Industrial gas company Afrox is preparing to showcase its product and service offering at the 2014 Electra Mining Africa trade show, which will be held from September 15 to 19 at the Nasrec Expo Centre, in Johannesburg.

This follows a successful exhibition of its product and service offering last month at the yearly agricultural and livestock trade show Nampo, which took place in Bothaville, in the Free State.

Afrox hard goods business manager Gerhard van Wyk tells Engineering News that, as with Nampo, the company will hold regular demonstrations of all its product and service offerings leading up to and during the course of Electra Mining Africa.

“Afrox is more than just a gas company, as we supply a range of welding and cutting products, such as electrodes, wires, welding machines and safety equipment to the engineering and mining sectors to name but a few.”

Van Wyk notes that Afrox also offers its customers process support to improve companies’ efficiency and productivity levels.

“Therefore, Afrox offers a totally integrated service and supply offering to our customers,” he states.

The company offers a range of electrode products for manual metal arc welding, commonly known as stick welding. This includes the company’s long-standing range of Vitamax general-purpose electrodes for use in high-end welding applications.

Moreover, Van Wyk says Afrox will highlight its aftermarket-servicing centre, in Germiston, on the East Rand, during Electra Mining Africa.

“Our service centre is staffed by in-house technicians servicing customer machines both on-site as well as at our fully equipped repair centre. We also stock spare parts for all Afrox supplied welding and cutting machines backed by original-equipment manufacturer warranties,” he adds.

Van Wyk highlights that Afrox launched the metal inert gas (MIG) 9000 GoldFlo wire range in October last year.

“The MIG 9000 GoldFlo is a high-quality bronze-coated MIG wire, which is produced from high-quality double deoxidised rod. The brand name GoldFlo refers to a thin film of bronze coating on the surface of the wire, which gives the wire a shiny, golden appearance.”

He points out that the range’s high manganese and silicon levels ensure improved weld metal deoxidation and is suitable for welding on metal with a medium to high presence of mill scale or rust.

Van Wyk adds that the GoldFlo’s high silicon levels promote a smooth weld surface and a flat bead profile with equal length, thereby ensuring uniform wetting is easily achieved.

“The wire is designed for both single- and multiple-pass welding in all positions. The MIG 9000 GoldFlo’s bronze coating enhances its shelf life and also ensures good electrical conductivity with reduced friction during high-speed welding,” he states.

Moreover, Van Wyk says the MIG 9000 GoldFlo’s smooth wire feed-ability makes it suitable for welding with dip, spray arc and pulsed arc transfer using an argon-carbon dioxide mix or pure carbon dioxide shielding gases.

He adds that the product is also environment friendly, as it emits less fumes, owing to its bronze coating.

Afrox launched the Smoothflo gas pressure regulators range in July last year, which Van Wyk says was jointly developed by Afrox and its holding company, industrial gases and engineering company the Linde Group.

However, the regulators are solely manufactured by Afrox at its Germiston facility.

“Unlike conventional regulators that require the pressure-adjusting knob to be rotated several times before maximum gas flow pressure is achieved, the single-stage Smoothflo regulators reach the maximum setting with just three turns . . . significantly reducing the system’s set-up time,” Van Wyk says.

He points out that the Smoothflo’s outer casing is manufactured from robust, impact- resistant and fire-retardant nylon-based material and its splash-resistant cladding affords maximum pressure gauge protection.

“The regulator’s outer casing is tamperproof and immediately displays any evidence of attempted tampering,” highlights Van Wyk.

Further, new technology is incorporated for the regulator’s encapsulated valve, in conjunction with piston technology, which replaces the conventional diaphragm system.

“The Smoothflo’s improved pressure stability is achieved across all working pressure ranges, while it also ensures that maximum gas use is achieved for each cylinder,” states Van Wyk.

Further, he says the product’s compact design allows for enhanced safety in operations, owing to its mirror configurations, which prevent hose overlaps and reduces the risk of oxygen and acetylene fires.

“An additional safety measure . . . is that the pressure gauges are recessed into the unit and are panel mounted.”

Van Wyk states that the Smoothflo’s space- saving design ensures that the gauges are protected from damage in the industrial working environment, such as mining operations, with the large fonts on the gauge assisting operators in correctly setting the regulators.

Moreover, he points out that Afrox is supplying the Smoothflo regulators locally, to the rest of Africa and internationally.