Overview
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ABSTRACT
This article describes all the equipment necessary for arc welding under an inert gas with a tungsten electrode (TIG). Parameters and their effects: current, voltage, welding speed, and type of shielding gas are presented. The design of welded joints is discussed. Automation and processes derived from TIG are explained, indicating their advantages over the conventional method. The most frequently encountered welding defects are listed. Their causes and ways to avoid them are presented. Lastly, health and safety aspects are addressed.
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Pascal PAILLARD: University Professor - Welding Training Manager - Head of the "Materials Engineering and Metallurgy" research team at IMN - Polytech Nantes – Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel UMR 6502 Nantes, France
INTRODUCTION
TIG welding is a process that uses an arc between a non-melting electrode, generally made of tungsten, and the workpiece as a heat source. The molten bath is protected by an inert shielding gas: argon, helium or a mixture of the two. The process can be used with or without filler metal.
In the nomenclature of standard NF EN ISO 4063, tungsten arc welding in an inert atmosphere is numbered 14.
The initials TIG come from the English name for the "Tungsten Inert Gas" process. This acronym is used in France and Great Britain. In Germany, the metal tungsten is called wolfram, so the process is known as "Wolfram Inert Gas", or WIG. In the USA, the process is still referred to as GTAW for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding.
The TIG process is a major industrial process for producing high-quality welds on a wide variety of materials.
Historically, the process originated during the Second World War, when it was widely used, with spectacular results in some countries, notably the USA. It was used to weld materials used in military applications (aluminum, magnesium). A number of improvements have been made to the original process, mainly to enhance productivity while maintaining a high level of quality.
This article provides a comprehensive description of the welding process and its variants, as well as its possible uses, weldable materials and joint preparations.
A glossary and a table of acronyms and symbols are provided at the end of the article.
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KEYWORDS
welding | electrical arc | tungsten electrode | gas protection
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TIG: gas-shielded arc welding with non-fusible electrode
Process description
Bibliography
Standards and norms
- Welding and related techniques – Process nomenclature and numbering. - NF EN ISO 4063 - (février 2011),
- Arc welding and cutting – Non-consumable tungsten electrodes – Classification. - NF EN ISO 6848 - (décembre 2015),
- Welding and related techniques – Types of joint preparation – Part 1: Manual metal arc welding, gas-shielded metal arc welding, gas welding, TIG welding and beam welding of steels. - NF EN...
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