5 Advantages of Hydraulic Port Welding

Companies have been manufacturing welded hydraulic cylinders for decades. Many different stud welding techniques have been used including:

• MIG Welding
• Stick Welding
• Friction Welding

More recently, the stud welding process has been used to enhance the welding of the bosses or ports onto hydraulic cylinders. Hydraulic port welding has many advantages for the hydraulic cylinder manufacturer:

1. Fast Process - Because the stud weld process is fast (less than 1 second arcing time) the through put is enhanced.
2. Low Distortion - Because the stud weld process is fast, the amount of heat input into the tubing is low. This low overall heat input greatly reduces “egging” or ovality in the tube wall. This means that tube finishing can be done before port welding or that secondary post port welding operations can be eliminated.
3. Fewer leaks - Offering a full cross sectional weld as opposed to a circumferential weld, the leak performance of the stud weld port is superior to conventional boss welding. The entire face of the bottom of the port is welded to the tube instead of the outside edge.
4. Reduce Tube Wall Thickness - Because of reasons 1, 2 & 3 above, many cylinder manufacturers have been able to reduce the tube wall thickness. One manufacturer went from a 7mm wall to a 5mm wall. This has saved that manufacturer, literally, tons of steel each year.
5. Saves a fitting - Often manufacturers will weld an NPT fitting to the tube and then assembly will install a right angle JIC, O-ring boss or O-ring face seal adapter into the NPT boss welded to the tube. Assembly is then tasked with trying to line up the adapter to a specific orientation to support a specific tube routing. This can mean loose or overly tight fittings. The stud weld port can be manufactured with the desired final fitting and welded at the exact orientation. This eliminates the adapter fitting and speeds assembly.

It is easy to see that the Port stud weld process offers many advantages to OEM cylinder manufacturers as well as contract cylinder manufacturers.  These advantages ultimately produce a lower cost, higher quality cylinder for the end customer. Take a look at one turn-key solution created for one customer.

Contact Image Industries today to learn more about the advantages of hydraulic port welding or request a quote.