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X8 MIG Welder is Kemppi’s flagship product for demanding industrial welding. It is also a combination of top-notch performance, usability and a whole new type of welding control, which also utilises the opportunities of the Internet of Things. In addition to new properties related to welding, there is a new kind of wireless control device, Control Pad. Microteam, a Comatec Group company, was involved in its design for the entire product development stage.
A challenging operating environment demands a lot from a control device: it must withstand dirt, impact, electric interference and humidity. In addition to these demands, the product structure, the optimisation of component costs and cost-efficient manufacturing were key factors that guided the electronics design.
“Professional competence, project management and drive were excellent in the Kemppi product development unit. Integration of the many aspects of the demanding product went excellently well. It was a joy to work in a project where each and every sector was completed thoroughly,” say the Microteam employees who participated in the project.
“The goal in the design was combining cost-efficiency and the demands imposed by the challenging operating environment – two issues which do not always go hand in hand. A host of issues in the operating environment, many of them mutually exclusive, had to be taken into account in the electronics design of the X8 Control Pad. The design involved technical challenges, such as making sure that the Control Pad works over a 10–12 kV separation when it is attached with a cable to a welding device.
“We believe that this was a demonstration of our varied technical expertise, which also impressed the customer,” says Senior Design Engineer Heikki Pietiläinen, who participated in all stages of the project from specifications to electronic design, prototype testing and production.
Kemppi is a pioneer in the welding industry. Kemppi develops smart devices, welding production control software and supporting expert services for demanding industrial solutions and consumers. Kemppi offers solutions for customers to significantly improve the value of their welding production. Headquartered in Lahti, Finland, Kemppi’s turnover is more than EUR 110 million, and it employs more than 600 welding professionals in 13 countries. Furthermore, its partner network offers local expertise for the customers to utilise in more than 60 countries.
X8 MIG Welder is a high-performance, digitally updated welding device for demanding industrial welding that utilises a variety of application software and has excellent usability. The fact that it can be connected to the welding production control software enables the integration of digital welding instructions into the system. Meant for synergic and pulse MIG/MAG welding, manual metal arc welding, MIG arc soldering, carbon arc gouging and surfacing, its maximum output is 600 A.
TEXT: MARIA UURTO