TIP TIG AND WELD AUTOMATION.

TIP TIG USA is responsible for TIP TIG sales in North & South America and Australia.
TIP TIG is located at The Philly Navy Yard. 1901 Kitty Hawk Ave.
Building 68 Philadelphia. PA. USA.

Contact Ed Craig at ed@tiptigusa.com or Tom O'Malley at tom@tiptigusa.com


Are you are considering the use of regular Hot / Cold wire TIG,
Electon Beam, Laser or Pulsed MIG for your complex
automated weld applications?

Give consideration to TIP TIG as the weld quality will be
what you desire and the weld cost savings could be dramatic.






Click on the Evolution of TIG icon if you want a TIP TIG brochure.







IF VIDEOS STALL REPLAY TWICE, BETTER SECOND TIME

TIP TIG. FILL PASS BEFORE CAP. TRAVEL SPEED CONSTANT,
WIRE FEED CONSTANT. WELD CURRENT CONSTANT.
NO FUMES AND COMFORTABLE FOR THE WELDER.

For information on how to attain the patent pending TIP TIG weld process contact
Ed Craig USA. Eastern Time. 828 658 3574.
E-Mail ed@tiptigusa.com or Tom O'Malley tom@tiptigusa.com.

TIP TIG 409 16 GAGE SEAM WELDS.	TIP TIG 409 16 GAGE SEAM WELDS
If you compared pulsed MIG with this TIP TIG seam weld or any other steel or alloy seam welds, you would instantly note the superior weld quality from TIP TIG. While the pulsed MIG may have fume concerns, oxide formation, spatter, distortion and possibly require manual cleaning or weld rework, in contrast the TIP TIG welds would not create these common weld production issues.	Customer wanted to see the quality and production capability for TIP TIG on this full penetration weld seam application. Set up was easy, just attach the TIP TIG torch to the auto carriage BUG-O. No sophisticated equipment like complex Arc Volt Controls. Within 5 minutes we were producing the parts shown on the left. With automated TIP TIG seam gage welds such as this, you can anticipate the TIP TIG Twelds would be made between 25 - 35 inch/min. Thats 300 to 500% quicker than manual TIG and about the same as the pulsed MIG.

Remember with TIP TIG automation we can weld any metal from aluminum to any alloy.

WITH WELD AUTOMATION ON PARTS THAT REQUIRE OPTIMUM WELD QUALITY, IT PAYS TO USE THE WELD PROCESS THAT CONSISTENTLY DELIVERS THE BEST WELD QUALITY: A company may spend thousands on a robot or weld automation and thousands more on the weld fixtures, however too frequently minimal consideration is given to the actual welds, the weld rework generated and the repeatability of the desired weld quality.

For the last thirty years, most of the global weld automation has been sold to car and truck plants, and they typically would either robot MIG weld or spot weld their parts.
With many auto / truck under engineered welded parts, when the automated welds lacked quality as they do in too many instances, the quantity of welds applied to the parts would typically compensate.


Weld Automation and regular TIG: The regular TIG process or the Hot / Cold wire TIG process when used with weld automation has typically been very sensitive to many variables that influence the weld procedures, especially when the welds require low to moderate current or the welds are made in the vertical up or horizontal weld positions. With these weld situations the conventional Hot / Cold wire TIG weld deposition rates have been typically 1 to 2 lb/hr.


LOW TO MODERATE CURRENT TRADITIONAL HOT AND COLD WIRE WELDS: To enable consistent melting of the traditional constant fed cold or hot TIG wire into the small automated TIG arc zone with it's fast freeze, low surface tension weld pool, there are many essential weld variables that will have minimal room for change or error. TIG weld variables such as;

[] arc current,
[] arc length, (voltage),
[] tungsten condition,
[] wire feed rate,
[] wire feed issues,
[] weld travel speed,
[] weld wire placement,
[] wire to tungsten distance,
[] tungsten to work distance,
[] weld step up or weld weave.



TRADITIONAL AUTOMATED HOT / COLD WIRE TIG. ON MANY APPLICATIONS
THESE PROCESSES ARE CONSIDERED SENSITIVE. If you have ever established the weld data for traditional Hot or Cold, automated TIG welds, you would be aware of the frequent weld equipment and consumable issues. The weld issues are generated from feeding a small diameter weld wire to a critical arc location
and to add to the challenge, depending on the weld amps used, the small fluid weld area will have low weld surface tension.

To overcome the low weld surface tension, the conventional automated Hot wire TIG process will provide 40 to 100 amps to the weld wire.

If you work in a weld shop perhaps you have been involved with;

[a] Providing an automated Inconel hot wire vertical up TIG clad weld in the
bore of a valve or inside a pipe

[b] Making a defence industry highly complex alloy component using a mechanized Hot or Cold Wire TIG weld.

[c] Setting the automated hot / cold wire TIG weld repair data for a power plant component.

[c] Watching a robot struggle with a TIG cold wire weld on the edge of a stainless electronic control cabinet.

With any of these common auto Hot / Cold Wire TIG applications the words
"weld sensitive" will eventually be used by the frustrated weld technicians and engineers.


One thing many automated TIG weld or clad applications have in common, is daily weld quality, consumable and equipment issues.


With the conventional automated hot or cold TIG welds, if the many weld variables that influence the weld are not optimized and strictly maintained the result may be weld production down time or weld defects such as lack of weld fusion, porosity and inclusions. With most successful automated Hot / Cold wire TIG applications, Automatic Voltage Control (AVC) is used to maintain the tungsten to work distance, and "manual adjustment" of the controls of the automated torch is often necessary to enable successful TIG welds.

A COMMON DENOMINATOR WITH MANY COMPLEX AUTOMATED HOT / COLD WIRE TIG WELDS IS LOW WIRE FEED RATES AND SLOW WELD SPEEDS: It's interesting to note that companies who use automated hot and cold wire TIG clad welds will frequently run the 0.035 - 0.045 wires on vertical / horizontal welds with wire feed rates in the range of 60 to 120 inch/min, which will be much slower than many manual TIP TIG welds. The restricted, automated TIG wire feed range is influenced by the sensitivity of the traditional automated hot and cold TIG processes.

Note: Until TIP TIG, the use of the traditional hot wire process with high wire feed settings for "manual" TIG applications was not considered a practical process.




Application: Sub Sea, Inconel ID Bore Clad Welds produced by regular Hot / Cold wire TIG.

Deep sea valves typically require Inconel clad welds in the valve bores and other locations. The automated, Inconel TIG clad bore welds will have to meet exacting maximum clad 5 - 10% weld dilution requirements. To meet the critical clad weld standards which in 2009 may require "defect free welds" on the finished machined clad weld surfaces you will find many weld shops will struggle to maintain consistency in their automated hot and cold wire TIG weld performance.

Clad weld issues on deep sea valves have extensive weld repair, machining and material handling cost consequences. It's common in the facilities that do these welds to find engineers and managers who look to the weld shop personnel as a prime part of the root cause of their daily automated TIG clad weld issues. Rather than "people issues" the "automated TIG" clad weld inconsistency will in reality typically come from the following five areas;

(1) Poor weld procedure data derived from unsuitable PQR data. The clad procedures are typically qualified on pipe coupons which will have little in common with the actual valve bore welds and variable valve thickness.

(2) Failure of weld management and engineers to provide complete clad weld and
manufacturing instructions.

(3) The use of poorly suited automated equipment and not utilizing the TIP TIG process.

(4) The equipment that rotates the torch or parts is frequently inconsistent, poorly calibrated and raely maintained the way it should be.

(5) The management fails to establish uniform best practices and fails to provide their engineers, technicians, supervisors and weld shop personnel with effective process control training.


In the the traditional hot TIG wire clad weld shown left, when machining this clad weld, the machine shop will often find small pores, inclusions and occasional lack of weld fusion. These defects are common in Hot Wire TIG applications subject to x-rays or machining.

I place emphasis on this type of Inconel clad operation, as these deep sea valve clad welds will often have a weld standard that is actually less forgiving than the traditional ASME standards applied to welds in a nuclear plant.

The hot wire Inconel TIG clad weld shown on the left was produced in a weld cell that cost $350K. See the automated TIP TIG ID clad weld made below (right) with an ID bore weld made with an equipment package that costs approx $50K, (shown below right).

TIP TIG WELD AUTOMATION PROVIDES MANY BENEFITS:

In contrast to regular Hot Wire TIG, MIG short circuit and pulsed MIG, with the TIP TIG automated clad weld process, an organization will have a weld or clad operation that attains numerous weld benefits.

[1] The TIP TIG inconel 2 layer clad welds at the right was a first attempt with low cost weld automation without the use of arc voltage controls.
Click here to see this TIP TIG low cost clad automation.

[2] In contrast to regular hot / cold wire TIG, with the TIP TIG automated process, the weld puddle dynamics are dramatically changed. The TIP TIG increased weld current, the weld pool agitation and resulting larger fluid weld area enable much higher wire feed rates, superior multi pass TIG weld quality with improved weld fusion and less pores.

[3] In contrast to conventional Hot wire TIG, on clad ID or OD welds, TIP TIG should readily allow a
50 - 100% increase in weld deposition rates which apart from the obvious labor saving costs also dramatically reduces the weld heat input. The faster TIP TIG weld speeds may also provide superior mechanicals and less distortion. .

[4] You can use pulsed MIG and short circuit for clad welds, you will too frequently be delivering to your customer a costly product that has lack of fusion, weld pores, poor weld tie-ins and the parts will often be subject to excess weld heat.

[5] When ever you deal with a company that provides welded components to the oil industry you typically will find in that company has numerous weld procedures. When you set your clad welds with the TIP TIG process you likely will not require more than three sets of weld parameters for all possible applications.

Place TIP TIG in that 350k cell and watch the weld improvements. For a lower cost alternative if the application allows consider the TIP TIG clad bore equipment. This package requires a small amount of floor space and at around 75k for the total sysytem this is a low cost method for weld clad bore automation. To view another video of ID bore clad welding without the use of an arc voltage control unit click here.





WHAT ABOUT AUTOMATED PULSED MIG WELDS?

The Achilles heel of the automated Pulsed MIG process will always be excess weld heat, inconsistent weld fusion, poor weld tie-ins and porosity:

The automated, rotary pulsed MIG welds made with Miller equipment on stainless flanges with three ply flexible stainless hose shown on the left, consistently produced a weld leak defect rate range of 6 to 12%. While some of the weld defects were from the inconsistent pulsed weld transfer, other defects were in the pulsed MIG weld tie-in areas and some of the parts were damaged by the pulsed MIG weld spatter. The parts that failed the leak tests were costly and could not be repaired. From automotive parts to welding code pipe welds, the Achilles heel of the pulsed MIG process is it's inability to provide consistent weld fusion especially on parts > 5 mm. If you need more extensive evidence on this subject, visit my pulsed MIG sections www.weldreality.com.

In contrast, the TIG TIP stainless tube to flange welds on the right were made with an automated TIP TIG process which can consistently provide welds like this at 22 - 30 inch/min. The three ply TIP TIG stainless welds would be consistently defect free and of course with TIP TIG weld spatter is never an issue.

06/2009: Welcome to the patented TIP TIG
and patent pending Advanced TIP TIG Process.






FOR COMPLETE TIP TIG DESCRIPTION:
and manual welds, visit the TIP TIG home page of TIP TIG.

IF MIG QUALITY MEETS YOUR APPLICATION NEEDS YOU DONT NEED TIP TIG.

TIP TIG WELD QUALITY: TIP TIG will provide your organization with the manual and automated capability to attain weld / clad quality levels way beyond the conventional TIG - PLASMA - PULSED MIG - MIG SPRAY - MIG STT / RMD / CMT and Flux Cored.



APPLICATION: AUTOMATED TIG ON 2205 DUPLEX INDUSTRIAL HEATING BOILERS 0.035 - 0.045
(1 - 1.2 mm) THICK.

Full penetration, defect free welds were required on these thin gage Duplex boilers. The traditional automated hot wire TIG was used on these duplex welds. The welds were sluggish and the TIG weld wetting was poor affecting both the weld fusion and weld travel rates.  The customer typically attained a maximum TIG weld travel speed of 15 inch/min.
 
The process was switched to TIP TIG. The TIP TIG weld parameters and speeds were achieved using an 0.035 (1mm) 2205 Duplex cold wire. The TIP TIG data is as follows:

TIP TIG Weld Current :   190Amps
TIP TIG Weld Voltage:    12.5Volts
TIP TIG Travel Speed:    35 inch/min. Darren the UK TIP TIG Engineer reported, "the time we had at the facility was limited. I think with a few more hours we could develop the TIP TIG weld procedure to readily exceed
40 inch/min. The customer stated the TIP TIG duplex welds were defect free, the welds had a superior bead appearance, less weld distortion, and the TIP TIG process was much more stable and consistent.

a
APPLICATION: AUTOMATED TIP TIG WELD
VACUUM BOILER COMPONENTS.

Material: Carbon steel.
Material thickness: 0.050
TIP TIG Weld speed: 18 inch/min


This full penetration vacuum application required defect free welds and the regular automated hot and cold wire TIG provided instability and inconsistency resulting in unacceptable weld quality. TIP TIG dramatically increased the weld travel, eliminated weld issues and established consistent weld quality and productivity.

 

Automated TIP TIG. High quality at MIG wire
feed rates on hydraulic bushings.

Every engineer knows the difficulty with attaining
perfect weld quality on a code quality application like this.

APPLICATION: Automated rotary TIP TIG Bushing Welds. 5 mm, carbon steel. High pressure hydraulic components.


TIP TIG provided consistent 100 % defect free welds. The bushing weld cycle time was 15 seconds. With pulsed MIG you would have had lack of weld fusion concerns and poor weld tie-in issues. There is no other process that will repeat the weld quality attained on this automated weld project.

TIP TIG WHEN YOU NEED QUALITY BEYOND PULSED MIG

TIP TIG ALWAYS OPTIMUM WELD QUALITY AT MIG SPEEDS.

APPLICATION:
TIP TIG AUTOMATED STAINLESS THICK WALL TANKS

Tank Wall Thickness 15mm.
TIP TIG Weld speed: 16 inch/min
Wire specification: EN 12072 W19123L Si.

What you are getting here from TIP TIG is first time, defect free horizontal vee groove welds at weld speeds of approx 16 inch/min. You could readily achieve this weld speed with pulsed MIG or flux cored, however the question would be how confident would you be that the MIG and flux cored radiographs or UT will not find weld defects. For those interested in cost reduction this tank was not purged with any gas and no back gouging or grinding was required for the open root. (See the TIP TIG 2 side purge method with the duplex video vee groove welds).

APPLICATION. ROBOT BRAZED WELD THAT REQUIRED SUPERIOR COSMETIC WELD SURFACE:

TIP TIG robot success from the UK Cyberweld company. Robot MIG brazing was used on the Jaguar X150. A robot system with vision guidance had been installed to perform this MIG weld on the Jaguar roof joint. As this was a visible weld, the quality of the finish was critical and the system supplier had not been able to achieve the braze quality required by Jaguar despite working on the problem for a number of months. Within a few hours for the weld set up, TIP TIG provided a consistent weld quality never before seen by Ford.



GREAT WELD AUTOMATION EQUIPMENT DOES NOT ENHANCE A WELD PROCESS POORLY
SUITED TO AUTOMATION: For decades many robot integrators have lacked confidence with the Hot Wire TIG process. These companies have found on many of the robot welds, clad or brazing applications, that the Hot Wire process can be extremely sensitive to minimal weld variable changes and a very tight balance is required between the TIG wire feed rates, the weld travel rates, the arc length, the weld current, the robot manipulation and positions and of course the exact wire placement in the arc and weld pool. TIP TIG is suited to robot welds.



At the 2010 AWS weld show, many companies were proud to exhibit their automated weld equipment with the hot / cold wire TIG process typically set at wire feed rates of 60 to 80 inch/min and weld travel rates at the low, high heat input of 1 to 5 inch/min.

The automated TIP TIG process is in contrast to the traditional automated hot / cold wire TIG process, a robust process. With TIP TIG orbital all position welds on any carbon steels or alloy applications, the wire feed rates will typically be increased from
100 to 300%. Think about the weld quality / production benefits and the dramatic reduction in the weld heat generated.

Application: Optimum weld quality and high weld speeds
TIP TIG is the best process for those tank / pipe "Seam welds".

TIP TIG Weld data. Material: Stainless Thickness 1.5 - 4.8mm
Weld requirements. Full fusion. No prep. Must be defect free.
TIP TIG weld speed range 10 - 30 inch/min. No clean up required

REGULAR TIG VERSUS TIP TIG WELD DEPOSITION DIFFERENCES.

This table represents the most common all position steels and alloy steel applications.

Note: Green is conversion from 3/32 2.4 mm wire to 0.035 0.9 mm wire.
5G pipe weld figures are real world. You will have some TIG welders that will
deposit slightly more weld wire and there will be TIP TIG welders that
can provide higher wire feed rates. TIP TIG rates will increase with automation.

TIP TIG AND ADVANCED TIP TIG.
Ingeniously Simple - Simply Ingenious!

Advantages of automated TIP TIG welds.

[] TIP TIG can be connected to many water-cooled TIG welding power sources.

[] TIG TIP welds with higher deposition rates than traditional TIG, so the TIP TIG weld labor costs will be dramatically reduced.

[] TIP TIG uses standard 30 - 40 lb MIG wire spools.

[] TIP TIG weld are less sensitive to the issues that occur with conventional automated hot / cold wire TIG applications.


[] TIP TIG faster weld speeds and the agitated welds can provide lower heat input that can result in reduced distortion, less oxidation less weld stresses.

[] In contrast to traditional automated cold / hot wire TIG welds, TIP TIG should always provide superior weld quality.

[] TIP TIG welds provide superior side wall weld fusion therefore requiring less weld edge preparation, saving labor and consumable costs.

[] TIP TIG typically has no weld fume concerns.

[] TIP TIG will dramatically reduces arc start / stop weld defects, which are common with pulsed MIG, flux cored and traditional TIG.

[] TIP TIG in contrast to all MIG spray and pulsed welds, can provide far greater control of small welds < 5mm.

[] TIP TIG brazing is almost as fast as MIG brazing, but without the spatter and superior braze control.

[] TIP TIG in contrast to both the MIG and flux cored processes will generate less weld fumes.

[] TIP TIG needs minimal parameter changes for complex welds. This simplifies creating PQR's and weld procedures. The few programs that will be required can be stored in the available 20 preset programs.

EVERY TWO - THREE MONTHS WE HAVE A TIP TIG WORK SHOP.
LOCATION PHILADELPHIA NAVAL YARD. NEXT WORK SHOP JULY 15-16 2010.
TO REGISTER OR TO HAVE A TEST PIECE WELDED,
CLICK ON THE WORK SHOP LINK AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE.



We also invite you to visit our facility and bring or send your weld samples.
Make an appointment: E-mail Ed@tiptigusa.com or tom@tiptigusa .com

COMPANIES WHO HAVE ATTENDED THE TIP TIG WORK SHOPS.

AREVEA - EXON - WESTINGHOUSE - WELDING SERVICES - KELLY CONSTRUCTION - TI-FAB
DELTA AIRLINES - ARMISTEAD MECHANICAL - UNION METAL - MID STATE CONTRACTING -
TRIUMPH FABRICATIONS - SIEMENS - ROLLS ROYCE - ENERFAB - DIAMOND POWER -
BODY COTE - SPACEX - NORTHROP GRUMMAN AND MANY MORE.

 

 

For information on how to attain patent pending TIP TIG Process in North and S America or Australia.
Contact Ed Craig / Tom O'Malley at TIP TIG USA Inc. Call 828 337 2695. E-Mail ed@tiptigusa.com

 

ED'S MANUAL AND ROBOT WELD PROCESS CONTROL RESOURCES.

ED OPTIMIZED ROBOT WELDS FOR HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES. A FEW OF HIS PROJECTS, THE
FORD F150 FRAME - VOLVO CAB - CORVETTE FRAME- HARLEY FRAME - NEW BEETLE SEATS
AND THE WELDS ON CATERPILLAR WORLD'S LARGEST TRUCK.

 

 

From optimizing and providing welding patents for automated, boiler water wall, pulsed MIG inconel clad welds for Welding Services Atlanta, to setting the robot welds on many of the most popular products sold in North America, if you want the training and educational resources to enable Best Weld Practices / Process Controls and optimize your manual / robot MIG and flux cored weld quality and productivity click here for Ed's materials.

For more TIP TIG information on the patented TIP TIG weld process

E-Mail ed@tiptigusa.com or Tom O'Malley tom@tiptigusa.com.

To find out more on controlling manual and robot gage welds, MIG short circuit,
spray, pulsed MIG or flux cored, click on "Ed's Training Resources.

Visit weldreality.com the worlds largest web site on MIG and Flux Cored Weld Proces Controlls