Why buy a TIG?

[backpurge]

Throw a double pulse in the background and that's on another level again.
Some of these pulse on pulse fandangled units take more skill setting them up than actually using them lol.

Loved the old Fronius that just had a couple of dials and knobs, like you say some of the new stuff is worse than setting up your iPhone

 

[Brad93]

A fronius synergic pulse Mig throws down unbelievable aluminium welds... once set up.
The Lorch I've just got literally is plug and play. Think there are four or five settings you can change, and that's it and it does great work. It's a twinpulse so super easy to get the tig look.
I haven't got any pictures, haven't done any proper ally jobs with it yet hoping to have a nice trailer floor to build with it over Christmas.
I'll see if I have some test welds laying about tomorrow.

 

[Member 66061]

As Richard says it does, Pulsed MIG and the welds deposited can look similar to TIG welds when done right, the welds in the video look cold, inconsistent and one even had a crater crack in it.

So what benefit apart from aesthetics does making MIG welds look like TIG have? and what does the pulsing do that makes the weld better?
So this pro welder, with a high spec function rich MIG is recording himself making shonky welds...

 

[choco]

You'd think the Chinese welders would of came out with this feature , can't see it been that hard to add??

 

[backpurge]

You'd think the Chinese welders would of came out with this feature , can't see it been that hard to add??

There are a lot of Chinese pulsed sets around

 

[Hood]

So what benefit apart from aesthetics does making MIG welds look like TIG have? and what does the pulsing do that makes the weld better?
So this pro welder, with a high spec function rich MIG is recording himself making shonky welds...

The pulsing allows you to weld thinner Alu than you could do with a normal mig. For mig welding Alu you really want to be in spray transfer and when in spray that means lots of heat so welding thin stuff is not good, you have to go really fast and the weld doesn't look great, or maybe it is just me? With the pulsing it allows the heat but also has a short cooling period before the next pulse hence the ability to weld thinner material. When I have done thinner Alu with the mig I have still done it in spray transfer but I have done it with a kind of manual pulse by constantly pressing and letting go the trigger, works sort of ok but nothing like you would get with a pulse welder. Doing it manually like that however slows the process way down compared to normal so you are just as quick doing it with the tig and end up with a better looking weld.
Also if manually pulsing the mig you have to be careful that you don't burn back into the tip, until you get the hang of it you can go through a lot of tips.

I have seen and I suppose done myself in the past, a lot of Alu welds where the wire is dipping rather than spraying, the spatter is bad and the weld is cold.
I am self taught so it is just what I have found others may think differently.

 

[backpurge]

So what benefit apart from aesthetics does making MIG welds look like TIG have? and what does the pulsing do that makes the weld better?
If you look it up on google you will find all the info you need
So this pro welder, with a high spec function rich MIG is recording himself making shonky welds...

I know, bonkers isn't it

 

[Richard.]

If there is one major limitation to welding it's the amount of heat your material can with stand without a) burning through it or b) wrecking it mechanically. Pulse offers a solution besides visually been nicer to look at and reduce spatter. With a pulse your welding current goes beyond your material thickness capability momentarily and also below it. This creates a balance of higher pen and fusion levels along with reduced heat input. It forces your travel speed up and in turn brings your heat input down. On thick section you can do this by turning up the juice only and achieve the same goal but on thin stuff you'll be through it. A pulse will help a lot on thinner material. Productivity , spatter reduction, distortion reduction, heat input reduction as said and visually appealing welds are plenty of good reasons why the process is very different to standard gmaw.

 

[zx9]

So this pro welder, with a high spec function rich MIG is recording himself making shonky welds...

You got to remember 'pro' just means you earn your money doing something it is no guarantee you are good at it, you just have to be good enough to satisfy your customers’ needs.
.

 

[Member 66061]

The pulsing allows you to weld thinner Alu than you could do with a normal mig. For mig welding Alu you really want to be in spray transfer and when in spray that means lots of heat so welding thin stuff is not good, you have to go really fast and the weld doesn't look great, or maybe it is just me? With the pulsing it allows the heat but also has a short cooling period before the next pulse hence the ability to weld thinner material. When I have done thinner Alu with the mig I have still done it in spray transfer but I have done it with a kind of manual pulse by constantly pressing and letting go the trigger, works sort of ok but nothing like you would get with a pulse welder. Doing it manually like that however slows the process way down compared to normal so you are just as quick doing it with the tig and end up with a better looking weld.
Also if manually pulsing the mig you have to be careful that you don't burn back into the tip, until you get the hang of it you can go through a lot of tips.

I have seen and I suppose done myself in the past, a lot of Alu welds where the wire is dipping rather than spraying, the spatter is bad and the weld is cold.
I am self taught so it is just what I have found others may think differently.

This is a good reply. It sounds like when you do short zaps to weld body panels, but the machine does it for you, but better, kind of like a SNES controller with auto fire This MIG welding alu sounds just like a mechanized process of TIG.
So, another thing, is the MIG working in AC or DC when welding alu?
Im learning things here, and I find it interesting (maybe im just dull)

 

[Hood]

Nope, DC for mig.

 

[backpurge]

This is a good reply. It sounds like when you do short zaps to weld body panels, but the machine does it for you, but better, kind of like a SNES controller with auto fire This MIG welding alu sounds just like a mechanized process of TIG.
So, another thing, is the MIG working in AC or DC when welding alu?
Im learning things here, and I find it interesting (maybe im just dull)

The vast majority of pulsed MIGs are DC but there are some AC machines out there which offer another element as you can alter the wave balance as you can on an AC square wave TIG, the control you have over fusion and penetration levels is superb but like everything else it's horses for courses

 

[Richard.]

Nope, DC for mig.

DC (+) only for aluminium.

 

[Richard.]

The vast majority of pulsed MIGs are DC but there are some AC machines out there which offer another element as you can alter the wave balance as you can on an AC square wave TIG, the control you have over fusion and penetration levels is superb but like everything else it's horses for courses

Nice info BP I didn't know this.

 

[backpurge]

Nice info BP I didn't know this.

The only one I've ever had a go with was made by Panasonic, I was the absolute dogs for brazing and cladding

 

[Member 66061]

Nope, DC for mig.

So how does it have a cleaning effect for welding alu?

 

[Hood]

So how does it have a cleaning effect for welding alu?

Not too sure on this as no formal training/teaching, as said above just self taught. But with tig it is the + part that cleans I think and mig is, as Richard said above, for Alu positive electrode so.....
Will likely be shot down in flames

 

[Member 66061]

Not too sure on this as no formal training/teaching, as said above just self taught. But with tig it is the + part that cleans I think and mig is, as Richard said above, for Alu positive electrode so.....
Will likely be shot down in flames

Sorry, had a bit of a dense moment there. It sounds like the MIG relies on the heat of the melted filler wire for penetration, where the TIG actually melts the part being welded. That will be the reason for the complaints of cold looking MIG welds.
Im glad i started this thread for the education im getting.

 

[backpurge]

Sorry, had a bit of a dense moment there. It sounds like the MIG relies on the heat of the melted filler wire for penetration, where the TIG actually melts the part being welded. That will be the reason for the complaints of cold looking MIG welds.
Im glad i started this thread for the education im getting.

We all start somewhere, you are always better to ask, no matter how long you have been at this game nobody will ever know it all

 

[Brad93]

The MIG process is DCEP so that is where the cleaning element comes from.
One thing pulse also adds, which has a massive effect on aluminium welds from a metelurgical viewpoint, is agitation of the weldpool which aids degassing. Basically less porosity compared to that of a non pulsed Ali weld