TIG Welding

TIG welding (tungsten inert gas) or GTAW (Gas tungsten arc welding) is today one of the most known and used methods of welding. It is often used to weld together thin pipe and sheet metals. But also know to ease welding of non-ferrous metals such as Aluminium. TIG welding is mostly used with a filler material but can also be used without it, not to a bigger extent though.

How does TIG welding work?

A shielding gas is used to protect the weld area from atmospheric contamination, mostly in the form of argon or helium or a mix between argon and helium can also be used. Tungsten is used in the TIG welding torch, the choice of rod to use depends on the situation and on what type of material that you are planning to weld on. Try to use as thin electrode as possible for the amperage that you weld with. Also as high quality tungsten rod as possible is an important step in making a perfect weld. Nowadays pure tungsten rods is not used much because it melts in lower temperatures compared to other types of TIG electrodes which can create a round ball at the tip of the electrode and make the arc spread the heat. Use ceriated or thoriated tungsten electrode if possible. If you are afraid or the radioactive thorium you can use a 2% lanthanated TIG electrode instead. TIG welding works in the way that the electrical arc from the TIG welding electrode is used to melt the metal and if used the filler material into a welding pool. The shielding gas is protecting both the electrode and the pool from oxygen. The welder have to keep the electrode and metal apart from each other, and slowly starts to move the TIG welding torch forward in an angled position, and with every advancement dip the filler rod into the welding pool in front of the torch when needed.

More Pros and Cons with TIG welding

There are both advantages and disadvantages with the TIG welding process. It gives the highest quality welds compared to other of the most used methods like MMA(stick welding) and GMAW(MIG/MAG), and is therefore used when the quality of the weld is important, as in nuclear plants or in the aerospace industry. A TIG weld is also very keen to the eye and for that reason is also used in a wide area then when the quality is important. Another of GTAW’s advantages is that it can be used to weld a huge Varity of metals. And the reason for this is the filler material. The finished weld will have a close chemical integrity to the base material and for this the chance of corrosion and cracks over time is substantial lower. Welding with TIG is slower than most common welding methods, and for metals with thickness over 5-6mm and where quality is of highest importance TIG is used to weld the root, and after that the weld is filled with a faster and better suited method. GMAW is also one of the hardest welding methods to master. The welding torch has to at all times be close to the base material, at the same time as you dip the filler rod in a steady pace into the arc. It is harder than most methods to master, but when you have, it gives you a big advantage in the industry. When TIG welding stainless steel or Carbon steel DC (direct current) polarity is almost always used, but when it comes to weld Aluminium AC (Alternating current) is the polarity of choice. The reason for this is that AC allows Aluminium oxides to melt without overheating the TIG welding rod. TIG comes in either DC or AC/DC polarity. So to be able to TIG welding Aluminium in the future an AC/DC machine is needed.

TIG welding information is everywhere on the internet. Some sources are better than others. Gas tungsten arc welding is a perfect weld process when welding all kinds of non-ferrous steel and stainless steel. This makes it to one of the most common methods of joining metals today. We will only see more and more of TIG welders around the globe for the simple fact that quality becoming a bigger factor.