Fronius debuts Velocity Assistant for manual MIG/MAG welding

Fronius has created the Velocity Assistant, also known as Velo, to help guide torches and keep welding speed consistent for long, reproducible seams. The system lets users control welding speed during manual work, and is applicable to commercial transportation, heavy-duty machinery, and steel construction applications, as well as thin- and thick-sheet welding in steel, CrNi, or high-strength steel, according to the company.

“If you allow yourself to relinquish some control, you can now produce perfect welds in manual welding at unprecedented speed by simply holding the torch,” said Franziska Eichhorn, strategic product manager at Fronius International. “Test users confirm noticeably less strain and a significant increase in precision and welding quality.”

To work, the Velocity Assistant features a second wire, or Velo Wire, which works without an arc or another gas feed. This wire touches the workpiece as the welder goes, guiding the weld forward via friction, and determining the welding speed overall. Additionally, the Velo wire helps keep the distance between the piece and the welding tip constant, “pushes” the torch along without any particular seam preparation, and adds minimal additional material to the seam itself.

Meanwhile, the Velo holder can be rotated 360 degrees without tools and locks into place. Then, the Velo system components can be unclipped from the holder for greater flexibility. Meanwhile, the Velo wire feeding system is five meters long and activated on the welding torch.

The Velocity Assistant is compatible with existing TPS/i devices from 320 A and iWave Multiprocess PRO systems and can be retrofitted with the wirefeeder for the Velo wire, a torch adapter with the Velo wire feeding system, and the right software activation.