TIG Welders

TIG WELDING EQUIPMENT

In TIG welding an arc is formed between a non consumable tungsten electrode and the metal being welded. Gas is fed through the torch to shield the electrode and the molten weld pool. If a filler wire is used, it is added to the weld pool separately.  Different to other welding processes, TIG welding does not involve the introduction of the filler metal to the arc, rather it is added to the molten weld pool.

TIG Welding Benefits include; Superior quality welds, Welds can be made with or without filler metal, Precise control of welding variables (heat), Free of spatter and Low distortion.

Most commonly used to weld thin sections of stainless steel and non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and copper alloys. The process grants the operator greater control over the weld than competing processes such as shielded metal arc welding and gas metal arc welding, allowing for stronger, higher quality welds.

CHOOSING A TIG WELDER

A few questions to ask yourself when considering purchasing a new TIG welder:

• What power supply do you have available?

If you have a 13A standard domestic 230V plug, the limitation to the amperage of the machine you can use will be due to your power supply. The higher the amperage of the machine, the bigger mains input supply it will require.
Most industrial welding power sources will ideally run from a 32A 230v power supply. Bigger machines will generally need a 3 phase 400V mains supply.

• What material will you be welding?

Generally speaking, DC TIG welders are cheaper to buy.  A DC TIG welder will allow you to weld Steel, Stainless Steel and Titanium.  For most welding of Aluminium though, you would need an AC TIG welding power source.  AC Current provides a cleaning action required to break up the incredibly high melting point of the oxide layer on Aluminium.  Therefore, if you may wish to weld aluminium at some point, it is worth investing in an AC/DC TIG Welder.

• Which thickness of material will you be welding?

The thickness of material being welded will determine the amperage to be used.  A good general rule of thumb for mild steel is approximately 40 amps per mm of parent material.  If in doubt, feel free to ask or check out an online weld calculator, which can be helpful for settings to start with.

• Analog or Digital Controls:

Smaller DC TIG welding machines may only be equipped with an amperage and post flow dial.  Larger DC TIG machines and AC/DC TIG welders will allow the user to make a number of setting changes to optimise weld characteristics.

These settings may be dialled in through a digital display.  This is where the user clicks in to different sub menus, or uses one dial to find the parameter and then click to select before dialling in the setting.

Alternatively, the TIG machine control panel will have a number of dials , where the user can tweak each one.  Settings can be seen at a quick glance of the control panel.

• Duty cycle:

True of any welding machine, the power source will be assigned a duty cycle. This is the percentage of time in which it will weld at a given amperage before needing to cool down. This percentage is usually out of 10 minutes. For example 120A @ 60% tells us you can weld for 6 minutes out of 10, at 120A before it would need to cool down.

A working example of how this may effect your buying choice of a TIG welder:
– You will be using approx 120A to weld a long butt weld in 3mm mild steel.
– You are considering a 140A welding machine
– Duty cycle of said machine is 140A @ 35%
In this case, it would be worth looking at a larger machine with a higher duty cycle to allow for longer running at 120A (if mains input supply is sufficient)

NOTE: Quality of the welding machine generally has an effect on duty cycle. Cheaper welders tend to have very low duty cycles – one to watch out for!

• Functions

One of the other main factors that set apart a good quality TIG welder with a cheaper set is the functions and range of the settings available.  Higher quality TIG welders tend* to have a greater range of adjustability of its parameters.  The adjustability allows a greater control of the arc characteristics of the machine.  For a novice, this may not be an issue, but a good welder may like to have the option to tweak things such as AC balance and frequency to fine tune results.

Whether you need a portable TIG welder for on site repairs or heavy use fabrication in a workshop we have the machine for you.

TBWS are able to supply TIG welders from a whole host of brands, many of which are not listed yet.  To enquire about specific machines, please call on our sales line and one of our friendly team will be happy to help.  We are also able to supply PPE and consumables where required.