Actively cooled weld head cassette

In an orbital welding head for joining a tube to another component, said welding head including

• a welding electrode mounted to be orbited around the end of the tube, and
• at least one clamp for holding a tube in correct position with respect to the welding electrode, said clamp including a fixed member, a rotatable member, and a hinge assembly for joining said rotatable member to said fixed member to allow said rotatable member to be rotated and thus to allow the tube to be inserted into and removed from the welding head,
• the improvement comprising
• cooling channels formed in said fixed member and in said rotatable member for carrying cooling fluid through said members, and
• fluid channels in said hinge assembly for connecting the cooling channel in said fixed member with the cooling channel in said rotatable member to provide a path for cooling fluid to flow through each of the clamp members.

In an orbital welding head for joining two tubes positioned end-to-end, said welding head including

• a welding electrode mounted to be orbited around the tubes, and
• a pair of clamps for holding the tubes in correct position with respect to each other and the welding electrode, each of said clamps including a fixed member, a rotatable member, and a hinge assembly for joining said rotatable member to said fixed member to allow said rotatable member to be rotated and thus to allow the tubes to be inserted into and removed from the welding head,
• the improvement comprising
• cooling channels formed in said fixed member and in said rotatable member for carrying cooling fluid through said members, and
• fluid channels in said hinge assembly for connecting the cooling channel in said fixed member with the cooling channel in said rotatable member to provide a path for cooling fluid to flow through each of the clamp members.