Hi all, newbie TIGger here - done some fairly basic mig and stick welding in my time (just hobby stuff) but recently got involved with a project which managed to aquire a TIG 206i AC DC machine and no-one knows how to use it, and we have no manual for the individual settings - some of which are pictorial and some of which are using terminology no-one is 100% familiar with.
Initially it was bought for alloy work as they use the mig for most stuff, but we decided to try the tig on mild steel framework (1.5mm material thickness), in DC mode - set the max amps to ~100A, base amps to a fairly mediocre 45A and fired it up but it instantly globbed up the tungsten and didnt seem to do much to the metal in question. We upped the base current to around 80 amps and got a nice smooth arc, decent pool and was filling nicely but the tip seems to be dissappearing at a rate of about 3-4mm per 6" of weld - this seems a bit rapid!? So I'm looking for anyone who can point me to a tutorial or two to watch, throw a few general figures at me and tips etc. I've spotted some tips online which suggest maybe my argon flow isnt sufficient. If I provide an image of the front panel of the machine, can someone identify the controls. I think we understand them conceptually, but application-wise it would be handy to know "if its doing this its likely you need more of this". I know this comes with experience but we're attempting to get that without too much expense on the electrode/gas front too lol.
Any help appreciated, even if it's just links you've found that are useful.
Cheers
J
Initially it was bought for alloy work as they use the mig for most stuff, but we decided to try the tig on mild steel framework (1.5mm material thickness), in DC mode - set the max amps to ~100A, base amps to a fairly mediocre 45A and fired it up but it instantly globbed up the tungsten and didnt seem to do much to the metal in question. We upped the base current to around 80 amps and got a nice smooth arc, decent pool and was filling nicely but the tip seems to be dissappearing at a rate of about 3-4mm per 6" of weld - this seems a bit rapid!? So I'm looking for anyone who can point me to a tutorial or two to watch, throw a few general figures at me and tips etc. I've spotted some tips online which suggest maybe my argon flow isnt sufficient. If I provide an image of the front panel of the machine, can someone identify the controls. I think we understand them conceptually, but application-wise it would be handy to know "if its doing this its likely you need more of this". I know this comes with experience but we're attempting to get that without too much expense on the electrode/gas front too lol.
Any help appreciated, even if it's just links you've found that are useful.
Cheers
J