In 2015 we had our first small project with contracting company PRG and plant owner Arcelor Mittal in Ghent, Belgium, using the outdated flat anchors. After many years of keeping in touch with PRG, new discussions took place in July 2020 regarding a big project under a tight schedule. Our Rapid Arc Welding (RAW) technology was the ideal solution for fast, safe and quality welding.
A RAW demo was held in March 2023 on-site at the PRG workshop, showcasing the special custom-designed anchor and welding technology. The project itself took place from October until November.
A day and night shift between four SILICON welders was implemented for optimal speed and quality, with three machines on-site ( two active + one spare). We worked in several areas of the steel plant such as the hot blast system, gas cleaning and BF Proper. The installation lasted 21 days, which included only one welder working in the final six days.
Hand Welding Problems
During lunch, our crew was asked to help with a section in the blast pipe on the ground level. They had started hand welding, but it was taking too long. The crew immediately saw that the hand welding looked awful and could pull the anchors off by hand. We started welding with RAW technology right away and fixed the anchors within an hour, which was much appreciated.
NEW Custom Designed Speedbolt®
Normally, the SILICON SpeedBolt® is a moveable anchoring system. The bullhorn anchor is placed through the “eye” of the welded bolt, and a plastic clip is hammered on keeping the bullhorn anchor upright. Eventually, this plastic clip will melt and the bullhorn “moves” with the refractory conditions.
However, for this project the customer requested that the bolt does not move and is “fixed” to the bolt, keeping it standing up straight without any moveability. Our engineers took this to the drawing table and came up with a solution to tack weld the bullhorn to the bolt, so no clip is necessary and the anchor still stands up. See the pictures below for an impression of this new solution for the steel industry!
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