Customer case study
Kongsberg Maritime: Repairing an AMI 307 Orbital Welder When Parts Ran Out
How an unsupported 2006 AMI 307 orbital welder was repaired and returned to service when spare parts had run out.
A hard drive crash left a Kongsberg engineer’s AMI 307 orbital welder out of action. He was told no parts were available, so he came to Westermans to repair the power source.
The customer
Kongsberg Maritime is a Norwegian technology company. It provides systems for merchant marine, offshore, subsea, navy, coastal marine, and fisheries, as well as maritime simulation and training and port and harbour surveillance. Its products focus on hydroacoustics, sensor technology, advanced signal processing and underwater engineering. Utilising orbital welding as a key process.
Terje Stamnes is a Senior Engineer at Kongsberg. He has used an AMI 307 orbital welder, in service since 2006, to undertake his work.
The challenge
Westermans recommendation
After a web search, Terje found that Westermans still sells used AMI 307 units and got in touch. He had a second machine, so he wasn’t in a hurry. Instead of supplying parts for him to fit, Westermans’ Technical Director Mark Reaney agreed to repair the AMI 307 power source between other jobs, including replacing the failed hard drive. That kept the cost down on a labour-intensive job.
Service supplied:
- Repair of the AMI 307 power source, including hard drive replacement
- Return shipping to Norway
“Orbital welders like the AMI 307 are built to last decades, so a failure that’s described as the end of the road often isn’t. We’ve worked with these machines for years. Because Terje was flexible on timing, I could fit the repair around other work, allowing us to keep the price sensible. He got a fully working machine back, and a good welder stayed out of the scrap pile.”
The outcome
- Machine back in service. The AMI 307 was returned to Kongsberg in good working order, as expected.
- Very reasonable cost. Fitting the repair around other work kept a labour-intensive job affordable.
- Significant investment avoided. Terje didn’t need to buy a replacement, and the AMI 307 is now his backup machine.
- Repaired, not scrapped. Keeping an 18-year-old machine in use was an environmental benefit that Terje valued.
“I have an AMI 307 orbital welder from 2006, which had been working perfectly until I had a total hard drive crash in 2024. I contacted Westermans after finding them through a random web search. We made an agreement that they could try to fix the welder in between other work. I have another one, so I was in no hurry, and I wanted to keep the costs down. I sent them the welder, and after some months I got it back working as expected, for a very reasonable price. This saved me from a significant investment, as I now have the AMI 307 as a backup. Another important issue for me is of course, the environmental benefit of repairing equipment instead of throwing it away.”
Why this setup worked
Being told “no parts available” usually means buying a replacement. Westermans has long experience with AMI orbital welders and still handles used units, so its engineers could replace the failed hard drive and return the power source to working order, even though the original supply chain had given up on it.
Terje had a second machine and could be flexible on timing, allowing the repair to be scheduled around other work, which dramatically reduced the cost. The result was a working backup, no new capital spend and one less machine scrapped.
Got an orbital welder that’s out of action?
Even older or unsupported machines can often be brought back to working order. Tell us what’s wrong and our engineers will advise on repair, parts or a replacement. Get in touch with the team.
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