AF talks to Keith Saunders, Equipment Business Development Manager for the MEA region of voestalpine Böhler Welding, about the company’s expanded welding equipment range which, as well as the premium Uranos and heavy-duty Terra ranges, now includes the CORE MMA range of modern single-phase MMA and lift-TIG welding power sources, built for the most demanding environments.
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To appreciate the strong foundation of voestalpine Bohler Welding’s current range of state-of-the-art inverter-based welding equipment, we must go back to 1979 – the year Selco, a proud family-owned manufacturer of arc welding equipment for 40 years, was established. With a passion and focus on innovative solutions, the company was among the pioneers of portable inverter-based technology in the design and manufacture of welding power sources, which is now the industry standard.
In June 2019, Voestalpine acquired Selco and shortly thereafter introduced the Terra and Uranos ranges of high-end welding equipment to the market, complementing the company’s extensive portfolio of premium welding consumables.
The introduction of the next-generation product, URANOS NX, was launched in October 2021 as a premium welding machine, built to optimise welding performance for the full range of materials and consumables, with synergistic programmes customised for welding applications using Böhler consumables.
The TERRA NX followed in 2023, a robust, reliable, productive and easy-to-use welding machine for heavy-duty applications in the metal fabrication and mechanical industries. Built to ‘Get the job done’, the TERRA NX is optimised for steel welding to make ‘perfect weld seams’ easy to achieve.
TERRA NX: ensures productivity while maintaining quality
The TERRA NX range is designed for industrial applications, with reliability and productivity in mind. “The focus has been to make the machines easier for a welder to use, to help them achieve the quality needed for every job. The machines have a full colour display, with an interface that is intuitive and easy for a welder to use,” says Keith Saunders.
TERRA machines produce a reactive and dynamic arc that is optimised for heavy-duty steel welding. The units are reliable and robust, and the welding programs are all upgradable, which means that each machine can be customised to an individual welder’s needs and preferences, he continues.
There are 13 different TERRA options in the range: five standard MIG/MAG options and five PULSE MIG/MAG options with output capacity ranging from 320 A to 500 A and three TIG DC HF machines ranging from 270 A to 400 A. From a welding characteristic perspective, each machine offers various options designed to optimise welding characteristics and performance: ArcDrive and RapiDeep for MIG/MAG machines; ArcDrive, RapiDeep, PulsDrive, and QuickPulse for PULSE MIG/MAG machines; and DcDrive, DcPulse, FastPulse and EasyArc for the TIG DC HF units.
“The TERRA NX is our industrial workhorse: a robust, reliable and economical machine for heavy industry, making it our fastest mover and ideal for the demanding South African work environment,” he adds.
URANOS NX for optimised performance
“Within voestalpine Böhler, we talk about a Böhler arc and a Universal arc. Our Böhler arc programmes have been meticulously developed to suit specific Böhler Welding consumables, delivering optimum machine and wire performance,” continues Saunders.
URANOS NX welding systems are developed with this whole solution philosophy in mind. They offer all the features of the TERRA platform, but with increased memory, faster communication capacity and enhanced integration between welding consumables and machine parameters. This focus on specific welding requirements makes it the ideal solution for welding jobs involving complex alloys and the highest levels of weld quality.
URANOS NX welding systems use a high-speed CANBUS internal communication system, which is totally immune to electromagnetic noise, minimising deviation at the arc and enabling the system to respond much more quickly.
They are delivered with customer-specific job applications in mind, featuring more than 600 welding programs tailored for various applications and industry segments, including carbon steel, stainless steel, nickel alloys, cladding, hard-facing, and dedicated crane and lifting packages. These programs are developed to ensure a perfect fit between the welding task and the consumables. The URANOS NX has the capacity to hold a further 240 customer programs based on their field experience.
Additionally, URANOS NX inverters are designed to include patented greenWave® technology, which enables significantly better energy efficiency through optimised power consumption. Conforming to the strictest EN61000 standards, greenWave delivers a reduction in reactive energy consumption of between 70 and 100%, and over 50% reductions in joule-effect losses, both of which help to reduce power consumption and associated CO2 emissions.
Packed with Böhler’s full suite of welding arc control features, URANOS offers a state-of-the-art solution for any combination of filler material, welding process and application.
For both TERRA NX and URANOS NX machines, it’s all about communication. voestalpine Böhler Welding has developed a software platform, weldNet, that enables standard synergic welding lines to be uploaded to the Terra NX range of machines as well as customised synergic lines for the Uranos range of machines.
Within weldNet, Process Manager provides a digital monitoring solution that optimises welding activities. With weldNet® Process Manager, all weld details are recorded in a central, secure database that is easily accessible and always up to date. This automated system ensures that all members of the welding team have the latest data, increasing transparency and reducing reliance on manual records.
For enhanced security, Process Manager runs exclusively on proprietary on-premises hardware, with all information securely stored locally within the company’s network. This ensures complete control over data and eliminates any reliance on cloud-based solutions, Saunders notes.
And while all machines are delivered with a standard set of welding programs and software, should a customer need a welding line for a new application or material, even on a one-off basis, this can be downloaded via weldNet and added to the machine, he adds.
CORE MMA: built to last!
In September 2025, the company launched its latest addition to the equipment range. With a completely new look, this single-phase range of portable welding power sources, CORE MMA, is designed to suit on-site work on the most challenging sites.
The CORE series for MMA welding is a new generation of single-phase, portable welding machines engineered for performance and designed to meet the demands of professionals in light fabrication, light construction and the repair sector. “Our CORE welding equipment is designed to deliver unmatched reliability, on shop floors, on-site or in extreme outdoor conditions. The design reflects decades of welding expertise combined in each unit,” notes Keith Saunders.
The range includes three models: the CORE 165, the CORE 185 and the CORE 210, all of which feature a high-grade, hybrid-composite and galvanised steel construction. They have ‘wind tunnel’ cooling management, which keeps the electronics dust-free while delivering adequate cooling. They also feature automatic input voltage sensing and switching for either 115 V or 240 V single-phase, with an allowable input voltage fluctuation of ±15 %.
Combined, these features make CORE MMA power sources reliable, durable, and resilient. The largest version, the CORE 210, weighs in at just 9.5 kg. They are built to last, and a five-year warranty on all models backs this up.
“The range offers premium performance with a stable and smooth arc across all electrode types. Synergic functions offer quicker set-up times and transitions between different welding tasks, while the expansive high-contrast display ensures readability, indoors and outdoors,” says Saunders.
Advanced, customisable, easy-to-read controls make setting parameters intuitive, and smart monitoring features keep welders informed. CORE’s ergonomic design is free from sharp edges, and the handle and shoulder strap make these machines easy to carry to where the welding is needed.
The CORE 165, CORE 185 and CORE 210 all include Adjustable Hot Start and Arc Force functions to ensure smooth arc starts and to prevent electrode sticking. Additional features in the CORE 185 and CORE 210 include:
Advanced Pulsed MMA, which offers welders better out-of-position and thin plate capabilities with a more stable and manageable arc, reduced spatter, less post-weld cleaning and faster travel speed. This feature is ideal for welding thin-gauge materials, out-of-position welding, or pipe welding applications.
TIG LIFT and TIG LIFT Spot Welding, in which arc initiation is controlled so the tungsten electrode can touch the workpiece without contamination or sticking. TIG Lift is a cost-effective solution, suitable for use where space is limited and frequency-sensitive devices are present.
Welding Parameter Storage, which enables specific parameters for welding procedures to be saved so consistent and repeatable results can be achieved for future work.
“Power, portability, easy set-up and smart features, combined with up-to-date welding technology, enable our CORE MMA welding equipment to deliver consistency and performance in the toughest conditions,” says Saunders.
“We are a leader in the welding industry with extensive consumable and equipment product portfolios and welding expertise. We understand complex welding applications and can offer comprehensive and unique solutions to deliver the perfect weld seam,” concludes Keith Saunders.