Submerged Arc Welding

Submerged arc welding (S.A.W. welding) is a welding technique that utilizes a granular powder continuously fed from a hopper through a welding gun. The powder creates a protective layer over the weld, shielding it from the atmosphere and preventing oxidation and other forms of contamination. Quite different from manual welding, which is how we test our people.

Schematic drawing of an S.A.W. setup.

To be able to apply this welding method, special, often large machines are required. Several large companies such as SIF use multiple of these machines for welding the poles used for wind turbines. As these companies will need multiple S.A.W. operators for the foreseeable future and candidates for this role are difficult to find, the idea arose to train them ourselves.

The enormous poles to be welded.

But how do you do that if you don't have an S.A.W. machine at your disposal?

Covebo Sliedrecht has consulted with the welding school Elektrolas in Waalwijk to see if there are any S.A.W. machines available that can be used to train our Covebo candidates. This has led to a collaboration with Certilas in Huissen, where a fine S.A.W. machine is set up in a hall, Elektrolas has developed the theoretical training, Pieter trains the candidates, and Covebo Sliedrecht takes care of the candidates themselves.

The S.A.W. setup for training purposes.

This training consists of a four-day program covering various areas. First, theory about this welding process, followed by a morning of MAG welding, and of course, most of the time is spent operating and welding with the S.A.W. welding machine. The aim is that after this training, the candidates' basic knowledge is sufficient for them to start at SIF. At SIF, they will then receive an additional internal training of approximately one month before they are allowed to weld the large poles in practice.