Patent ID: 8841573

Claim:
An apparatus for welding heat collection elements (HCEs), where each HCE includes an outer tube and an inner tube, where the inner tube of each HCE has an inner diameter and at least one open end, where the outer tube of each HCE has an outer diameter that is greater than the inner diameter, said apparatus comprising: an orbital weld head having an electrode positioned to weld along a weld diameter that is equal to the inner diameter of the inner tube of an HCE; a first mechanism including a first clamping surface slidably attached to the orbital weld head, where said first clamping surface is adapted to restrain the outer diameter of the outer tube of a first HCE; and a second mechanism including a second clamping surface slidably attached to the orbital weld head, where said second clamping surface is adapted to restrain the outer diameter of the outer tube of a second HCE; where said first mechanism and said second mechanism are adjustable to translate the first clamped HCE and second clamped HCE along their respective longitudinal axis, such that the first HCE and the second HCE are clamped at a diameter that is greater than the weld diameter.