PK USA Orders First North American Lincoln Electric Guardian Fire Safety Solution

Project to include two fire safety solutions for the automotive parts supplier’s existing welding and fume extraction systems.

PK USA, Inc. needed a fire safety solution for two of its plants, so Lincoln Electric (Cleveland, OH) introduced the company to the Guardian™ fire safety solution for its existing welding and fume extraction systems.

The combination of oil or other flammable materials, fresh oxygen from the fan and hot welding sparks can produce fires in these systems. PK USA will be the first company to install a Guardian system in North America.

“We are pleased to provide PK USA with a solution that will give its employees a safer and cleaner work environment,” said Chris Brodnick, business manager, safety and environmental products, Lincoln Electric.

The Guardian fire safety solution prevents, detects and suppresses fires when a total system is installed. The spark arrestors in a system can stop fires before they start, while the limestone feeders provide chemical-fire protection to extinguish a fire, if one occurs.

There’s also a fire-detection panel, which activates dampers to shut off the air supply, triggering suppression components to rapidly extinguish a fire.

“The system is quiet and efficient,” said Jeremy Brattain, process coordinator, PK USA. “We are looking forward to running it long term.”

The first part of the project consisted of installing Guardian in five arc welding cells, which is a large project the company. After the system is in place, the PK USA will be making parts for approximately 172,000 vehicles per year.

The first system is scheduled to be in full production by September. Both systems will be in place by the end of the year. Lincoln Electric has serviced PK USA for more than two years. The company started with weld wire and expanded to fume extractors then to portable welders.

“Customer service with Lincoln Electric has been very good and very well-rounded, making sure we get everything we need on time,” Brattain said.

Lincoln Electric will also introduce a cost efficient robotic welding solution in collaboration with FANUC America while continuing to enhance part production for manufacturing facilities with the company’s Power Wave® R350 and ARC Mate 0iA robot.

“FANUC Robotics’ simplified robot enables us to provide high-speed, quality welds while giving customers cost efficiency,” said Justin Percio, business manager, welding automation systems, Lincoln Electric.

The ARC Mate 0iA robot is compact and lightweight and will help manufacturing facilities improve productivity, quality and safety while enjoying a simple, cost efficient solution.

Lincoln Electric plans to use the robot in a new system, which will include its Power Wave R350 welding power source to deliver rapid arc response.

The power source can handle metal inert gas (MIG), pulsed MIG, flux-cored, MIG direct current (DC), tungsten-electrode inert gas (TIG) and pulsed DC TIG welding processes.

It has built-in wire feeder control for providing standard internal control for compatible wire feeders, allowing users to modify settings at the robot pendant.

“We have been working closely with FANUC Robotics to provide superior solutions for our customers since 1983,” Percio said. “We are looking forward to releasing a new system that will integrate their new robot with our welding expertise.”

www.lincolnelectric.com