Posts Tagged ‘TIG Welder’
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
If you have ever plasma cut very long, you’ll notice a few “odd” quirks with almost any machine. First, you will notice that the cut will reflect nearly every bobble or twitch of your hand, with a jagged edge as a result. Granted plasma cutting makes an extremely smooth cut with a CNC, the plasma cut is only as good as the hand that holds the torch.
To stop the “shakes”, consider using a cutting guide, where you can draw the torch along a solid cutting guide. Make sure it is smooth, and compatible with the torch you are using. Usually a small piece of flat bar is all that is needed. Some people use a piece of wood trim. What is important is that it is true and straight. For circles, a circle cutter can be fabricated or bought from online or from your local welding supply store. For varied curved cuts, rough templates can often be made from a “free hand” run, then ground or machined smooth to offer a smooth guide surface for the torch side to run on. Also, blood sugar, and fatigue play an often overlooked role in how well you can cut. Believe it or not, late afternoon cuts between lunch and supper can yield the worst cuts. Try eating a small snack or meal whenever it’s been more than a couple hours after meal time. This will help increase hand/eye coordination, and steady the nerves as well.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, plasma cutting machine, TIG Welder, Welders, Welding forum, Welding lease, welding machine
Posted in Plasma Cutters | No Comments »
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Little thought is given by most purchasers of plasma cutting systems about the starting of the arc, and how it is accomplished within the unit. But this is an important issue that the purchaser should be aware of, because each of the three major start types offer distinct advantages and disadvantages. Below are a list of the three basic types, and what you need to know to make the best choice for you when selecting a plasma cutter.
1) “Blowback” start. This start type uses air pressure supplied to the cutter to force a small piston or cartridge inside the torch head back to create a small start between the inside surface of the consumable, ionizing the air, and creating a small plasma flame. This also creates a “pilot arc” that provides a plasma flame that stays on, whether in contact with the metal or not. This is a very good start type that is now used by several manufacturers. It’s advantage is that it requires somewhat less circuitry, and is a fairly reliable.
2) High Frequency start. This start type is widely employed, and has been around the longest. Although it is older technology, it works well, and starts quickly. But, because of the high frequency high voltage power that is required generated to ionize the air, it has some drawbacks. It often interferes with surrounding electronic circuitry, and can even damage components. Also a special circuit is needed to create a Pilot arc. Inexpensive models will not have a pilot arc, and require touching the consumable to the work to start. Employing a HF circuit also can increase maintenance issues, as there are usually adjustable points that must be cleaned and readjusted from time to time.
3) A much less, common and more expensive start time, is an inductor circuit start. This uses a high voltage, lower frequency current to ionize the air. Torches are similar to the HF torches, if not identical. The start is very quick, and interference is minimal. However, it is a more costly design, due to the component requirements to make such a design. This start would seem ideal compared to HF and blowback, if the cost was more reasonable. Very few companies use this design, because of it.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, Welding forum, Welding lease, welding machine, welding torches
Posted in Plasma Cutters | No Comments »
Friday, January 20th, 2012
If you have ever struggled with arc stability while TIG welding, particularly in the lower range of amps that are suitable for the size tungsten, it likely can be attributed to improper grinding. Knowing how much point, and direction of grinding is key. In general, for all DC welding a sharp point is a good choice with a taper at least 2.5 times longer than the Tungsten is wide at lower amps. The same proportion should be used for higher amp range as well. However, to prevent issues with thorium spikes (with thoriated tungsten), and to reduce the risk of contaminating the weld, the point should by slightly snubbed, truncating the end, ever so slightly. This is good advice for DC welding with either an inverter or a transformer welder. However, for AC, the pure, green tipped tungsten that is used in a transformer will not usually be used sharp. Instead it will be balled from a flat tip, or a slightly ground tip. For an inverter, the same tungsten type and grinding can be used for AC as for DC, because of the capability to adjust the AC balance to a point that does not heat the tungsten to a molten ball. In these cases pure (green) tungsten will not be used. Whether it’s a transformer welder or an inverter, it is always critical to grind the point on a dedicated grinding wheel only used to dress the points on Tungsten to prevent contamination of the point. While grinding the tip should be ground along the length, and not radially. The fine striations that are made if radially ground around the circumference can create points of arc instability, making the arc hunt around the surface of the point.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Tungsten electrodes, Welders, Welding forum, Welding lease, welding machine
Posted in Tig Welding | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
Even though people have used fixed shade helmets forever, the market is swiftly moving towards auto darkening helmets. Prices and performance both are improving. Today, auto-darkening helmets can be bought as low as 39.00 dollars. While not top of the line, they will typically be fairly good performers for average welding. Even name brand, high end companies are offering welding helmets under the 200 dollar mark.
A fixed shade helmet will never be replaced completely. It will probably always be the choice of pipeliners due to the designs available that make their use in the field irreplaceable. But in reality most other jobs can be performed with almost any good quality auto-darkening helmet. For TIG welding, however, more money may need to be spent to obtain the best performance, especially for low amp TIG. These helmets usually have 3 or 4 sensors to pick up the welding arc at different angles. But a few good quality 2 sensors do a fairly good job with TIG in all but the lowest amp ranges.
An important issue for many welders is to decide on the type of auto darkening helmet. There are principally two types: “Solar Powered” and “Battery Powered”. The Solar powered type are a little slower in switching. Some so-called Solar powered units still retain, a permanent, non replaceable battery. These will last for some time, but usually have a service life of 5 years or less. The best are the replaceable battery type which offer easy access to a commonly available battery. Some auto darkening helmets use a triple “A” battery. These are great and easy to replace in a moments notice as the batteries are only a convenience store away.
Fixed shade Auto-darks only offer a shade of 3 or 4 while not activated, and another shade of usually 10 or 11. Other, more advanced helmets offer features such as sensitivity, shade and delay selection. These are usually the best as they allow the most flexibility to fit any work environment.
When selecting between the different helmets, it comes down to budget, and overall comfort. A helmet with a lot of features could be bulky and heavy. A simple, inexpensive helmet may in fact feel better. Try several out before settling on one. Fitting and balance are important whether its fixed or auto darkening.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, welding equipments for lease, Welding forum, welding helmets, welding machine
Posted in Welding Helmet | No Comments »
Monday, January 16th, 2012
At the beginning, when you are first learning to weld, most major problems are associated with problems with puddle recognition. Some problems can be associated with too light or dark of a shade while welding. Using an autodarkening helmet can help reduce learning time for this reason.
When welding MIG, the process becomes so automatic that most people only see the welding arc and never see the puddle forming underneath and to the rear of the weld. Additionally the large shielding gas nozzles usually blocks the view unless you are leaning into the puddle. This factor alone makes it harder for many welders that have learned on MIG to transfer their skills to other welding disciplines.
For stick welding the puddle is hard to define as you are having to look through the bright arc and try to separate the molten slag from the actual puddle itself. While weaving, the puddle can come in and out of focus as well.
In TIG, it is generally fairly easy, but again you have issues with arc cone which usually covers much of the weld puddle. But even in TIG the nozzle can cover the weld making it difficult to see.
To acquire the puddle in MIG, you should lean into your weld, and slow down your weld. Look behind the point where the MIG wire is breaking off. The bulk of the puddle will trail the weld and the wire will usually be toward the front of the puddle. For stick the puddle will form right under the welding rod, and trail behind. A good view can be obtained by concentrating on the puddle color. Slag will appear similar, but the slag will swirl around the back of the weld and will have darker streaks that run through it. The slag will begin to cool quickly and turn a darker color more rapidly. While welding TIG, the front edge of the puddle is generally very easy to see, but the full extent of the puddle may not be seen. You’ll need to lean into the front edge of the weld. The key in seeing the puddle in all the processes is looking past the arc. Don’t focus on it. The arc of course is important, but more important is what is happening to the puddle. Think of the time learning to drive where you were tempted to take your eyes off the road to focus on other important matters, but the instructor telling you to maintain your focus on the road. It’s a delicate balance, but that is why practice is important to keep the puddle in view at all times.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, welding equipments for lease, Welding forum, welding machine
Posted in Welders | No Comments »
Friday, January 13th, 2012
Plasma cutting is a very important process that is used quite predominantly for cutting steel and other metals of varying thickness using plasma torch in the welding industry. In order to create sturdy and high quality product the industry considerably relies upon good plasma cutters for cutting metals precisely as per their requirements. Irrespective of what kind of welding procedure you follow, every welder requires a good plasma cutting tool to create proper welds.
Here are five tips to make your plasma cutter work more efficiently.
- Cleaning your ground location is very important. Every welder requires a clean solid ground to create a strong arc in order to easily cut through the metal. A stable arc is what every welder needs to create proper welds. With a subpar ground your arc is mostly bound to be unstable.
- Your torch should be slag free as well. Slag plays a predominant feature while cutting metals. This slag can make its way inside your plasma torch electrode or nozzle. This leads to poor cutting ability and spoils the whole purpose.
- Plasma cutters needs dry air while cutting. There should be a constant flow of dry air for better efficient cutting. Your compressor should have an adequate dryer and water separator involved. Without dry air, the plasma torch won’t be able to create a stable arc once again.
- Avoid using extension cords. The plasma cutter always works better when closer to the power source. Extension cords alter the voltage supply your cutter requires for carrying out the cutting process which hampers your weld.
- Your plasma cutter requires adequate amount of air pressure for the torch to properly “punch” through the metal.
There are several welding forums online giving you more tips and guidelines related to welding concepts. Use them for better welding experience.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, Welding forum, Welding lease, welding machine
Posted in Plasma Cutters | No Comments »
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Metal Inert Gas Welding also known as MIG welding is a welding technique used predominantly in the welding industry wherein a consumable electrode made of wire and gas are fed consistently via the welding gun for creating welds. Welding as such is the process where in two or more metal pieces are joined together with the help of a molten solution which solidifies upon cooling to essentially form the bond between them.
MIG welder is a very efficient tool for welding metals. It is quite simple to understand, install and operate with ease. However, practice always makes a man perfect which is essentially true in the case welding process. Welding as such is an art which can be mastered only via practical experience. If you wish to pursue welding as a long time hobby, you better start with MIG welding and practice for several hours on a regular basis. MIG welding is used in wide range of applications as MIG welders are quite cheaper when compared to TIG welding equipments. Here are some 7 basic tips for amateurs to avoid mistakes while using MIG welder.
- Preparing the welding surface properly is mandatory.
- Make sure to make use of protective welding accessories while operating.
- The metal spool should have a clear feed through your welding gun.
- Try skip welding to minimize the possibility of metal shock being wrapped due to heat stress.
- You ought to be very careful of residual heat.
- Stability is of at most importance to create quality welds and to provide proper protection. Make sure that you are comfortably positioned before starting out with the welding procedure.
- Always check out for earth clamp for the MIG welder to operate at its optimum performance.
More tips about MIG welding could be found across several welding forums.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, welding equipments for lease, Welding forum, welding machine
Posted in Mig Welding | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Aluminum is generally a low density metallic substance. It is also a very good conductor of heat and electricity. Owing to its versatile and comprehensive characteristics, aluminum is widely used in several applications and fields. However, the true potential and benefits of using aluminum for manufacturing purposes can be achieved only when aluminum is combined with other metals to form alloys.
There are several ways to weld aluminum at present in the welding industry. However, the most suitable and best practical method to weld aluminum is to make use of (Tungsten Inert Gas) TIG welding technique. Considering the fact that most rudimentary TIG welders are highly expensive, you might be tempted to make use of other techniques for welding aluminum. However, TIG welder guarantees high efficient results, safer experience, easy to install and use method, and hence serves to be as the most efficient tool, especially for welding aluminum. See to that, you make use of argon gas which is totally inert. Also you cannot use the gas tank employed by MIG welder in TIG welding.
TIG welder also provides higher amperage which is essential for greater thickness metals to be welded properly. Always make sure to clean the aluminum metal that needs to be welded before starting with the welding process. Failing to do so, aluminum reacts with oxygen to form aluminum oxide which acts as a protective blanket hampering your welding process. Hence it is quite essential that you clean your aluminum metal pieces before working upon it. Clean the metal pieces with stainless steel brush meant specifically for aluminum metal and then wipe it down with acetone preferably or lacquer thinner. Now you are ready to weld aluminum using TIG welder.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, welding equipments for lease, Welding forum, welding machine
Posted in Tig Welding, Welders | No Comments »
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Technology has revolutionized our lives as now we severally depend upon various technologies for our day to day survival. This stands especially true in the case of Internet and websites. No more do you need to make frequent visits to libraries or respective industries to gather data or information. Everything is available in the World Wide Web as our entire world is intertwined within its network.
Welding as such is an art that can be mastered by several hours of practice. Practice indeed makes a man perfect on this note. Irrespective of whether you want to just learn about welding and practice it as a part time career or pursue it as a long term hobby, no more do you have to purchase expensive books about welding available at various retail and wholesale book outlets. The same copies of welding books are available in PDF formats across several websites and you can read through those documents to gather knowledge.
Apart from these sites, you also have welding forums and blogs where people of common interest pertaining to welding industry gather together and carry out discussions, providing reviews, sharing tips and guidelines pertaining to various welding procedures including TIG welding and MIG welding. These forums also help you to purchase the right tools and equipments (such as MIG welders, TIG welders, generators etc) of cutting edge technology in order to create sturdy welds and cherish a wonderful welding experience. Some of these high end websites also provides videos and audio files that elaborate about how to go about various welding procedures for variety of metals and every other details pertaining to welding.
Some of these blogs also provides reviews about various welding related companies which help you to make proper decisions while availing the services of any of these companies serving the welding industry. To simplify, welding forums have turned out to be a wonderful concept that provides useful insights into welding, catering the requirements of over billions of web users.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, Welding forum, Welding lease, welding machine
Posted in Welders | No Comments »
Friday, January 6th, 2012
Without going into too many details there are other classifications of welding rods for TIG, Stick and MIG welding other than basic steel, aluminum, and stainless categories. In these instances, you may be joining dissimilar metals, essentially bronze welding. Or you may be trying to improve wear resistance or hardness of a material surface. There are exotic metals of course that will require a special rod or filler to join. High nickel content rods may be used for repairing cast iron. In some circumstances these rods may be literally hundreds of dollars per pound. There’s really no use in keeping a lot, if any of these rods around. You have to have a big budget to keep them all in stock and ready to use at a moment’s notice. Keep it practical by asking around at local welding suppliers what their most common moving rods are. To be sure, rods designed to repair cast iron are likely to be their number one rod that is sold out of all the miscellaneous rods sold. Some may consider bronze or brass filler rods that are used for bronze welding or brazing in the top. But still, the sales of these rods are a small portion of the annual sales of filler metals within the company. Most likely you’ll want to reserve purchase until you actually need it. Having it around on hand to decay or to oxidize isn’t worth the added money you could make if you had them in stock right when you needed them. It isn’t necessary to be an all around welder unless you have the money to waste on product that may never be used.
Tags: Arc Welder, MIG Welder, plasma cutter, TIG Welder, Welders, welding equipments for lease, welding equipments for sale, Welding forum, welding machine
Posted in Arc Welding | No Comments »
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