Welding solutions firm Shield Technologies’ Shielding Gas Saving System has reduced its clients’ gas consumption by more than half and is subsequently saving money, says CEO Wayne Holt, adding that the product has been accepted by the indus- trial market since it was introduced two years ago.

The company completed its largest completed installation to date, which included 19 gas economisers and two measurement systems, for automotive component distributor Gabriel, in Cape Town, late last year.

“The project was completed in September 2012 and, so far, the company has recorded savings of about 55% in gas use,” says Holt.

Shield also completed an installation of 14 gas economisers and a gas measure- ment system for automotive company Dynamic Automotive, in Port Elizabeth, in July 2012. Holt says savings of up to 66% have been achieved.

The company is completing another installation, comprising eight welding machines and one gas-flow measurement system, for a mining conveyor systems manufacturer, in Centurion.

“We pre-empt that the gas savings will be about 60% once the project is completed,” he adds.

In 2011, Engineering News reported that the system, which won an award in the industrial innovation category of State- owned power utility Eskom and the Depart- ment of Energy’s eta Awards, comprises equipment which measure the quantity of gas consumed; and the Shield gas economiser, which together provide welding gas optimisation capabilities; as well as leakdetection technology, which uses ultrasonic technology to measure and detect any leaks within a few hours as often as needed. Combined, these technologies reduce gas consumption and save costs during welding.

Holt says the system has been well accepted because it deals with the three causes of gas wastage – leaks, excess flow rates and surges.

“By assessing a customer’s system and detecting leaks, we are able to advise them on how much money they will save if they repaired these leaks. Implementing our system further improves this, as the Shielding gas economiser allows the client to set the welding gas flow rate and lock it at that rate, eliminating excess flow rates.

“The economiser also eliminates gas surges, which usually occur during welding and can account for 50% of a client’s gas use. When monitoring the use, you can also manage it appropriately,” he says.

Holt notes that the system also results in a short turnaround time for return on investment.

“Most of our clients are able to recover the cost of the system within about two months, owing to the saving they achieve when using the system,” he says.

For its leak-detection surveys, the com- pany uses the internationally recognised Belgian instrumentation and control solu- tions provider SDT’s ultrasonic gas leak detector.

“Unchecked gas leaks can contribute towards substantial financial losses and could result in a potentially hazardous situation if the gas is flammable or toxic to humans.

“The SDT ultrasonic gas leak detector provides precise and cost-effective solu- tions for leak detection, as any compressed gas leak can be quickly and safely identified from up to 80 m away,” explains Holt.

He notes that gas leaks generate friction which, in turn, create ultrasonic sound waves, with a frequency of 20 kHz and more, which cannot be heard by the human ear.

“The friction created by leaking gas is very specific and can be between 38 000 kHz and 40 000 kHz, which is completely undetectable to workers.”

Holt says the SDT ultrasonic gas detector enables the company to detect leaks even in a noisy factory environment.

“High-frequency sounds are more directional than lower-frequency sounds, which makes it easier to pinpoint the source, even in the presence of other background noises,” he explains.

Holt notes that the detector is also user-friendly. The basic set-up consists of a hand-held unit, with headphones, a meter, sensitivity and volume adjustment and several different sensors.

Some applications, where leak tightness testing integrity is measured, also require a transmitter.

“The user simply has to walk with the unit at a standard pace to allow for scanning along the X and Y axes. Once the leak has been detected, its location can be identified using a laser pointer or gun sight on the parabolic dish, or it can be more accurately detected when a flexible sensor, with an attached focusing cone, is used.

“The leak is then marked with paint and the relevant maintenance team can be commissioned to fix it by using the correct fittings and sealer, as well as a recommended o-clip, which is crimped onto hoses where necessary,” explains Holt, who highlights that the majority of gas leaks in South African industrial operations are a direct result of poor maintenance of gas supply lines.

“Leak detection should ideally be carried out every six months; however, some companies go years without under- taking any checks and are completely unaware that they have numerous gas leaks, as a result of degradation and wear-and-tear,” he says.

Together with accurate gas consumption measurement, the Shielding Gas Saving System complements the detector by providing a turnkey solution for welding where companies can carefully monitor and improve gas consumption through the system’s measurement technology.

Holt notes that the Shielding gas economiser has an added advantage, as it is a mechanical device.

“As opposed to other similar products, which are electrical, our gas economiser can easily be serviced, is not affected by electrical failures and is never stressed. We give a two-year guarantee on these economisers and some of our clients have been using them for more than five years, with no reported problems,” he says.

The software which comes with the Shielding Gas Saving System, offers clients real-time consumption data and is equipped with log-in capabilities, making it fully customisable to a customer’s business and preferences.

“There are also several indirect benefits, including electricity reduction and logistical savings,” he says.

Future Plans

Holt notes that the company will continue to invest in research and development.

“Being an innovator, I am always looking to identify market needs which Shield can fill. You have to tailor solutions to industries, though, otherwise your product will not be successful,” he says, noting that Shield has designed and developed a new product, following the gas economiser, which acts as a welding monitor.

“The product is able to measure shift times, the amount of time that the welding machine has been switched on, as opposed to how much welding took place, the frequency of welding and gas-flow rates. It also logs the total time during which the welding machine has been used.

“It is fitted with a liquid crystal display, which allows the supervisor or shift manager access to this data and a RS232 connection that allows for the transfer of information to a computer,” explains Holt.

However, he believes that the indus- trial market in South Africa is currently not ready for such a product.

“We do not feel it would be well accepted by industries at this point and we are currently concentrating on expanding our distribution network for our products.

“We have allocated distributors country- wide and are negotiating with another large national distributor. We will hold our first distributors conference this month to get all our distributors together and generate ideas for marketing our products,” he adds.