 9LL, UK Tel: +44(0) Tel: +44(0) Web: sales@metrode.com export@metrode.com tech@metrode.com Footnote! If you enjoyed reading this, remember you can go to the Metrode Website, click on the news section and browse through previous editions. Metrode Newsletter New Year 2007 Page 6