Welding Technology Development and Validation

Our team can help clients:

• Develop, adapt, and optimize welding procedures
• Evaluate and compare welding processes, consumables, and equipment
• Conduct welding, cutting, fit-up, and material-handling equipment trials
• Assess welding fumes and demonstrate welding and cutting safety practices
• Develop recommendations to improve welding quality and productivity
• Facilitate technically focused, commercially unbiased collaboration between vendors and end users
• Address barriers associated with codes, standards, regulations, and end-user specifications
• Support welder education and qualification requirements for advanced welding technologies

Our welding systems support carbon steel, alloy steel, titanium, and aluminum, as well as hardfacing and corrosion-resistant overlay applications. Our capabilities include conventional and waveform-controlled arc welding, mechanized welding of pipe and plate, plasma transferred arc welding hardfacing, and Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing.

InnoTech Alberta offers flexible, industrial-scale infrastructure for welding research, development, demonstration, and validation. Distinctive capabilities include:

• In-service welding flow-loop simulator: Evaluates welding processes and procedures under simulated operating conditions using variable-diameter test sections up to 28 inches outside diameter
• Controlled-climate welding capability: Enables welding trials under varying environmental and climate conditions
• Automatic degaussing system: Supports pipe and plate applications where residual magnetism may affect arc stability or weld quality
• Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing facility: Uses robotic welding technology to build, repair and restore large metal components, and supports the development of specialized wear- and corrosion-resistant materials
• Mechanized pipe and plate welding systems: Support repeatable trials, procedure development and process comparisons
• Plasma transferred arc welding hardfacing: Supports the application and evaluation of wear-resistant surfaces and overlays
• Configurable three-dimensional fixturing system: Accommodates a range of component geometries and experimental setups
• Material-handling and workpiece-manipulation equipment: Accommodates workpieces up to 122 centimetres, or 48 inches, in diameter
• Induction heating systems: Provide controlled heating for welding procedure development and testing
• Ultraviolet and infrared imaging: Supports observation and analysis during welding trials
• Modern welding health and safety equipment: Includes snorkel extraction, powered air-purifying respirators, and a downdraft table

The facility also provides plasma cutting, weld-joint and test-coupon machining, metallurgical evaluation, and mechanical testing of welded samples. This integrated capability allows clients to move efficiently from trial preparation and welding through to inspection and performance assessment.

InnoTech Alberta provides an independent environment in which equipment suppliers, fabricators, and end users can evaluate technologies before introducing them into production or field operations. Programs can be tailored to compare competing solutions, validate performance, identify implementation requirements, and support informed investment decisions.

Whether you are qualifying a new welding procedure, evaluating equipment, improving an existing operation, or developing an emerging technology, our team can design a program around your materials, application, and operating requirements.