Tig welding aly setup.

[BURT150]

First off hello to everyone

Iv been Tig and mig welding for a few years now and im a confident welder but in all my years i havent had much to do with seting up tig welders from new.

The new company i work for have just baught a esab 2200i AC/DC Tig and iv been playing around with it to try and set it up for all round use so as its easy to just grab it and get the job done.

Only problem im having is that in an inside corner weld it tends to blow the weld away if that makes sense iv tryed droping the gas slightly but then have a problem with it arcing up and if i lower the power i dont get the penetration.

Im wondering if there is a function of the welder i have over looked and i havent setup corectly?

heres the welder:

http://products.esabna.com/EN/home/...c_industrial_equipment_caddy™_tig_1500i2200i_

Its probably something simple but if somone can point me in the rite direction ill be very gratefull

 

[BURT150]

Oh and works perfect on strait butt welds but just problems with inside 90degree corners.

 

[hotrodder]

Which version do you have- there are 2 panel options one of which has adjustable AC balance and frequency, the other being fixed at 70%EN and 65Hz but has a 'plate thickness setting' whatever that does

Inside corners... there aren't any specific settings that are necessary, just different torch and filler angles of attack, typically more tungsten stick out to maintain a sensible arc length and usually a few more amps than for a butt

If your machine has adjustable AC balance and frequency it gives more options- increased AC frequency 'tightens' and narrows the arc cone, improving focus (although the arc is harsher) which can help with fillets if you're struggling to get fusion at the root without melting holes. AC balance nothing to do with fillets but biases the arc toward more 'cleaning' (EP) or penetration (EN). Typically set as %EN it'd often be biased as far toward EN as the work will tolerate i.e. just enough 'cleaning' to get a clean, fluid weld pool. Changes to amperage, AC frequency and base metal cleanliness can effect balance settings or it can be set to a compromise (typically high 60s to low 70s %EN) and pretty much forgotten.

Best way to dial in is to set up a bunch of coupons and run a series of welds with different settings (only altering one parameter at a time) while noting the effects, example in this thread from when my machine started behaving weirdly. Beads on a bit of plate will illustrate differences but really need to weld a joint to get the full picture. The white 'etched zone' is a function of AC balance (more cleaning/EP = larger etched zone), should be able to see that for a given balance setting higher AC frequency results in slightly less cleaning action

 

[Autolupus]

Weld settings aside, if you're welding into the corner it could just be trapped air spitting back?
Try welding out of the corner rather than into it?

 

[BURT150]

Thanks for the info hotroder thats some interesting stuff of wich i should reazlly know about by now

Ill have a good look at it on monday and see if i can adjust the balance and frequency altho iirc there isn't a button on the pannel for it and your rite in saying it's got a setting for thickness.


Autopluss. I always weld out of a corner rather than into it be it mig or tig so im glad im doing that rite

Thanks for the help and info guys that'l give me a better understanding of what im up against and ill post up some results after a few test runs.