We think outside the box in research and development, and are always open to new approaches and perspectives. This not only gives us the chance to develop highly innovative, meaningful products, but also to empower our employees in their individual professional development. Andrea M. and Sebastian L. give insights into their fascinating work of developing “healthier” welding wires.
Research and development drives our innovations. Our employees bring the future to life and are always open to new ideas. By taking occasionally unconventional paths to creating the most innovative solutions, they gain interesting experiences which encourage both their personal and professional development. Two of our inventive researchers are Andrea M. and Sebastian L. who work at voestalpine Böhler Welding in Kapfenberg in Styria. One of their tasks has been to develop new low fume welding wires.
As part of a comprehensive approach, voestalpine Böhler Welding has developed innovative welding consumables which significantly reduce the harmful components contained in welding fumes, because there is no way to completely eliminate welding fumes or the essential elements in welding consumables such as manganese or chromium. As a full welding solution provider to its customers, voestalpine Böhler Welding takes a wide range of approaches to providing welders with the best possible level of protection. These include tailoring welding consumable to reduce hazardous substances as far as possible, optimizing welding processes, organizational measures, technical solutions, and workplace safety measures. We presented the first welding consumables (patent pending) that significantly reduce the manganese and chromium (VI) content in welding fumes in Europe in September 2023.
It took all of the development team’s metallurgic skill to identify a few critical elements that nevertheless guarantee the desired properties. Although undertaken during the coronavirus pandemic, making face-to-face consultations between the people involved impossible, the team soon achieved a good setup and identical results in the process of developing this new product group.
Sebastian L.
Andrea M.
Development of the low fume wires also expanded the two developers’ own horizons and expertise.
New product developments are always very challenging for everyone involved, but they also make a significant contribution to the development of know-how, an essential element in research and development, Andrea M. adds.
Andrea M. agrees. “There are always challenging phases during a new product development that call for particular tenacity. But when you hold a great product in your hands at the end of it all, and get positive feedback from customers, all the hard work is worth it,” the developer says proudly.
FAQs—Questions for the experts at voestalpine Böhler Welding:
The low fume products are a completely new concept. Development of these extremely innovative products took around two years, from the initial idea to commercial viability.
When welding, there is no way to completely eliminate welding fumes or the harmful elements such as manganese or chromium that they contain. The newly developed welding consumable use fewer critical elements and therefore significantly reduce manganese and chromium (VI) levels in welding fumes.
Here at voestalpine Böhler Welding, we are conscious of our responsibility for welders’ health and safety, and consistently observe the “STOP principle” which applies in various areas. One key aspect of this lies in reducing welding fumes and their harmful elements directly at the source. To implement this concept, following intensive research and development work, our experts worked together with our scientific partners to develop a complete portfolio of “low fume” welding consumables in both the unalloyed and high-alloy areas. These have at minimum the same outstanding welding and mechanical properties to which our customers are accustomed.
In the first step, we decided to patent the newly developed concept of seamless cored wires with a particularly low manganese content in the welding fumes.
Die voestalpine ist ein weltweit führender Stahl- und Technologiekonzern mit kombinierter Werkstoff- und Verarbeitungskompetenz. Die global tätige Unternehmensgruppe verfügt über rund 500 Konzerngesellschaften und -standorte in mehr als 50 Ländern auf allen fünf Kontinenten. Sie notiert seit 1995 an der Wiener Börse. Mit ihren Premium-Produkt- und Systemlösungen zählt sie zu den führenden Partnern der Automobil- und Hausgeräteindustrie sowie der Luftfahrt- und Öl- & Gasindustrie und ist darüber hinaus Weltmarktführer bei Bahninfrastruktursystemen, bei Werkzeugstahl und Spezialprofilen. Die voestalpine bekennt sich zu den globalen Klimazielen und verfolgt mit greentec steel einen klaren Plan zur Dekarbonisierung der Stahlproduktion.
