Since its introduction in the 1960s, orbital welding has been applied in a wide range of industries. It is primarily used to achieve superior, consistent, and clean welds for pipes and tubes. Over time, its applications have expanded across several sectors, including petrochemicals, aerospace, semiconductors, dairy processing, and commercial aircraft manufacturing. In industries such as pharmaceuticals and food and beverage — where producing clean, consistent, and contaminant-free welds is vital — orbital welding plays a particularly important role. Below, we explore why orbital welding is becoming essential in UK hygienic process lines.
In the UK’s hygienic process, such as food and beverage, pharma engineering solutions, and biotechnology, hygiene is both a best practice and a regulatory requirement enforced by standards like ASME BPE, EHEDG guidelines, cGMP, and Food Standards Agency codes. These strict requirements make orbital welding indispensable.
Unlike traditional manual welding, which can result in inconsistent joints, crevices, and oxidation that encourage bacterial growth, orbital welding uses a computer-controlled process that produces smooth, repeatable, and crevice-free welds. Achieving such precision is essential to prevent microbial contamination and biofilm formation — both of which can compromise product safety and lead to compliance failures.
One of the key reasons orbital welding has become a cornerstone of UK hygienic process lines is its ability to deliver consistently high-quality welds. In industries such as food and beverage, where even the smallest imperfection can affect product quality, precision and uniformity are non-negotiable.
While traditional welding results vary depending on operator skill, fatigue, and environmental conditions, orbital welding relies on a fully automated and programmable system. This ensures each weld is identical in accuracy and penetration, eliminating human error and inconsistency. In the UK, where hygienic processes must meet strict standards such as EHEDG and BS EN ISO 3834, achieving this level of repeatability through orbital welding is both a necessity and a competitive advantage.
UK industries like food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology operate under stringent regulations designed to safeguard product integrity, consumer confidence, and public health. To comply with regulatory authorities such as the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG), the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), every part of the process line must be designed and fabricated to meet the highest hygienic and traceability standards.
Orbital welding supports these requirements by using a computer-controlled system that ensures every weld is consistent, documented, and certifiable — simplifying audits and compliance verification.
Manual welding is both time-consuming and labour-intensive. Orbital welding, on the other hand, offers consistency, repeatability, and faster results, helping increase overall output while reducing overhead costs. The uniformity achieved through orbital welding minimises the frequency and cost of inspections and streamlines validation processes through built-in weld logging and traceability features. This efficiency is particularly beneficial for highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals and food processing.
The shortage of highly skilled welders continues to affect the UK’s hygienic process industries. Producing precise, hygienic welds on stainless steel tubes and pipelines using traditional techniques requires years of training and experience. However, the declining number of skilled welders in the UK has made it difficult for businesses to maintain the required standards.
Orbital welding helps bridge this gap by automating the welding process, significantly reducing reliance on specialist labour. The system requires only basic programming and monitoring to perform accurate, repeatable welds under controlled conditions. This allows companies to maintain high hygiene standards without needing large teams of expert welders.
UK industries such as dairy, pharmaceuticals, food, beverages, and brewing face continuous pressure to adapt to evolving regulations, technological innovation, and rising consumer expectations for safety and quality. Traditional welding methods struggle to meet the long-term compliance and flexibility demands of modern process plants.
Orbital welding offers the precision, scalability, and repeatability necessary to ensure production lines remain efficient, compliant, and adaptable to future challenges. It represents not only a solution for current hygienic standards but also a sustainable approach that ensures long-term operational resilience and regulatory alignment.
In sectors such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, the integrity of process environments is critical. Even minor corrosion within pipework can compromise hygiene, shorten equipment lifespan, and breach regulatory compliance.
The precision and controlled nature of orbital welding prevent such issues by producing joints that are highly resistant to corrosion. By maintaining the natural corrosion resistance of stainless steel and ensuring smooth, defect-free surfaces, orbital welding helps safeguard product integrity, extend system reliability, and minimise costly downtime.
Orbital welding has evolved from being a technological advantage to becoming a practical necessity — especially in industries where safety, hygiene, and compliance are paramount. Although the initial investment may be higher than traditional methods, the long-term benefits, including reduced maintenance, enhanced safety, and consistent regulatory compliance, far outweigh the costs. As a result, orbital welding has firmly established itself as a critical part of modern hygienic procedure engineering, ensuring that UK process industries remain efficient, compliant, and future-ready.
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