Breaching and Welding Services

Issue 7: February 2013

MACY INDUSTRIES, INC. has specialized in custom metal fabrication for over 35 years. We are authorized and licensed for heavy and light gauge welding. With these capabilities we are able to offer many solutions for metal needs, commercial breaching, welded fittings and pipe. We also have first class engineers can design, fabricate and over see the installation of commercial breaching.

Breaching: Large Scale Duct Work

What is Breaching?

Breaching is duct work used for combustion processes (for example from home boilers and power plant gases). It is a horizontal exhaust that sits on top of the vertical stack or chimney and is usually used with a boiler. MACY INDUSTRIES, INC. is capable of providing heavy gauge welded pipe and fittings for the outlet of boiler air to the flue gas stack. This is used for anything over 500° and it can be flanged or non flanged. Breaching is typically made from 16, 18, or 20 gauge material and it is welded.

MACY INDUSTRIES, INC. recently fabricated breaching for a local power plant that provides air pollution control for power and related industries. The goal of this company is to reduce NOx (from the combustion of fuel), particulate matter (PM- an atmospheric pollutant consisting of a small mass of solid or liquid matter that remains in the gas emissions), unburned carbon, and CO emissions at various types of combustion facilities including: utility power plants, paper & pulp mills, chemical plants, oil refineries, ethanol plants, marine vessels, and diesel engines. This power plant is a supporter of green emissions from manufactures of high efficiency, low emission combustion systems for industrial and utility boilers. The power plant works with wood and coal plants and they came to MACY INDUSTRIES, INC. to have transitions made for their filter bank. The air released from the plant will pass through the transition, to the filter, then through a second transition into the air. The filter removes pollutants from the plant exhaust, so when the air is released to the atmosphere it is known as green air. MACY INDUSTRIES, INC. created the breaching transition to reduce emissions in the filter. The transitions created are 16½ ft x 16½ ft x 12 ft made from ¼ inch steel which sit above and below a filter bank.

MIG and TIG Welding: What is the difference?

When a breaching project is fabricated it is made of heavy gauge metal. To create a breaching transition the parts need to be welded. MACY INDUSTRIES, INC. has experienced MIG and TIG certified welders. For breaching projects which are fabricated from heavy gauge metal, MIG welding is used. TIG welding is usually used for lighter, cosmetic welding.

MIG welding stands for Metal Inert Gas (or gas metal arc welding). This type of welding is used for aluminum or non steel metals (non-ferrous). A wire connected to a direct current source provides electricity that acts as an electrode to combine two pieces of metal through a continuous flow with a welding tool or gun. The wire that passes through the welding gun also has gas flowing through it. The purpose of the inert gas is to shield the tip of the wire from airborne contaminants. This also helps to produce cleaner, splatter free welding. MIG welding is valued for its speed and quality results. TIG welding is also known as Tungsten Inert Gas. This welding process joins metals by heating them with tungsten electrodes. A filter rod made of the same material that is being welded is used to reinforce the joints. This is known as a filler metal. Argon inert gas or inert gas mixtures are used for shielding the metal from contaminants in the air. TIG welding allows the welder to weld thinner material. TIG welding produces the best looking weld beads, which is why it is often used with cosmetic applications. This is also why TIG welders are considered the artists of the welding world.