Turula Engineering is an integrated manufacturing company located in Outokumpu, Finland. They meet strict requirements while specializing in challenging welding applications for complex industrial equipment, machinery, and production lines. Turula Engineering demands a lot from their welding machines, and they have trusted Kemppi for decades. Most recently, they piloted the new X5 FastMig Pulse and found its welding properties versatile and powerful.

Turula Engineering manufactures individual products and turnkey solutions for energy, pulp and paper, construction, wood processing, mining, and packing industries, among others. Most of the company's production is exported. Currently, Turula Engineering employs 130 people, of which 30 work on welding tasks.

Turula Engineering is well-known for completing the most challenging projects with the highest possible quality. Welding plays a central role in their production processes, both in terms of working hours and turnover. At Turula, welding is divided into robot, laser, and manual welding departments.

The materials they weld range from various steel grades (structural steels, stainless, acid-resistant, super austenitic, fire-resistant, and duplex grades) to copper, nickel, and titanium. The properties of different materials, such as the thermal conductivity of copper or the heat sensitivity of titanium, must always be considered when welding. Welding instructions at Turula are qualified by using welding procedure qualification tests. Their manual welding applications consist of pulse MIG/MAG welding, DC TIG welding, stick welding (MMA), and gouging.

Challenging welding applications and strict quality requirements

Turula Engineering's welding work is exceptionally demanding because of the high-quality requirements of the work, the vast variety of the materials to be welded, and the complex pieces of different shapes and sizes. Additional demands are also placed on the welding equipment and its accessories because the work of welders at the factory is mobile, and moving the pieces is often challenging.

Turula has used Kemppi's WeldEye solution for managing welding production since 2011 while also contributing to its development. WeldEye does the work of many at Turula – the data is automatically transferred from the welding fleet to the cloud service, where it can be easily viewed from a computer or mobile phone. Quality control through WeldEye is reliable and easy – every work phase and each weld are traceable. In addition, digital welding instructions (dWPS) are transferred directly to welding machines, speeding up and making daily work easier.

"The digital features of a welding machine are very valuable for us. WeldEye speeds up the work and covers our back in case of any challenges, as it offers full traceability for our welding. Integrated solutions and high quality are essential in everything we do", said Antti Nykänen, Welding Manager, Turula Engineering.

Due to the variety of welding tasks, it is of the utmost importance to handle them all with one welding machine only. Constantly changing the machine for different tasks is laborious and time-consuming, and not very cost-effective either. Turula Engineering has invested in its welding machine fleet, and most of the welding machines the company currently uses are Kemppi X8 MIG Welders. The X8 MIG Welder is a multi-process welding system that covers it all, from synergic and pulsed MIG/MAG and stick (MMA) welding to MIG brazing, cladding, and gouging. It is an intelligent solution that allows for extremely precise control of the arc, high-duty welding performance up to 600 A, and native connectivity with WeldEye software.

X5 FASTMIG PULSE – PILOTING THE NEW MULTI-PROCESS WELDER

Turula Engineering has been using Kemppi welding machines since the company was founded in 1979. When Kemppi was selecting a suitable company for piloting and testing the new X5 FastMig Pulse during the product development phase, Turula Engineering was an easy choice thanks to its versatile industrial welding, varied processes, and good collaboration.

X5 FastMig is a multi-process welding system for demanding applications. Thanks to its modular set-up, X5 FastMig adapts to any industrial welding site or application and offers an easy-to-use solution that increases valuable arc-on time. X5 FastMig is developed in collaboration with professional welders so that every detail has been refined to meet the high requirements of true welding experts. Integrated digital connectivity enables a wide view of welding data through WeldEye’s ArcVision module and digital WPS (dWPS) functionality. Weld Assist, on the other hand, guides the welder in choosing the right parameters if the task or the material is not already familiar.

The new X5 FastMig Pulse model also enables pulse welding, which is essential for Turula Engineering. Pulse welding is used in almost all welding applications at Turula, and it often replaces TIG welding. Pulse welding increases productivity, efficiency, and quality of work. In addition, lower heat input reduces deformation in welding. When pulse welding is used for example according to product standards, ultrasonic testing of welds is not required after radiographic testing, which saves both time and money.

Compared to the X8 MIG Welder, the X5 FastMig Pulse has almost the same features, and furthermore, it is smaller and more agile. It is designed specifically for welding environments where the tasks are varied, and the modularity of the welding equipment is an advantage.

Turula Engineering tested the X5 FastMig Pulse from autumn 2021 to spring 2022, and it was used in all kinds of daily welding tasks. The equipment was primarily used by Atte Nykänen, 20, a welder from Turula. Despite his young age, Nykänen has more welding qualifications than any other welder in Turula, and he has already worked for the company for over three years.

Good usability and versatility increase the welding efficiency

"What I expected most from the new welding machine was versatility. In my work, materials and joint types change frequently, and one welding machine must perform all tasks. Ease of use and smoothness naturally play an important role", explained Atte Nykänen.

Even after a short trial, the benefits of the X5 FastMig Pulse became obvious. Both Antti and Atte Nykänen appreciate the soft and spatter-free arc as well as the versatile welding properties. In the field, the X5 FastMig Pulse is compact and agile, but powerful. As expected, the device was suitable for all the daily welding done at Turula, including the most challenging applications and pieces – regardless of the materials.

"Welding gets faster and easier when you can get digital WPS directly from the equipment. The X5 FastMig Pulse remote control stores five dWPS, which is mostly just what we need. Thanks to the intuitive user interface, getting started and adjusting the welding parameters was easy", said Antti Nykänen.

X5 FastMig has been developed with welders' day-to-day work in mind. In industrial welding, even the smallest details can add up to significant improvements in usability and welding productivity. Durable and high-performing welding equipment that adapts flexibly to the changes and requirements of the work environment is a smart investment, now and in the future.

"The cooperation with Kemppi works well, and I feel that we have developed a really versatile partnership. It is a great opportunity that we get to pilot the welding machines in the product development phase, before they come to the market. Thus, our handprints can be seen in them as well. In the partnership, reliability and local solutions count", described Antti Nykänen.