TIG welding
Tungsten Inert Gas | Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
TIG welding
TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) or GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding), according to AWS terminology, is an aeco welding process with an infusible (tungsten) electrode, under inert gas shielding, which can be performed with or without filler metal. Welding is performed by bringing the edges of the workpiece to fusion, making the joint possibly with filler metal. The electrode, bath, arc, filler material and adjacent areas of the workpiece are protected from atmospheric contamination by a stream of inert gas (or mixture) effluent from the flashlight. Considering the particular stability of the arc, the small size of the heat source, and the possibility of use without filler material deposition, the GTAW process is widely used in the fabrication of high-quality joints on materials sensitive to the heating imposed by welding (Cr-Mo steels for high-temperature commitment, stainless steels, nonferrous alloys), especially for making the first pass.
Advantages of TIG (or GTAW) welding
- Great ease of arc control, resulting in remarkable regularity of deposition
- Possibility of transferring filler metal into the bath without major losses of its constituent elements
- Adjustable voltage and current values within wide limits; in particular, the minimum values can be very small
- Powerful and concentrated heat source
Ultimately, this process is ideal for making first passes and aesthetic beads on carbon, low-alloy, alloy, stainless, nickel alloys, aluminum, copper, titanium, magnesium, and other nonferrous alloys.