Automated gas control system ensures brazing with a neutral flame
Above: Harris’ Perfect Flame is an automated gas control system that allows end users to set exactly how much oxygen and how much fuel gas is consumed..
January 2023- Automated gas control system ensures brazing with a neutral flame.
Brazing is widely used in fabrication applications, in industries ranging from automotive to HVAC/R and electronics to aerospace. As with all industries, fabricators are seeking ways to reduce costs while also improving quality and the consistency of brazing.
One of the primary ways to reduce waste when brazing is by controlling the consumption of gas. In conventional brazing torches, operators turn valves to adjust the gas flow any way they prefer, says Robert Tefft, director of industrial and wholesale distribution for Harris Products Group in Mason, Ohio. “Some people go very hot; some go very cold.”
When brazing, a flame with too much gas is a carburizing flame and one with too much oxygen is an oxidizing flame, which is the more commonly occurring of the two. When there’s a correct ratio of the two, the result is a neutral flame. “That’s what we recommend for brazing,” Tefft says.
The result of not brazing with a neutral flame can be that one operator overheats the part and negatively impacts the integrity of the brazing alloy by burning critical elements out of it, he explains. Conversely, another operator can underheat the part and not effectively join the base materials. For example, in high-pressure, closed-loop systems such as air conditioning, leaks can occur and cause equipment to fail.
AUTOMATED CONTROL
To overcome these issues and consistently achieve a neutral flame, Harris Products offers the Perfect Flame brazing system, Tefft says. “Perfect Flame is an automated gas control system that allows the quality management team or the process manager at the facility to set exactly how much oxygen you’re using and exactly how much fuel gas you’re using. It gives them the perfect flame for [each] specific application.”
The Perfect Flame brazing system enables users to make detailed, repeatable adjustments to the flames for each application to maximize operational efficiency.
The system includes software that analyzes the flame, measuring chemistry, flow rates, temperature, Btu and flame types. The data is stored for analysis and future use and saved flames can be reproduced anywhere Perfect Flame is being used, so all operators are using the same flame and producing the same results.
FUNDAMENTALS
TRAINING SESSIONS STRESS QUALITY, SAFETY
One challenge fabricators face is attracting and retaining operators and adequately training them. Having a pre-set flame for brazing operations— as with the Perfect Flame from The Harris Products Group—can help new employees get started sooner on brazing.
However, new hires still must know the fundamental steps for brazing and how to set up and use oxygen and fuel equipment safely. To provide that training, Harris Group offers three options: train at Harris’ facility, train at the customer’s facility or live video conference training.
When training at a customer’s facility, Harris Group can provide either a half-day or full-day session for up to 30 attendees. Harris’ team of sales representatives across the United States provide instruction while helping to analyze an operation for improvement.
“What usually happens is we’ll send a full line of torch equipment and some different brazing alloys, and the customer will provide the parts,” says Robert Tefft, director of industrial and wholesale distribution. “We cover the theory behind what you are doing, and [provide] hands-on techniques and practice.”
When training at Harris’ facility, two technicians provide two days of training for a maximum of 15 attendees, combining classroom theory and hands-on practical instruction. Regardless of the location, training is customizable for a specific application, and participants take a written and hands-on test to check their knowledge, according to the company.
Live video conference training is dedicated for a specific customer application and is tailored around each customer’s schedule. An unlimited number of people can take part, and their knowledge is checked with a question-and-answer interaction and a multiple-choice review quiz. Video conference training is available in multiple languages.
CAPTURING DATA
With multiple Perfect Flame gas flow systems in operation, the company states that an end user can monitor, track and control an operating factor for one operator, one shift, one line, one facility or over the entire organization. With this information, a parts manufacturer can see where quality and consistency can be improved, waste can be eliminated and time can be saved.
“For example, fabrication companies can actually track their brazers’ time on torch,” Tefft says. “So, if your braze is supposed to take 12 seconds from beginning to end and you get a new operator that comes in and finishes it in 6 seconds, you’ll likely have a weak brazed joint. Engineering and quality teams can monitor the data and catch issues quickly.”
The information the software captures about each operator’s torch-on time and flame is available on a custom dashboard for analysis. According to Harris, security is paramount and Perfect Flame data is stored and secured in the cloud, making it accessible to a customer from any place, at any time. Customers own their usage data, which reportedly is never shared outside a customer’s organization.
One objective, Tefft notes, is to improve a customer’s first-pass yield, in which there are no leaks or other issues in the completed product at the end of the production line. “Nobody achieves a perfect 100 percent first-pass yield, but we like to get our customers into the very high 90 percent range and help them with their continuous improvement in that process.”
An operator brazes copper tubing using the Perfect Flame system.
Tefft notes that the company provides both brazing equipment, such as torches and consumables, including phosphorous coppers, high silvers and aluminum brazing alloys. To help select the proper alloy, Harris off ers a free brazing app available on Google Play and at Apple store.
“We’re the experts [who are] able to support a customer from both the gas apparatus side and the consumable side and help reduce waste in the overall process,” he says. -FFJ
