Welding Dictionary

EWM WELDING DICTIONARY
MMA TIG MIG/MAG PLASMA

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Contents
MMA PRIMER
TIG PRIMER
MIG/MAG PRIMER
PLASMA PRIMER
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MMA PRIMER
The EWM MMA Primer
Contents
1 Preface ..............................................................................................................................................................2
2 The process.......................................................................................................................................................2
2.1 General remarks .....................................................................................................................................2
2.2 Current type ............................................................................................................................................2
2.3 Electrode types .......................................................................................................................................3
2.4 Properties of the coating types ...............................................................................................................4
3 Which electrode for what purpose.....................................................................................................................5
3.1 Welding-engineering considerations when choosing stick electrodes....................................................5
3.2 Material considerations when choosing stick electrodes........................................................................6
4 Groove preparation ...........................................................................................................................................7
4.1 Groove shapes........................................................................................................................................7
4.2 Placement of the weld groove side walls................................................................................................9
5 Electrode holders and welding cables...............................................................................................................9
6 Power sources...................................................................................................................................................9
6.1 Power source designs...........................................................................................................................10
6.2 Special functions with inverters for MMA welding.................................................................................12
7 Performing welding work.................................................................................................................................12
7.1 Igniting the arc.......................................................................................................................................12
7.2 Moving the electrode.............................................................................................................................13
7.3 Magnetic arc blow .................................................................................................................................13
7.4 Set welding parameters ........................................................................................................................13
8 Work safety .....................................................................................................................................................14
9 Special notes for MMA welding on different materials ....................................................................................15

9.1 Unalloyed and low-alloy steels..............................................................................................................16
9.2 High-alloy steels and nickel-based alloys .............................................................................................16
9.3 GMA-surfacing ......................................................................................................................................17
10 Applications for MMA welding .........................................................................................................................17
10.1 Example applications ............................................................................................................................17
11 Literature .........................................................................................................................................................18
12 Imprint .............................................................................................................................................................18
© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 1 11.07

Dr. Günter-Henle-Str. 8, D-56271 Mündersbach/Ww., Germany Item no.: WM.0224.01
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The EWM MMA Primer
Manual metal arc welding: Metal arc
1 Preface welding performed manually using a
Manual metal arc welding, known as coated electrode.
MMA welding for short, is one of the old- In Germany the last process mentioned is
est welding processes still in use today. It known as manual arc welding or MMA
goes back to research carried out by welding for short, and is characterised by
Slawjanow who in 1891 was the first to the arc arcing between a melting elec-
use a metal rod that was simultaneously trode and the molten bath (Figure 1).
the arc carrier and the welding additive,
There is no external protection; any pro-
rather than the standard carbon electrode
tection against the atmosphere comes
that had been used for arc welding up un-
from the electrode. In this case the elec-
til that point. The first stick electrodes
trode is both the arc carrier and the weld-
were not coated and were therefore diffi-
ing additive. The coating forms slag
cult to weld with. Later on the electrodes
and/or shielding gas, which among other
were coated with materials that made
things protects the drop being transferred
welding easier, protected the weld metal
and protects the molten pool against the
and had a metallurgic affect on the proc-
ingress of the atmospheric gases oxygen
ess. The first patent for a coated stick
nitrogen and hydrogen.
electrode was created in 1908. Elec-
trodes can be coated by dipping or by 2.2 Current type
pressing on an extruder press. Today For manual arc welding (MMA welding),
only electrodes with extruded coatings both d.c. and a.c. can in principle be
are used. used, but not all types of stick electrode
MMA welding is characterised by a rela- coatings can be welded on sinusoidal
tively low level of investment and an uni- a.c., e.g. not pure basic electrodes. When
versal application. The process can be welding with d.c., the minus pole is gen-
used for a wide range of materials and erally connected to the electrode and the
ensures high-quality weld seams. In re- plus pole to the workpiece with most elec-
cent times, however, MMA welding has trode types. Basic electrodes are an ex-
been superseded, frequently for eco- ception to this. They are better welded on
nomic reasons, by other welding tech- the plus pole. The same applies to certain
niques that can be mechanised. manufacturers of cellulose electrodes.
This primer clarifies the special features More information on this can be found in
of this process and provides information section 2.3 Electrode types.
on the correct application of the tech-
nique.
2 The process
2.1 General remarks
MMA welding (process number 111) is a
fusion welding process, and more pre-
cisely, a metal arc welding process. ISO
857-1 (1998 edition) describes the weld-
ing processes in this group as follows:
1 Workpiece 5 Coated electrode
Metal arc welding: Arc welding process 2 Weld seam 6 Electrode holder
using an electrode used up during the 3 Slag 7 Power source
procedure. 4 Arc
Metal arc welding without gas shielding: Figure 1 Scheme of manual metal arc weld-
Metal arc welding process without the ing irrespective to ISO 857-1
addition of external shielding gas and
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The EWM MMA Primer
The electrode is the welder's tool. The
length in mm
Nominal dia-
meter in mm
Permissible
Permissible
welder moves the arc burning on the
deviation
deviation
Nominal
electrode in the weld groove side walls,
thus melting the edges of the groove
(Figure 2).
Different current intensities are required 1.6 200
depending on the type of groove and the 2.0 r 0.06 to r3
thickness of the parent material. The stick 2.5 350
electrodes are available in different di- 3.2
ameters and lengths, since their diameter 4.0 350
r 0.10 to r3
and length determine the current loading 5.0 450
possible. Table 1 shows the standardised 6.0
dimensions as specified in DIN EN 759.
Table 1 Diameter and lengths of stick elec-
Higher welding currents can be used with trodes conforming to DIN EN 759
larger core wire diameters. Electrodes
2.3 Electrode types R=rutile and B=basic. In Germany the ru-
There are stick electrodes with coatings tile type plays a leading role. Stick elec-
of very different compositions. The com- trode may be thin-coated, medium-coated
position of the coating determines the or thick-coated. With rutile electrodes,
melt characteristics of the electrode, its which are available as standard in all
welding properties and the quality of the three coating thicknesses, the thick-
weld metal. Irrespective to DIN EN 499 coated electrodes are therefore known as
the coating types given in Table 2 exist RR for clearer identification.
for stick electrodes for welding unalloyed With alloyed and high-alloy stick elec-
steels. trodes, there is no such variety in the
A distinction is drawn here between sin- types of coating. With stick electrodes for
gle-material types and mixed types. Let- welding stainless steels, which are stan-
ters are used to designate the different dardised in DIN EN 1600, a distinction is
types of electrode. The letters stand for only made between rutile electrodes and
the following: C=cellulose, A=acid, basic types, for example, as with stick
electrodes for welding creep resistant
steels (DIN EN 1599), but in this case
there are only basic mixed types, as with
the rutile electrodes, although this is not
specifically marked. This is the case with
electrodes that have better welding char-
acteristics in out-of-position welding, for
example. Stick electrodes for welding
high-tensile steels (DIN EN 757) are only
available with basic coatings.
Type Coating
A acid
C cellulose
R rutile
1 Weld groove side walls 4 Molten slag RR thick rutile
2 Stick electrode 5 Solidified slag RC rutile cellulose
3 Molten weld metal RA rutile acid
RB rutile basic
Figure 2 Position of the electrode in the B basic
weld groove side walls Table 2 Coating types to DIN EN 499

Dr. Günter-Henle-Str. 8 D-56271 Mündersbach/Ww., Germany Item no.: WM.0224.01
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The EWM MMA Primer
2.4 Properties of the coating types PA
The composition and the thickness of the PB
coating have a significant effect on the PG
welding characteristics. This relates both

to the stability of the arc and to the mate-
rial transition during welding and the vis-
cosity of slag and molten bath. PC
The size of the drop being transferred in

the arc is of particular significance. Figure
3 shows a scheme diagram of the drop PF
transferin the four basic types of coatings
[1]. PD
The cellulose type (Figure 3, c) has a PE
medium- to large-drop material transfer.

The coating consists primarily of organic Figure 4 Welding positions to ISO 6947
components that burn in the arc, thus quences are a very fine, spray-type mate-
forming shielding gas to protect the rial transfer and a fluid weld metal. Elec-
welding position. As the coating contains trodes of this type are not therefore suit-
only small quantities of arc-stabilising ma- able for out-of-position welding. The arc
terials with the exception of cellulose and is also very "hot-running"; it permits high
other organic materials, virtually no slag welding speeds, but tends towards the
is produced. Cellulose types are espe- formation of undercuts. The disadvan-
cially well suited to vertical-down welding tages described have meant that pure
(Figure 4, vertical-down position) be- acid type stick electrodes are now barely
cause there is no need to worry about used in Germany. The rutile acid type
slag formation. (RA), a mixture of the acid and the rutile
The acid type (A), where the coating con- electrode, has instead taken its place.
sists primarily of iron ore and manganese The electrode also has the corresponding
iron ore, provides the arc atmosphere welding properties.
with greater quantities of oxygen. The The coating of the rutile type (R/RR) con-
weld metal also takes this up, thus reduc- sists primarily of titanium oxide in the
ing the surface tension. The conse- form of the minerals rutile (TiO2) or ilmen-
ite (TiO2 . FeO) or even artificial titanium
oxide. Electrodes of this type are charac-
a) c)
terised by a fine- to medium-sized drop
material transfer, quiet, low-spatter melt-
ing off, very fine seam formation, good
slag removability and good re-ignition
characteristics. The latter is only ob-
served in this form with rutile electrodes
with a high proportion of TiO2 in the coat-
b) d)
ing. It means that with an electrode which
has already meltdown, re-ignition is pos-
sible without removing the coating crater
(Figure 5) [2].
a) Cellulose type c) Acid type The slag film formed in the crater has vir-
b) Rutile type d) Basic type tually the conductivity of a semicon-
ductor, if it has a sufficiently high TiO2
content, which means that when the edge
Figure 3 Material transition with dif-
ferent coating types [1]
of the crater is placed on the workpiece,
enough current flows for the arc to be
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The EWM MMA Primer
able to ignite without the core wire touch- the beads produced are slightly rein-
ing the workpiece. A spontaneous re- forced and more roughly rippled due to
ignition of this type is always important if the higher viscosity of the weld metal.
the welding process is being frequently The weld metal has very good toughness
interrupted, e.g. with short seams. properties. Basic coatings are hygro-
In addition to the pure rutile type, there scopic. Care must therefore be taken that
are several mixed types in this group of the electrode are stored especially care-
electrodes. Of particular note is the rutile- fully in a dry location. Electrodes that
cellulose type (RC) in which part of the have become damp must be oven-dried.
rutile has been replaced with cellulose. However, when the electrodes are
As cellulose combusts during welding, welded dry, the weld metal has a very low
less slag is produced. This type can hydrogen content.
therefore also be used for vertical-down In addition to stick electrodes with normal
welding (vertical-down position). How- efficiency (<105%), other stick electrodes
ever, it also has good welding character- have, thanks to iron powder added
istics in most other positions. Another across the coating, an higher efficiency,
mixed type is the rutile/basic type (RB). It generally >160%. These electrodes are
also has a slightly thinner coating than known as iron powder types or high-
the RR type. This and its special slag efficiency electrodes. Thanks to their high
characteristics make it especially useful desposition efficiency, they can be used
for welding in the vertical up position. more efficiently for many applications
There only remains the basic type (B). In than normal electrodes, but their use is
this case the coating consists primarily of normally restricted to vertical (flat posi-
basic oxides of calcium (CaO) and mag- tion) and horizontal positions (horizontal
nesium (MgO), to which fluorspar (CaF2) vertical position).
has been added as a slag thinner. The
fluorspar impairs a.c. weldability in higher 3 Which electrode for what
proportions. Pure basic electrodes cannot purpose
be welded on sinusoid a.c. current, but When choosing stick electrodes, material
there are also mixed types with less and welding-engineering considerations
fluorspar in the coating that can be used need to be taken into account.
with this type of current. The material
transfer of basic electrodes uses me- 3.1 Welding-engineering considerations
dium- to large-drops and the molten pool when choosing stick electrodes
is viscous. The electrode has good weld- Each type of electrode has highly specific
ing properties in all positions. However, welding properties and is therefore also
used for highly specific welding tasks.
a)
Thanks to its suitability for vertical-down
welding (vertical down position), cellulose
electrodes (C) are used for welding cir-
cumferentially seams on tubes with larger
b)
diameters. The preferred application here
is for laying pipelines (Figure 6).
In comparison with welding in the vertical
c) up position (vertical up position), rela-
tively thick electrodes (4 mm) can be
used here for the root pass. This makes
d) for increased efficiency.
The particular advantage of the mixed ru-
a) Core wire c) Slag film in coating crater
b) Coating d) Workpiece tile/acid type (RA) is the slag residue in
narrow grooves, where compact slag is
Figure 5 Re-ignition of the coating crater
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The EWM MMA Primer
squeezed and is hard to remove. The qualities". Of all the types of electrode,
slag from the RA type itself is porous and basic electrodes have the best toughness
breaks into small pieces under the slag properties and the best crack resistance
hammer, and then these pieces can be of the weld metal. They are therefore
easily removed. used where difficult conditions in terms of
The special properties of rutile electrodes the weldability of the parent materials
(R, RR), namely good re-ignition, easy exist, e.g. with steels with restricted weld-
slag removal and good seam appear- ability or with very thick walls. Further ap-
ance, determine their main applications. plications include those where consider-
These are tacking work, as well as weldable toughness is required for the joint,
ing fillet welds and final passes where e.g. in buildings which will be subjected to
complete slag removal and good seam low temperatures later on. The low hy-
appearance are critical. drogen content also makes this type par-
The rutile-cellulose type (RC) can be ticularly well suited to welding high-tensile
welded in all positions including vertical- steels.
down. This means it has universal appli- 3.2 Material considerations when choos-
cations, especially in the field of assem- ing stick electrodes
bly work. The thick-coated variant in par- The strength and toughness properties of
ticular, which also meets high demands in the parent material must normally also be
terms of the seam appearance, is there- achieved in the weld metal. To simplify
fore often the all-round electrode in the process of choosing electrodes in this
smaller companies. regard, the full name for a stick electrode
The rutile/basic electrode (RB) is particu- conforming to DIN EN 499 also contains
larly well suited to welding root passes information on the minimum values for
and welding in the vertical up position the yield point, tensile strength and
thanks to its slightly thinner coating and toughness of the weld metal and on vari-
its special characteristics. ous welding properties. Table 3 clarifies
The basic electrode (B) is suitable for this using an example.
welding in all positions. Special types are The code E 46 3 B 42 H5 means:
even suitable for vertical-down welding. The stick electrode for MMA welding (E)
However, the seam appearance is not has a yield point of min. 460 N/mm2, a
quite as good as with other types. Having toughness between 530-680 N/mm and
2
said that, the weld metal does have "inner a minimum expansion of 20% (46). An
impact energy of 47 joules is reached up
to a temperature of -30°C (3). The elec-
trode has a basic coating (B). This is fol-
lowed by various pieces of non-
compulsory information on the efficiency
and the current suitable for the electrode.
The stick electrode given in the example
has an efficiency of 105 to 125% and
should only be used for welding on d.c.
(4) in all positions except vertical-down
(2). The hydrogen content of the weld
metal is below 5 ml / 100 g / weld metal
(H5). If the weld metal contains alloy
elements other than manganese, these
are given before the code for the coating
type with the code for the chemical ele-
Figure 6 Welding in pipeline construction
ments and sometimes with numbers for
with cellulose electrodes
the percentage (e.g. 1Ni).
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A low hydrogen content is important Joint type Workpiece Diagram
when welding steel with a tendency to- thickness (mm)
wards hydrogen-induced crack formation, Butt weld
One side 3-8
such as high-tensile steel. The code for both sides <8
the hydrogen content provides the nec- One side 3-10
Single-V butt
with backing runs
essary information here. weld
3-40
Similar identification systems also exist Single-V butt
One side 5-40
for high-tensile electrodes (DIN EN 757), weld with
with backing runs
creep resistant electrodes (DIN EN 1599) broad root
>10
and for stainless electrodes (DIN EN face
1600). For creep resistant and stainless
electrodes, however, both the strength
properties and the creep resistance and Double-V butt
Both sides > 10
corrosion properties of the weld metals weld
must match those of the parent metals.
The general rule here is therefore that the
weld metal should ideally be the same
type or higher-alloy than the parent metal. Single-U butt
One side > 12
with backing runs
weld
4 Groove preparation >12
4.1 Groove shapes Single-V butt One side 3-10

Figure 7 shows the most important weld with s.u. 3-30
groove shapes used in MMA welding. For
square grooves, the root must be Fillet weld T-
grooved out from the rear side for larger One side >2
joint
sheet thicknesses. In order to avoid
faults, the same applies to welding with
backing runs and to welding on both Fillet weld - One side >2
sides of double-V butt seam and double- corner joint Both sides > 3
V butt seams with root faces for larger
sheet thicknesses. With single-V butt
seams and single-bevel butt seams, the Fillet weld -
One side >2
root phase can also be broken slightly; lap joint
the root face thickness in single-V butt
seams with broad root face is determined Fillet weld –
double fillet Both sides > 2
by the current intensity that can be ap-
weld
plied. For economic reasons, single-U
butt seams and double-U butt seams are Figure 7 Groove shapes irrespective to
used primarily for larger wall thicknesses DIN EN 29692-ISO 9692
because the weld volume to be applied is
lower than with single-V butt, single-V
butt with broad root face, double-V butt
and double-V butt with root face welds
due to the smaller opening angle.
With fillet welds, the gap between the two
joining members should be kept as small
as possible so that no slag can penetrate
the gap. This applies in particular to T-
seams, lap seams and fillet welds.

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The EWM MMA Primer
Codes for the impact energy of the weld metal

Codes for the coating types
Codes for the strength and expansion properties of the weld metal Code Temperature for min. notch
impact energy 47J °C Type Coating
Code Min. yield Tensile Min. fracture strain Z No requirements A acid
strength N/mm2 strength % A +20 C cellulose
N/mm2 0 0 R rutile
35 355 440 to 570 22 2 -20 RR thick rutile
38 380 470 to 600 20 3 -30 RC rutile cellulose
42 420 500 to 640 20 4 -40 RA rutile acid
46 460 530 to 680 20 5 -50 RB rutile basic
50 500 560 to 720 18 6 -60 B basic
E 46 3 B 42 H5
Code Efficiency % Current type 1. All positions Code Hydrogen content in ml / 100 g
1 A.c. and d.c. 2. All positions except vertical-down weld metal max.
d105 3. Butt weld in flat pos., fillet weld in H5 5
2 D.c.
3 A.c. and d.c. flat and horizontal vertical pos. H10 10
!105 d125 4. Butt weld in flat pos. fillet weld in flat H15 15
4 D.c.
pos. Codes for the hydrogen content of the weld metal
5 A.c. and d.c.
!125 d160 5. Position as for 3. plus vertical down
6 D.c.
pos.
7 A.c. and d.c.
!160
8 D.c.
Table 3 Electrode designations irrespective to DIN EN 499

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4.2 Placement of the weld groove side

walls
The groove edges are normally bevelled
by oxyacetylene cutting for unalloyed and
low-alloy steels. High-alloy steels and
metals that can be MMA welded, can be
fusion cut using a plasma arc. It is not
absolutely necessary to remove the oxide
skin produced by thermal cutting, but may
be required in special cases.
If there are special requirements in terms
of observing low tolerances, mechanical Figure 9 Example of an electrode holder
undercutting of the edges of parts to be does not exceed certain values due to its
joined may be recommended. This ap- resistance. Irrespective to the VDE stan-
plies to circumferential welds in particular. dard, this is 2 volts up to 200 amperes
The modern options for cutting with an and 5 volts up to 500 amperes. When
electron or a laser beam are more com- calculating the necessary lead cross-
monly available in automated production section, the lengths of the welding lead
and are the exception rather than the rule and the workpiece lead should be added.
with MMA welding. Standard lead cross-sections for MMA
2
welding are 25, 35, 50 and 70 mm de-
5 Electrode holders and welding pending on the current intensity being
cables applied.
Figure 8 shows the current course in the
welding current circuit. 6 Power sources
The electrode is connected to one pole of The power source converts the high
the current source via the electrode mains voltage to the main lower welding
holder (Figure 9) and the welding cable. voltage and supplies the high current in-
The other pole is connected to the work- tensities required for welding which the
piece via the workpiece lead and the mains cannot provide. It is also possible
workpiece clamp. to set and control the current. Both a.c.
and d.c. can be used for welding.
The electrode holder is available in differ-
ent sizes depending on the electrode di- Direct Power sources are general pur-
ameter being used and the current inten- pose because not all stick electrode types
sity being applied. are weldable on sinusoid a.c.– see also
the Current type section. Power sources
They were previously standardised into 5
sizes in Germany in DIN 8569, Part 1. In
Europe DIN EN 60974, Part 11, covers
them.
The cross-section and the length of the
leads must be such that the voltage drop
- (+) Electrode holder
Power source
Stick electrode
= or ~
(core rod + coating)
Workpiece
+ (-) Arc
Workpiece clamp
Figure 10 EWM power source PICO 162
Figure 8 The power circuit [2]
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U [V]
With power line-fed networks, the trans-
former is single-phase connected be-
tween one phase and the outer conductor
or between two phases of the three-
phase network. Different current intensi-
b)
ties can be set via scattering kernel ad-
a) justment, primary side turn tapping or via
transducer.
With the welding rectifier the current is
rectified after transformation by diodes or
100A 200A 300A I [A] thyristors, i.e. d.c. current is available for
a) Continually falling characteristic welding. For basic welding rectifiers, the
b) Vertically falling characteristic transformer is single-phase or two-phase
(constant current characteristic) connected, but with more demanding
machines, connected three-phase to all
Figure 11 Characteristics for MMA welding phases of the three-phase network. The
latter supplies a very even current without
for MMA welding have a falling, static significant current ripples. The evenness
characteristic, and with conventional of the current is particularly useful when
power sources (such as for the PICO welding with basic electrodes and when
162, Figure 10) generally continuously welding with metal alloys, such as nickel-
falling and with electronic power sources based alloys.
falling vertically in the work area (Figure
11). With simple machines the welding recti-
fier is set in the transformer – see Setting
This ensures that with the unavoidable the welding transformer. Modern welding
changes in length of the arc with MMA rectifiers are set using thyristors, which
welding, the most important parameter for are controllable rectifiers, using phase
the quality of the welding connection – shift control.
the current intensity – is changed only
slightly or not at all. Electronic power sources (inverters) are
also increasingly being used for MMA
6.1 Power source designs welding in practise (Figure 13).
The simplest way to convert mains cur- Figure 14 shows the block diagram of a
rent into welding current is by means of 3rd generation inverter with a clock fre-
the welding transformer. It converts the quency of up to 100 kHz.
current only in terms of the current inten- These Power sources have a completely
sity and voltage (transformer) and sup- different layout to conventional power
plies sinusoid a.c. for welding. The trans- sources. The current coming from the
former principle is shown in Figure 12 [2]. mains is first rectified and then "hacked"
Iron core
Primary Secondary
circet curcet
main welding
~ curcet
~
Magnetic
flux
Figure 12 Transformer principle [2]

Figure 13 EWM power source STICK 350

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D.C. - A.C. converter Rectivier (diode) the characteristic is generally vertically
falling (constant current characteristic) in
Mains
the work area.
With electronic Power sources, much of
Rectivier (diode) Transformer Choke what is achieved using components such
Figure 14 Block diagram of a 3rd generation in-
as resistors, chokes and capacitors, is
verter – clock frequency up to triggered electronically by the control.
100kHz The control for these Power sources is
therefore just as important as the power
into small particles by switching on and
unit. The current is adjusted, for example
off by means of transistorss using a clock
with switched-mode sources, by changing
frequency of up to 100 kHz. This chop-
the ratio between the current in-
ping process is necessary so that the cur-
put/current output times. The clock fre-
rent can be transformed. The chopped
quency can also be changed to adjust the
current is then discharged as alternating
current level. The new technology also
current into a transformer. This produces
means that controlled Power sources are
a square-wave alternate current on the
possible, which is precisely what welding
secondary side with the corresponding
technology had been waiting for. A con-
frequency. This is then rectified and
trol device measures the welding current
smoothed using a choke. The high fre-
and welding voltage and compares it to
quency of the current being transformed
the set values. If the set set welding pa-
permits the use of transformers with a low
rameters change, for example due to un-
mass. This permits high deposition power
wanted resistances in the welding current
welding machines to be manufactured
circuit, the control will regulate it as ap-
that nevertheless have a very low weight.
propriate. This is carried out very quickly,
They are therefore especially useful for
in the Ps range. In a similar way, the
use on construction sites. Figure 15
short-circuit current can also be limited
shows the EWM Inverter Triton 220
AC/DC that can be used for MMA welding and the cosM improved [3]. An improved
up to a current intensity of 180 amperes level of efficiency and lower open circuit
and which weighs only 17.9 kg. losses in the inverter Power sources are
produced simply from the lower mass of
With inverters, the gradient of the static the transformer.
characteristic can be changed within
broad limits. They can therefore also be Modern inverters now also supply sinu-
used as multiprocess systems for multiple soid and square-wave A.C. in addition to
welding processes. With MMA welding D.C. Electrodes such as those with purely
basic coatings, which cannot be used for
welding on sinusoid, deposition can suc-
cessfully meltoff with square-wave A.C.
Figure 15 EWM inverter TRITON 220 AC/DC for Figure 16 Control (operating panel) for a
TIG and MMA welding modern STICK power source

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The EWM MMA Primer
This may be necessary if undesirable off. With Power sources equipped with
magnetic arc blow conditions exist. the relevant function, the current is im-
mediately regulated down to few amperes
6.2 Special functions with inverters for
if the voltage does not rise after the igni-
MMA welding
tion short-circuit. The electrode can then
Modern inverter Power sources also offer be removed from the ignition point very
a range of special functions, which sim- easily.
plify welding and make the process safer
[4]. This is how the arc force is set 7 Performing welding work
(Figure 16).
The welder requires good training, not
For example, if the arc voltage becomes just in terms of skills, but also in terms of
too short due to a large drop forming on the relevant specialist knowledge in order
the electrode, and drops to below 8 volts, to avoid errors. The training guidelines
the current intensity is automatically in- from the DVS – Deutscher Verband für
creased (Figure 17). Schweißen und verwandte Verfahren e.V.
This means that the arc can burn freely (German Association for Welding and Re-
once more and does not go out. This lated Procedures) are recognised world-
function is particularly important when wide and have now been adopted by the
welding using cellulose-coated elec- International Institute of Welding (IIW).
trodes, as well as those with basic coat- Before starting welding, the workpieces
ings. are generally tack-welded. The tack
The width of the arc and thus the arc points must be long and thick enough to
hardness can be infinity adjusted using ensure that the workpieces cannot con-
an adjustable choke. A hard arc is advan- tract to a non-permissible extent during
tageous for difficult magnetic arc blow welding and that the tack points do not
conditions exist, for example. break.
The Hotstart function used ensures safe 7.1 Igniting the arc
ignition of the arc and sufficient warm-up
The welding process is initiated by con-
of the cold parent material at the start of
tact ignition with MMA welding. To close
welding. The ignition process is carried
the power circuit, a short-circuit needs to
out at an increased current intensity
be created between the electrode and the
(Figure 18).
workpiece first and the electrode raised
The Antistick function prevents the elec- slightly immediately afterwards; the arc
trode annealing if the ignition process will ignite. The ignition process should
fails and the electrode "sticks" to the never take place outside the groove, but
workpiece. The warning up of the elec- only at points that will be fused again im-
trode caused by the resistance heating I [A]
may damage the coating until it breaks

U [V]
a)
U krit. t
b)
a) Hotstart current
R B C I [A] b) Hotstart time
Figure 17 Principle for setting the arc force R=

rutile electrode; B= basic electrode; Figure 18 Principle of the “Hotstart” function
C= cellulose electrode
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The EWM MMA Primer
mediately once the arc is burning. This is
because at ignition points where this
does not occur, cracks may occur in
suitably sensitive materials due to the
sudden heating.
Fe
When using basic electrodes with a ten-
+
dency to initial porosity, the ignition proc- a) b) c)
ess must actually take place significantly
before the start of the weld. The arc is Figure 19 Deviation of the arc caused by sur-
then moved back to the starting point for rounding magnetic fields
the seam and during the course of the the electrode and arc are also sur-
welding process the first drops deposited, rounded by a toroidal magnetic field, in
which are generally porous, will be fused the area of the arc it is diverted, when it
once more. comes into contact with the parent mate-
7.2 Moving the electrode rial. This compresses the magnetic lines
of force on the inside and expands them
The electrode is positioned vertically or at
on the outside (Figure 19, a) [2].
a slight slant to the panel surface. It is ti-
tled slightly in the direction of welding. The arc slips into the area of reduced flux
The visible arc length, i.e. the distance line density, is thereby lengthened and
between the edge of the crater and the emits a hissing noise due to the in-
workpiece surface should be roughly creased arc voltage created. The oppo-
equal to the core wire diameter. Basic site pole therefore exerts a repulsive ef-
electrodes must be welded with a very fect on the arc.
short arc (distance=0.5 x core wire di- The presence of another magnetic force
ameter). To ensure this, they need to be means that the magnetic field can spread
held in a more steeply inclined position more easily in a ferromagnetic material
than rutile electrodes. than in air. The arc is therefore attracted
In most positions, stringer beads are by large ferric masses (Figure 19, b). This
welded or a slight weaving movement is is reflected, for example, in the arc mov-
used with an increasingly large groove ing inwards at the ends of the sheet when
width. Only in the vertical up position are welding a magnetic material.
weave beads drawn across the entire The movement of the arc can be coun-
width of the groove. Welding is normally teracted by tilting the electrode as appro-
carried out with the torch directed at the priate (Figure 19, c). As arc blow is par-
finished part of the joint; only in the verti- ticularly noticeable with d.c. welding, it
cal up position is forehand welding used can be avoided, or at least reduced, by
with the electrode. welding with a.c.
7.3 Magnetic arc blow The arc blow effect may be particularly
strong due to the surrounding ferric
Arc blow is where the arc being diverted
masses when welding root passes. In this
from its central axis lengthens and a
case it is helpful to support the magnetic
hissing noise is emitted as a result. This
flux by closely positioned and sufficiently
diversion could result in discontinuities,
long tack welds.
such as the fusion penetration becoming
inadequate and, in slag-forming welding 7.4 Set welding parameters
processes, slag inclusions being pro- In MMA welding only the current intensity
duced in the seam due to the slag flowing is set; the arc length being used by the
ahead of the molten pool. welder gives the arc voltage. When set-
Forces arising from the surrounding ting the current intensity, the current car-
magnetic field cause the diversion. Just rying capacity of the electrode diameter
like any other current-carrying conductor, being used needs to be taken into ac-

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The EWM MMA Primer
count. Table 4 provides guideline values
Electrode diameter
Welding position
Current intensity
Sheet thickness
for the current carrying capacity for the
Electrode type
various electrode diameters.
Seam type
(ampere)
The rule which can be used here is that
lower limit values are used for welding
(mm)
(mm)
Note
root passes and for the vertical up posi-
tion, and the upper values apply to all
4 2.5 75 -
other positions and for intermediate and RA 3.2 140 Root
final passes. As the current intensities in- 6
Flat 4.0 180 Final pass
crease, the melt deposition power in- 3.2 120 Root
creases and therefore also the welding B
4.0 170 Final pass
10
speed. The fusion penetration also in- V- 3.2 95 Root
RB
creases with increasing current levels. up 4.0 160 Final pass
The current intensities given only apply to 3.2 130 Root
unalloyed and low-alloy steels. With high- Flat B Fill and
V 4.0 170
alloy steels and nickel-based materials, 15 final pass
V- 3.2 90 Root
lower values should be set due to the B
up 4.0 140 Final pass
greater electrical resistance of the core 4.0 160 Root
wire. Flat B Fill and
5.0 220
Settings for various welding tasks are 20
final pass
given in Table 5, Table 6 and Table 7, [2], V-
3.2 90 Root
[5]. B Fill and
up 4.0 140
final pass
8 Work safety Table 5 Settings for butt welds on unalloyed
In MMA welding, risks to the welder arise and low-alloy sheet materials, val-
from the smoke and gases of the stick ues from [2] and [5]
electrode coatings and from metal va- The beam from the arc dazzles eyes and
pour, as well as from visible and ultravio- may cause "arc eye", i.e. an eye inflam-
let rays and infrared radiation emitted by mation. However, the beam can also
the arc; electrical risks are also present. cause skin burns and symptoms similar
Irrespective to current accident preven- to sunburn. Welders must therefore pro-
tion regulations, an extraction system is tect themselves using suitable work
required directly at the point of emission clothing and a welding safety shield with
for MMA welding at fixed workstations. the relevant safety filters conforming to
Only for short-term and mobile welding is EN 166 and EN 169. The safety filters to
air ventilation or a welding-engineering be used should be of protection level 9 –
ventilation device permissible in certain for thin electrodes and low current inten-
circumstances. sities up to 14 – for thick electrodes and
high current intensities. A plain cover
Diameter Length Current Rule of glass in front of the safety filters or a pair
(d in mm) (l in mm) intensity thumb for
of clear glasses protect against eye inju-
(I in A) current in-
tensity in A ries from slag breaking.
2.0 250/300 40... 80
20...40 x d
2.5 350 50...100
3.2 350/400 90...150
4.0 350/400 120...200 30...50 x d
5.0 450 180...270
6.0 450 220...360 35...60 x d
Table 4 Current intensities irrespective to the

electrode diameter

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The EWM MMA Primer
Electrode diameter
However, welders must also protect
Welding position
Current intensity
themselves from contact with current car-
Wall thickness
Electrode type
rying parts by wearing insulated clothing,
Seam type
shoes with undamaged rubber soles and
(ampere)
leather gloves. When working on metal
(mm)
(mm)
Note
constructions, use of an insulating mat is
also recommended.
125 Root
170 Hotpass
8 4.0
150 Fill pass
9 Special notes for MMA welding
130 Final pass on different materials
Ver- 130 Root MMA welding is today used mainly for
4.0
tical 180 Hotpass welding unalloyed and low-alloy steels, in
10 V C
dow 190 Fill pass
5.0 other words, constructional steels, creep
n 175 Final pass
resistant, high tensile and low tempera-
130 Root
4.0 ture steels, as well as stainless
180 Hotpass
12 chrome/nickel steels and nickel-based al-
200 Fill pass
5.0 loys. Another application for stick elec-
175 Final pass
trodes is GMA surfacing.
Table 6 Settings for butt welds on pipes
made from unalloyed and low-alloy The welding of aluminium and aluminium
steel, values from [2] alloys and of copper and copper alloys
Electrical dangers occur in arc welding with coated stick electrodes has been all
mainly from the open-circuit voltage be- but overtaken by shielded arc welding
cause this is the maximum voltage pre- and is now only used as an emergency
sent between the two poles when the support measure, if for some reason it is
power source is on when no welding is not possible to use shielded arc welding,
being carried out. The arc voltage pro- such as on construction sites.
duced during the actual welding process Given below are some special features
is much lower, on the other hand, and and possible uses with different materi-
depending on the electrode diameter and als.
arc length may be around 20-30 volts. Electrode diameter
The level of open-circuit voltage is there-
Welding position
Current intensity
Eff. throat thick-
Electrode type
fore limited by the accident prevention

Seam type
ness (mm)
regulations. It must not exceed a peak

(ampere)
value of 113 volts with d.c. and a peak
(mm)
Note
value of 113 volts with a.c. and an r.m.s.
value of 80 volts.
The electrical risk to the welder is espe- V-
2 dow RC 2.5 70 -
cially great when welding in small and n
damp areas and when welding on and in 3 3.2 130 -
large ferric masses. In this situation, d.c. RR
180 -
power sources with a peak value of 113 4
RR160 4.0 190 -
volts are permissible. With a.c. the level 180 Root
5 Hor. T RR
of open-circuit voltage is restricted even vert.
240 Final
5.0
further. It must not exceed a peak value RR160 290 -
of 68 volts and an r.m.s. value of 48 volts. 4.0 180 Root
6
Power sources fulfilling these require- RR 240 Final
5.0
ments are identified as such. Newly 255 -
3.2 110 Root
manufactured machines bear the "S" sign 8 V-up B
4.0 140 Final
(safety), and with older machines the
mark "K" for d.c. machines and "42 V" for Table 7 Settings for fillet welds on unal-
a.c. machines can still be found. loyed and low-alloy steels, values
from [2]
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The EWM MMA Primer
9.1 Unalloyed and low-alloy steels ity values of the welding join, with the im-
Due to the low level of investment re- proved quality of the welds sometimes
quired, MMA welding is still used with un- proving more important than economic
alloyed and low-alloy steels in smaller considerations.
companies with less intense welding re- High-tensile steels, including construction
quirements where purchasing larger, steel S355 if present in larger wall thick-
automated welding systems would not be nesses (!20 mm), have a tendency to
economically viable. Stick electrodes are crack during welding if three contributory
also still used on construction sites, e.g. factors are combined, namely, a high hy-
out-of-doors welding, where shielded arc drogen content, high stresses and rapid
welding would necessitate complex pre- cooling after welding. Such hydrogen-
cautions to shield against the wind, induced cracks can be most safely
Figure 20. avoided if the hydrogen content of the
In all other cases, the process has yet to weld metal is kept low (<5 ml / 100 g). As,
prove its efficiency in contrast to other, unlike with shielded arc welding, in MMA
automated arc-welding techniques. High welding hydrogen is supplied primarily by
deposition power electrodes with an effi- the coating, only dry, basic electrodes
ciency of 160-180% are therefore used can be used for these purposes. Elec-
wherever possible. High efficiency rutile trodes that have become damp or may
electrodes are especially well suited to have absorbed some moisture need to be
welding fillet welds with effective throat oven-dried before welding. As a guideline
thickness of 3-5 mm, thanks to high for the drying process, a temperature of
welding speed and good seam appear- 250-350°C and a drying time of 1-2 hours
ance. should be sufficient, but this may vary for
In the construction of pressurised con- different manufacturers. The best option
tainers and boilers, basic stick electrodes is to follow the instructions from the
continue to enjoy a certain degree of manufacturer.
popularity because of the excellent qual- 9.2 High-alloy steels and nickel-based al-
loys
MMA welding still finds relatively wide-
spread application in the construction of
chemistry equipment for welding stainless
CrNi steels. Unlike shielded arc welding,
the MMA welding weld seam is still pro-
tected against the atmosphere during
cooling by the slag. The seams are there-
fore subject to less oxidisation. The oxide
skins produced must be removed by
brushing, grinding, blasting or etching be-
fore using the component because they
have a detrimental effect on corrosion-
resistance. Due to the reduced oxidation
of the surface, less work is required to
clean up the seams. This can compen-
sate for any economic advantages pro-
vided by MAG welding over MMA
welding, for example. When welding cor-
rosion-resistant steels, MMA is some-
times given preference over MAG weld-
Figure 20 Use of inverter power source
ing for fear of lack of fusion.
PICO 162 on a construction site

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The EWM MMA Primer
As austenitic steels do not become brittle
even under the influence of hydrogen,
and do not have a tendency to crack,
electrodes with rutile coatings are used
mainly for these steels, as they provide a
good seam appearance. This applies to
fillet welds and to final passes in particu-
lar. High deposition power electrodes with
an efficiency of 160% are also available
for this purpose.
Electrodes for steels with high corrosion-
resistance and nickel-based alloys are
generally supplied with basic coatings,
however. This coating type can also be
required for compound steels that, be-
cause of their two-phase structure, are
rather more susceptible to becoming brit- Figure 21 Use of MMA welding in container
tle due to hydrogen. construction
When welding high-alloy materials, over-
all arc-welding processes is still around
heating must be avoided because this re-
7.5% [6].
duces the strength and corrosion-
resistance of the welded joint, and may The main applications remain shipbuild-
result in heat cracks. Therefore, with ing, where fillet welds are predominantly
thinner workpieces, including occasional used, and steel construction work, where
cooling breaks or accelerating the cooling stick electrodes are used mainly on con-
process by underlaying pieces of copper struction sites. Previous sections have
is recommended. covered some of the advantages of MMA
welding in boiler, equipment and pipeline
9.3 GMA-surfacing construction. A further application is in
Stick electrodes enable hard alloys that repair workshops, both for joint welding
cannot be manufactured in the form of and GMA-surfacing.
solid wire for reasons of ductility (such as
10.1 Example applications
cast iron alloys with a high chrome con-
tent) to be applied by alloying via the In place of many different applications,
coating. One alternative here is cored typical possible uses of MMA welding are
wires, which can be alloyed via the core, given below using two examples.
but MMA welding is still used in this sec- Figure 21 shows an application from con-
tor with relative frequency. tainer construction.
Add-on pieces have yet to be welded
10 Applications for MMA welding onto a container manufactured by auto-
MMA welding can in principle be used for mated welding. MMA welding is ideal for
wall thickness starting at 1.5 mm, but this application. The use of a lightweight
many manufacturers produce stick elec- inverter as a power source is particularly
trodes starting at 2.0 mm Ø, because useful for this purpose. Thick and less
very thin sheets are now generally TIG- flexible welding leads are no longer
welded. This increases the minimum wall needed, because the inverter can be
thickness for MMA welding to 2 mm. moved onto or close to the workpiece.
The proportion of MMA welding has con- The second example shows one applica-
tinued to fall continuously over the past tion of MMA welding in beam construc-
few years to be superseded by MIG/MAG tion.
welding. Irrespective to more recent sta- Many metalworking firms or small steel
tistics, the proportion today in relation to construction companies manufacture rail-
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The EWM MMA Primer
12 Imprint
st
The MMA Primer, 1 edition 2002
From the EWM Knowledge range of pub-
lications – All about welding
All rights reserved.
Reprinting, including extracts, is forbid-
den. No part of this brochure may be re-
produced or electronically processed, re-
produced or distributed in any form (pho-
tocopy, microfilm or any other procedure)
without the written permission of EWM.
Figure 22 Use of MMA welding in beam con-

struction © EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH
Dr.-Günter-Henle-Str. 8
ings, balconies or beams prefabricated in
the workshop and then installed on con- D-56271 Mündersbach, Germany
struction sites. Multiple short weld seams Fon: +49(0)2680.181-0
are used for this purpose, to which MMA Fax: +49(0)2680.181-244
welding is ideally suited. mailto:info@ewm.de
11 Literature http://www.ewm.de
[1] Killing, R.: Kompendium Schweiß-
technik Band 1 – Verfahren der Schweiß-
technik Fachbuchreihe Schweißtechnik
Band 128/1, DVS-Verlag Düsseldorf 1997
[2] Killing, R.: Handbuch der Lichtbogen-
schweißverfahren Band 1 – Lichtbogen-
schweißverfahren, Fachbuchreihe
Schweißtechnik Band 76/I, DVS-Verlag
Düsseldorf 1999.
[3] Killing, R. und H. Lorenz: Schweißge-
räte für das Lichtnetz – Schein und Wirk-
lichkeit Metallbau H. 3/2000, p. 62-64.
[4] Susa, F. und R. Killing: Moderne Multi-
funktionsanlagen – Eigenschaften und
Anwendung DVS-Jahrbuch Schweiß-
technik 2002, p. 158-164, DVS-Verlag
Düsseldorf 2001
[5] G. Aichele: Leistungskennwerte für
Schweißen und Schneiden, Fachbuchrei-
he Schweißtechnik Band 72, DVS-Verlag
Düsseldorf 1994.
[6] Killing, R.: Metallschutzgasschweißen
hat weiter zugenommen – Anwendungs-
umfang der Schmelzschweißverfahren,
Praktiker H. 11/2001, p. 435-436.

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TIG PRIMER
The EWM TIG Primer
Contents
1 Preface.................................................................................................................................................. 2
2 The process .......................................................................................................................................... 2
2.1 General ............................................................................................................................................ 2
2.2 Current type ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Electrodes ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2.4 Shielding gases................................................................................................................................ 4
3 Groove preparation ............................................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Groove shapes................................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 Placement of the weld groove side walls side walls ........................................................................ 5
3.3 Backing ............................................................................................................................................ 5
3.4 Forming............................................................................................................................................ 5
4 The welding torch.................................................................................................................................. 6
4.1 Cooling............................................................................................................................................. 6
4.2 Torch design .................................................................................................................................... 7
4.3 Shape of the electrode tip................................................................................................................ 7
5 Welding machines................................................................................................................................. 8
5.1 Control ............................................................................................................................................. 8
5.2 Power sources ................................................................................................................................. 9
6 Performing welding work..................................................................................................................... 11
6.1 Choice of welding filler ................................................................................................................... 11
6.2 Setting the shielding gas quantity .................................................................................................. 11
6.3 Cleaning the workpiece surface..................................................................................................... 12
6.4 Igniting the arc ............................................................................................................................... 12
6.5 Moving the torch ............................................................................................................................ 13
6.6 Magnetic arc blow .......................................................................................................................... 13
6.7 Welding positions........................................................................................................................... 14
6.8 Set welding parameters ................................................................................................................. 14
6.9 Welding with current pulses........................................................................................................... 15
6.10 Automation options ........................................................................................................................ 16
6.11 Work safety .................................................................................................................................... 16
7 Special features of different materials ................................................................................................ 17
7.1 Unalloyed and non-alloy steels...................................................................................................... 18
7.2 Austenitic CrNi steels..................................................................................................................... 18
7.3 Aluminium and aluminium alloys ................................................................................................... 18
7.4 Copper and copper alloys.............................................................................................................. 20
7.5 Other materials .............................................................................................................................. 20
8 Applications for TIG welding ............................................................................................................... 21
8.1 Uses in manufacturing ................................................................................................................... 21
8.2 Example applications ..................................................................................................................... 21
9 Literature ............................................................................................................................................. 22
10 Imprint ................................................................................................................................................. 23

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The EWM TIG Primer
1 Preface
Welding rod
The TIG welding process (Figure 1) – the Torch
full name of this process irrespective to

DIN 1910 – Part 4 is Tungsten Inert Gas T-electrode
welding – originated in the USA where in Parent material
1936 it was known as argon arc welding.
Seam
It was not introduced to Germany until af-
ter the Second World War. The process Molten bath
differs from other fusion welding tech- Arc
niques in that it offers various interesting

advantages. For example, it is a general
purpose technique. If a metallic material Figure 2 Principle of TIG welding
is suitable for fusion welding, it can be brochure explains the particular features
joined using this process. It is also a very of this process and may even generate
"clean" process which generates virtually interest in companies who are not yet us-
no spatter and a minimal amount of ing the technique despite having welding
harmful substances and when used cor- tasks which would be suitable for the
rectly, guarantees a high quality welded process.
joint.
Another significant advantage of TIG 2 The process
welding is that unlike other processes
which use melting electrodes, there is no 2.1 General
correlation between the addition of weld- TIG welding is a gas-shielded welding
ing filler material and the current intensity. process with non-consumable electrode
This means that the welder can match (Process No. 14). ISO 857-1 describes
the current optimally to the welding task the process as follows:
and only add the quantity of welding filler "Gas-shielded arc welding process using
material actually required. This makes the a non-consumable electrode made from
process especially well suited to welding pure or doped tungsten in which the arc
root passes and for out-of-position weld- and the welding molten pool is protected
ing. These advantages have meant that by a gas coating made from inert gas"
the TIG process is used successfully in
With tungsten inert gas welding (process
many sectors of trade and industry today.
no. 141) the arc burns freely, with plasma
However, for manual welding it does de-
arc welding (process no. 15), which is
mand special skills on the part of the
another gas-shielded welding process us-
welder, and a good level of training. This
ing a non-consumable electrode, it is
constricted. Figure 2 shows a diagram of
the process.
Figure 1 TRITON 260 DC, TIG welding of

cooling spirals

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The EWM TIG Primer
D.C. [A] A.C. [A] There are also differences in the fusion
Minus pole on the Plus pole on penetration characteristics. The optimum
situation is direct current welding on the
Electrode diameter [mm]
electrode the electrode
minus pole. When welding with alternat-
ing current, the fusion penetration is flat-
ter and wider simply because of the less
Pure tung-
Pure tung-
Pure tung-
with oxide
with oxide
with oxide
Tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten
pointed shape of the electrode and lowest
on the plus pole due to the low current-
sten
sten
sten
carrying capacity (Figure 3).
1.6 40-130 60-150 10-20 10-20 45-90 60-125
2.0 75-180 100-200 15-25 15-25 65-125 85-160 2.3 Electrodes
2.5 130-230 170-250 17-30 17-30 80-140 120-210
Tungsten electrodes cannot be manufac-
3.2 160-310 225-330 20-35 20-35 150-190 150-250
tured by moulding because of the high
4.0 275-450 350-480 35-50 35-50 180-260 240-350
melting point of the metal. They are
5.0 400-625 500-675 50-70 50-70 240-350 330-460
therefore manufactured using powder
Table 1: Recommended current intensity metallurgy techniques via sintering fol-
ranges for tungsten electrodes, val-
lowed by compression and compaction.
ues acc. to DIN EN 26848
The standard diameters defined in DIN
The process is named after the type of EN 26848 (ISO 6848) are between 0.5
electrode (tungsten) and the shielding and 10 mm. The diameters most com-
gas used (inert). The electrode does not monly used are 1.6; 2.0; 2.5; 3.2 and 4.0
melt due to the high melting point of mm. Standard lengths are 50, 75, 150
tungsten (3380°C) when the process is and 175 mm. The length is based around
used correctly. It acts solely as the arc the design of the torch, among other fac-
carrier. The welding filler is added by tors.
hand in the form of a bar or with fully As well as electrodes made from pure
automated welding as a wire via a sepa- tungsten, there are also electrodes which
rate feed system. The shielding gas is have quantities of around 0.5 to 4% oxide
emitted from the shielding gas nozzle and such as thorium oxide, zircon oxide, lan-
surrounds the electrode concentrically, thanum oxide or cerium oxide mixed in
protecting the electrode and the weld before sintering. The use of pure tung-
metal underneath it from the atmosphere. sten electrodes creates a very quiet arc,
2.2 Current type however electrodes containing oxide
have the advantage that they heat up
Direct current is normally used for TIG less during use because the coming out
welding. When welding steel and many of the electrodes with the oxide in the
other metals and alloys, the colder minus electrodes occurs more readily than with
pole is positioned against the electrode the tungsten. The ease of ignition, cur-
and the hotter plus pole on the work- rent-carrying capacity and service life are
piece. The current-carrying capacity and therefore better with types containing ox-
the service life of the electrode are con- ides. Table 1 with values from
siderably greater with this polarity than DIN EN 26848 contains the recom-
with plus pole welding. Alternating current
a) b) c)
is used with aluminium and aluminium al-
loys, and with some bronzes, in other
words materials which form high-melting
or highly viscous oxides. This will be cov-
ered in more detail later on. When weld-
ing with alternating current, the current-
Figure 3: Fusion penetration with different
carrying capacity also is still lower than current types
direct current welding on the minus pole – a) D.c. (minus pole)
for more on this, please see Table 1. b) D.c. (plus pole)
c) A.c.
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Composition ium or copper, helium (l2) is also used.
Added Oxides Contami- Tung-
Identify-
When using helium as the shielding gas,
Code nation sten
ing color the arc is hotter. The heat distribution be-
% (M/M) Type % (m/m) % tween the core and the edge of the arc is
(m/m)
more even in particular. The use of pure
WP - - 99,8 green
WT 4 0,35 to 0,55 blue
helium in TIG welding is rare and limited
WT 10 0,80 to 1,20 yellow
to special situations, although ar-
WT 20 1,70 to 2,20 ThO2 red gon/helium mixtures (l3) with 25, 50 or
WT 30 2,80 to 3,20 violet 75% helium have been increasingly used
d 0,20 res-
WT 40 3,80 to 4,20
idue
orange in recent years. This means, for example,
WZ 3 0,15 to 0,50
ZrO2
brown that with thicker aluminium structures the
WZ 8 0,70 to 0,90 white pre-heating temperature required to
WL 10 0,90 to 1,20 LaO2 black
achieve sufficient fusion penetration can
WC 20 1,80 to 2,20 CeO2 grey
be reduced. It is also often possible to in-
Table 2 Tungsten electrodes defined by DIN crease the welding speed.
EN 26848
When using TIG welding on stainless
mended current intensity ranges of pure chrome/nickel steels, argon / hydrogen
tungsten electrodes and those with added mixtures (R1) are also used for this pur-
oxides on both poles with direct current pose, but the hydrogen content should
and alternating current, for comparison not be much greater than 5% to prevent
purposes. This explains the higher cur- the formation of pores.
rent carrying capacity thanks to the The flow quantity of shielding gas is
added oxides. based on the gas nozzle diameter and
Previously, tungsten electrodes with the surrounding air flow. As a rough
around 2% thorium oxide were generally guide, a volume of 5-10 I / min can be
used. The use of these is declining, how- assumed for argon. In draughty rooms
ever. Thorium is an alpha emitter which is (Figure 4).greater flow rates may be nec-
why electrodes containing thorium oxide essary. With argon / helium mixtures,
also emit a low level of radioactivity. This greater flow volumes should be used due
in itself is not dangerous to the welder, al- to the lower density of helium.
though it does increase the general radia-
tion load. What is more dangerous,
however, is breathing in the dust from
grinding the electrode. This is why today
tungsten electrodes containing “arc-
friendly” materials such as lanthanum ox-
ide or cerium oxide are often used.
Electrodes can be identified by the code
and the identifying colour specified in the
standards (Table 2).
2.4 Shielding gases

As the name of the process indicates, in-
ert gases are normally used for TIG weld-
ing. Shielding gases are defined in the
standard DIN EN 439. Irrespective to this
standard they bear the designations l1, l2
and l3. The shielding gas most commonly
used for TIG welding is argon (l1). The
degree of purity should be at least
99.95%. With metals with very good heat Figure 4 TIG welding on a beam
conductance properties, such as alumin-
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ciple. Thin sheets are often cut using me-
3 Groove preparation chanical methods (shearing), whereas
with thicker materials the grooves are
3.1 Groove shapes also prepared using mechanical process-
The most important groove shapes used ing (turning, gouging).
in TIG welding are shown in Figure 5.
Thin sheets can be joined on one side or 3.3 Backing
on two sides as with a butt joint. If the Whereas in manual welding the welder
sheet thickness is too great to permit monitors the progress of the weld and
complete penetration even from both achieve an even root run even if the root
sides, the edges of parts to be joined opening is uneven by setting the correct
need to be bevelled. The opening angle current intensity, adjusting the position of
of the V joint produced is generally 60°, the arc in the groove and the welding
but with aluminium also 70°. To prevent speed, in fully automated welding every-
complete melting the tips of the sheets in thing must be correct from the root open-
the root area are often slightly broken. ing set to the correct set welding
With a distinct root face, this is called a V parameters and the continuous quantity
joint with broad root face rather than a of filler wire added.
simple V joint. With steel, workpiece Backing runs are therefore often used
thicknesses of up to around 6 mm can be with machine welding to simplify the root
welded in one pass. Beyond this a multi- welding, see Figure 5. These backing
pass weld may be required as well. runs with most metals and alloys consist
Lap seams are also used with thin of copper, and for aluminium which has a
sheets. Particularly well-suited to TIG low melting point, stainless steel as well.
welding is the raised edge joint. The high Ceramic backing plates are also used in
raised edges of the sheet can be melted welding for this purpose. The backing
and thus joined under the arc without the plate should prevent the spontaneous
addition of welding filler. With corner sagging of the weld metal, e.g. at points
seams one or both panels can be angled. where the gap is slightly wider, so that
the molten metal is caught and a root
3.2 Placement of the weld groove side bead can be produced. The backing also
walls side walls forms the underside of the root bead. For
With unalloyed and low-alloy steels, the this purpose a groove is therefore gener-
edges of parts to be joined are normally ally created for backing.
prepared by oxygen cutting. With high-
alloy steels, aluminium and metal alloys, 3.4 Forming
fusion cutting can be used irrespective to This is the extra addition of shielding gas
the plasma, laser or electron beam prin- to the back of the root where the material
a) Butt joint being welded is also in a molten state,
b) but is not reached by the shielding gas
Lap joint supplied to the top side. With TIG welding
c) in particular with its relatively low welding
T joint
speed, the back of the root often has a
d) V joint “burnt” appearance due to oxidation. The
forming gas is used to prevent this. The
e) Raised edge joint cold shielding gas also helps to form the
back of the root, hence the name “form-
f) Corner joint ing gas”.
g) V joint with broad root face
and backing run
Figure 5 The primary groove shapes with TIG
welding
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the interior. When welding metal panels,
it can be allowed to flow out of openings
in the backing bars. Argon or an argon /
hydrogen mixture can be used as the
forming gas. In DIN EN 439 reasonably
priced forming gases are also defined in
group F. These consist of a hydro-
gen/nitrogen mixture, for example. Pure
nitrogen can also be used for forming un-
der certain circumstances.
4 The welding torch

The welding torch is the TIG welder’s
tool. Its function has a significant impact
on the weld seam produced. Figure 7
shows a gas cooled TIG welding torch.
The torch is connected to the welding
machine via the tube package. The weld-
ing current lead runs through the tube
package, along with the shielding gas
supply and the control lead which allows
various functions to be switched on and
Figure 6 TIG welding work in the chemical off using the switch on the torch.
industry
Thanks to the forming process, the for- 4.1 Cooling
mation of oxide skins and annealing col- With torches designed for current intensi-
ours on the back of the root is also ties up to around 150 amperes only, the
prevented, or at least reduced. This is cooling from the shielding gas flowing
important when welding corrosion- through and the surrounding air is suffi-
resistant steels, for example, because cient. Higher power torches are water
these oxide skins impair the corrosion- cooled. In this case, the leads for the wa-
resistance of the weld (Figure 6). ter supply and water return also run
When welding pipes, the ends can simply through the hose package, whereby the
be blocked and the forming gas fed into welding current lead is cooled by the re-
turned water. It need not therefore be
very large and the hose package remains
flexible. For this purpose there is a com-
bined current/water cable in the hose
package. A pressure monitor, generally
installed in the welding machine, ensures
that if the cooling water supply is too low
or missing, the welding current is
switched off.
L
TRA
MIS
As water is a relatively expensive operat-

ing material, return water equipment is
normally used for cooling with a closed
coolant circuit.
Figure 7 Gas cooled TIG welding torch

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shape. This is generally achieved by
4.2 Torch design grinding. The grinding should be carried
The tungsten electrode is positioned in a out so that grinding grooves remain in the
collet and is secured by tightening the longitudinal direction on the ground tip
torch cap. The length of the torch cap is only. This means that the arc starts more
selected irrespective to the application. quietly than if there were crosswise
For example, when welding in tight grooves. The starting angle is given by
spaces it may be significantly shorter the ratio between the electrode diameter
than shown in Figure 8. and the length of the tip. This ratio should
The torch switch has an important func- be around 1: 2.5.
tion. It may be designed in the form of With the current intensity set correctly,
one or two key buttons or as a rocker only a small part of the electrode tip melts
switch which is operated by moving it and forms a small ball there. The arc
backwards and forwards. The welding burns particularly quietly on this. It is
current can be switched on and off by therefore advisable to create this ball be-
pressing the key button, but the current fore starting welding via short-term over-
can also be adjusted during welding. The load. With modern equipment, this type of
speed of the change in current can also function can be initiated from the control.
be set using this button. In alternating current welding the thermal
The diameter of the tungsten electrode is loading of the tungsten electrode is sig-
based on the current intensity being nificantly greater than with direct current
used, the current type (direct/alternating welding (minus pole). The electrode is
current) and the polarity. You may find therefore either not tipped at all with this
the current intensity ranges given in Ta- current type, or is shaped into a truncated
ble 1 useful when selecting the diameter. cone with a ratio between both diameters
At the bottom end of the welding torch is of 2:1.
the gas nozzle. This may consist of metal In direct current welding (plus pole),
or ceramic material. The diameter of the which is relatively rare, the electrode is
gas nozzle must be matched to the weld- not ground at all.
ing task. If a larger molten bath is being It should be noted that the shape of the
protected, the gas nozzle also needs to electrode tip also has a significant impact
be larger. One ration used is therefore to on the fusion penetration characteristics.
the current intensity or to the electrode With a pointed electrode, narrower,
diameter. The tungsten electrode extends deeper fusion penetration is produced,
beyond the gas nozzle depending on the and with a more truncated electrode, the
diameter, e.g. 2mm with thin electrodes fusion penetration is wider and flatter in
or up to 3mm with thicker electrodes. otherwise the same conditions (Figure 9).
4.3 Shape of the electrode tip
In direct current welding (minus pole) the
tungsten electrode normally has a cone
Gas nozzle Collet Teflon seal Torch cap
Collet casing
Figure 8 Exploded diagram of the TIG weld-

ing torch
Figure 9 Fusion penetration with different
electrode tip shapes

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5 Welding machines I AMP
TIG welding machines consist of the cur-
rent source and the control.
5.1 Control
Istart
The control has the task of switching the Iend
welding current on and off, adjusting it t
tUp tDown
and keeping it constant. It also provides
additional functions which actually allow
welding to be carried out or which simplify Figure 11 Function sequence at the start and
the process (Figure 10). end of welding
With modern machines the current can which do not have specific devices for
be reduced in a time-controlled way for non-contact ignition, the arc should al-
crater filling (down-slope) when switching ways be ignited outside the groove on a
off at the end of a weld seam. The current run-on plate or on an adjacent copper
can also be raised gradually at the start panel.
of welding (up-slope). These functions There are various ways of igniting the arc
can be initiated from the torch switch in without damaging the electrode. With
non-latched and latched operation. This high voltage pulse ignition, sometimes
produces a welding program as shown in also called high frequency ignition, a
Figure 11. pulsed alternating current of several
With high-tech machines the set rise and thousand voIts (e.g. 6-8 kV) is created
lower times remain constant, regardless between the electrode and the workpiece.
of the current intensity level set. The pre- The very short voltage pulses (e.g. 0.5-
and post-flow times for the shielding gas 1Ps) are transferred from the electrode to
can also be set. the workpiece in the form of a spark gap
Also integrated into the control is the igni- after the torch switch is pressed; with di-
tion unit. Naturally the TIG arc can also rect current welding generally at a fre-
be ignited by touching between the elec- quency of 100 Hz, and with alternating
trode and the workpiece, but in this case current at the standard 50 Hz frequency
there is a risk of the electrode tip becom- or with modern machines at the fre-
ing damaged and the arc burning erratic- quency set for the welding current. The
ally. It is also possible that tungsten is spark gap can be heard and seen. It pre-
transferred into the weld metal where it ionises the gas molecules in the space
would not melt due to the high melting between the electrode and the workpiece
point but would remain as a foreign body. so that the arc ignites without contact
For this reason, with simple machines when the electrode tip is moved to a few
millimetres away from the arc strike. One
rule of thumb is that ignition is possible
across a gap of 1 mm / 1000 volt ignition
voltage. To prevent accidental contact
between the electrode and the workpiece,
it is best to angle the position of the torch
on the edge of the gas nozzle, as shown
in Figure 12, and to move the electrode
tip closer by straightening up the torch,
until the arc ignites.
Only then is the gas nozzle raised off the
workpiece and the normal torch position
Figure 10 Control for the EWM TIG Inverter
current source TRITON 220 DC
adopted. When welding using sinusoidal
powerSinus alternating current the igniting aid must
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Figure 13 Basic diagram of the welding recti-

Figure 12 Ignition with high voltage pulses fier
actually burn through to reignite the arc The welding rectifier consists of a trans-
safely after the current and voltage pass former with a downstream rectifier stack
through zero. (Figure 13).
Another option is what is known as "lift- Today silicon diodes or thyristors are
arc" ignition. This is a contact ignition used as rectifiers. In these devices the al-
type in which the electrode is not dam- ternating current previously transformed
aged because during the contact only a in the transformer to the required current
very small current is flowing. Only once a intensity and voltage is converted into di-
weak arc is burning when the electrode is rect current. Single welding rectifiers are
lifted off is the set welding current con- single-phase connected (double-pulse
nected by the control. bridge). They produce a welding current
Further functions of the control include with considerable ripples. Improved
switching from normal operation to pulse smoothing of the current is achieved
operation and, where applicable, also when all 3 phases of the alternating cur-
switching to other welding processes, rent are transformed and rectified (six-
whereby in some circumstances the pulse bridge connection). Single rectifiers
characteristics may need to be changed. are also available as combined devices
which can be switched to supply either di-
5.2 Power sources rect or alternating current. Welding recti-
The current source has the task of con- fiers for TIG welding have a falling static
verting the high voltage/low current alter- characteristic. They can be set using
nating current coming from the mains into scattering kernel adjustment, transducer
high current/low voltage welding current and primary side turn tapping in the a.c.
and where applicable, to rectify the weld- circuit or via phase shift control of the thy-
ing current as well. For TIG welding both ristors.
alternating current and direct current are Modern TIG systems (Figure 14) are
used. equipped with inverters as the power
The welding transformer is the most sim-
ple and most cost-effective welding cur-
rent source. It consists of the primary coil
with numerous thin windings and the
secondary coil with a few thick windings.
The mains current is transformed up-
wards in relation to the number of wind-
ings on this coil, and the mains voltage is
transformed downwards irrespectively.
The welding transformer normally has a
falling static characteristic. Different cur-
rent intensities can be set via scattering
kernel adjustment, transducer or primary Figure 14 TRITON 220 DC, TIG Inverter weld-
side turn tapping. ing machine
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D.C. - A.C. converter Rectivier (diode)
Mains
Rectivier (diode) Transformer Choke
Figure 15 Block diagram for a 3rd generation

inverter, cycle frequency up to 100
kHz
source.
The inverter is an electronic power
source which functions using a com-
pletely different operating principle to Figure 16 TRITON 260 DC, TIG Inverter weld-
conventional power sources (Figure 15). ing machine
The current coming from the mains is first ing the ratio between the current in-
rectified and then, so that it can be trans- put/output times. Changing the clock
formed, chopped into short sections by frequency can also be used to adjust the
switching on and off. This process is current level. To generate pulse-shaped
known as clocking. This is possible current, the ratio of the input/output times
thanks to electronic switches with fast re- is changed cyclically by the control. The
actions, the transistors. The first transis- slope-up/slope-down is produced in a
torsised inverters used a clock frequency similar way.
of around 25 kHz. Today with highly de- However, new technology means that
veloped transistorss, clock frequencies of controlled power sources are also possi-
100 kHz and more are possible. ble, which is something which had been
After “chopping” (clocking) the current, missing in welding technology for a long
the current is transformed to the neces- time. A control device measures the
sary high current intensity and low volt- welding current and welding voltage and
age. A square-wave alternating current is compares it to the set values. If the set
then created on the transformer, and is welding parameters change, e.g. due to
rectified once more. The high clock fre- undesirable resistances in the welding
quency has the advantage that the mass current circuit, the control will adjust them
of the transformer can be kept very small. irrespectively. This occurs very rapidly in
This is because it is dependent on the the Ps range. Similarly, the short-circuit
frequency of the current being trans- current can also be limited and the cos M
formed. This enables lightweight power improved. Greater efficiency and lower
sources to be produced. A modern sys- open circuit losses of the inverter power
tem for TIG welding with an output of 260 sources are already produced by the
A / 20.4 V therefore only weighs 24.5 kg lower mass of the transformer.
(Figure 16).
Welding power sources may have a hori-
That covers the power unit for electronic zontal (constant voltage) curve, a slightly
power sources. falling curve or a curve falling vertically in
With electronic power sources, many op- the operating range (constant current)
erations are triggered electronically by curve (Figure 17).
the control; in conventional power With many modern power sources, the
sources this is achieved using compo- characteristics can be changed in a sim-
nents such as resistors, chokes and ca- ple way, which means that they can be
pacitors. The control for these power used for multiple processes (multiprocess
sources is therefore just as important as systems). Inverter power sources for TIG
the power unit. The current is adjusted in welding have a constant current curve
clocked sources, for example, by chang- (Figure 17, c), i.e. in the operating range
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the static characteristic drops vertically. a separate feed unit.
This means that with changes in the arc The welding fillers selected are normally
length, which cannot always be pre- the same type as the parent material.
vented in manual welding, only the volt- However, sometimes it may be that for
age changes and not the current metallurgic reasons, the filler may be dif-
intensity. This ensures sufficient fusion ferent to the parent material with some al-
penetration and a constant deposition ef- loy elements. This is the case with carbon
ficiency. The same characteristic can also content, for example, that is kept very
be used for manual arc welding. How- low, wherever possible, to increase the
ever, if the current source is to be used resistance to cracking. Such fillers are
for MIG/MAG welding, a constant voltage known as equivalent welding fillers in
characteristic is set when switching to this these situations. There are also situations
process (Figure 17, a). where fillers of a completely different type
Many inverter power sources are also are required. This is the case when join-
programmable, which is required for ing carbon steels which are difficult to
automated welding, e.g. TIG orbital weld- weld, for example, in which case austen-
ing or for use with robots. itic welding fillers or even nickel-based al-
loys are used.
6 Performing welding work The diameter of the welding filler must be
In addition to specialist theoretical knowl- matched to the welding task. It is based
edge, the TIG welder also requires good on the material thickness and also the di-
practical skills. These skills are taught in ameter of the tungsten electrode. Table 3
welding courses, such as those run by contains the electrode, gas nozzle and
the Deutscher Verband für Schweißen welding rod diameter assigned to the
und verwandte Verfahren e.V. (German panel thickness.
Association for Welding and Allied Proc- The welding rods are normally 1000 mm
esses) in its training centres and educa- long. They are supplied in bundles and
tional establishments. should be identified individually using the
DIN or the trade designation to avoid con-
6.1 Choice of welding filler fusion.
The welding filler with TIG welding is
generally in the form of a rod, but when 6.2 Setting the shielding gas quantity
used with fully automated welding tech- The shielding gas quantity is set as a vol-
niques it is supplied in the form of wire via ume flow in I/min. This is based on the
size of the molten bath and thus on the
Panel thickness
Gas nozzle size

Tungsten elec-
trode diameter
Filler rod di-

ameter
[mm]
[mm]
[mm]
Voltage U (V)
no.
1 1.0 4 1.6
2 1.6 4 to 6 2.0
3 1.6 6 2.5
4 2.5 6 to 8 3.0
5 2.5 to 3.0 6 to 8 3.2
6 3.2 8 4.0
8 4.0 8 to 10 4.0
Current I (A)
Table 3 Tungsten electrode diameter, gas
Figure 17 Static characteristics of welding nozzle size and filler rod diameters
power sources with different panel thicknesses

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electrode diameter, the gas nozzle di- welding. At the start of welding, the highly
ameter, the distance of the nozzle from heated parent material on the ignition
the parent material surface, the surround- point cools very quickly due to heat ex-
ing air flow and the type of shielding gas traction from the cold masses at the back.
– see also the section shielding gases. The consequence of this rapid cooling
One rule of thumb is that when using ar- may be embrittleed areas, possibly also
gon as the shielding gas and the most with cracks, and pores. This fast cooling
commonly used tungsten electrode di- can be avoided by igniting the arc directly
ameters of 1 to 4 mm, 5 to 10 litres of at the start of the weld seam and by im-
shielding gas are to be added per minute. mediately melting any discontinuities
The gas flow can be measured indirectly which occur.
using manometers which measure the Contact ignition should be the absolute
pressure proportional to the flow quantity exception if an older welding machine be-
in front of an installed pitot-static tube. ing used does not have an igniting aid
The manometer scale is then calibrated (high voltage pulse ignition) – see also
directly in I/min. Measuring devices which section 5.1 Control. In this case the arc is
use glass tubes and suspended loads to ignited on a copper plate placed in the
measure directly in the shielding gas groove close to the start of the weld
flowing into the torch are more precise seam. From there the arc is then moved
(Figure 18). to the planned start of the seam and the
welding started. With contact ignition di-
6.3 Cleaning the workpiece surface rectly on the parent material, tungsten
For a good welding result, it is important may enter the weld metal which is not
that the edges of parts to be joined and melted due to the high melting point and
the surface of the workpiece in the weld- can be seen later on as a pale point in
ing area are cleaned thoroughly before the radiation film due to the larger ab-
starting welding. The surfaces should be sorption of x-ray beams of tungsten.
bare and free of grease, dirt, rust and
paint. Layers of scale should also be re-
moved if possible. In many cases brush- with manometer
Manometer for bottle pressure
ing is sufficient. Where this is not enough, Manometer for gas quantity
the surface should be treated by grinding Presure setting screw
Cut-off valve
or by mechanical processing. With corro- Venturi (pilot static tube)
sion-resistant materials only stainless Declaration of gas type
Identifying colour for gas type
steel brushes should be used, as other-
wise foreign rust could be produced from
iron particles introduced onto the surface.
With aluminium it particularly important
with suspended load
that there is no thick oxide skin on the Manometer for bottle pressure
surface in order to prevent pore forma- Glas tube with suspended load
Control valve
tion. This topic will be covered in more Declaration of gas type
Identifying colour for gas type
detail later on. Appropriate solvents
should be used for cleaning and degreas-
ing purposes. Caution: When using sol-
vents containing chlorine, poisonous
vapour could be produced.
6.4 Igniting the arc Figure 18 Measuring the shielding gas flow
The arc should never be ignited outside
the groove on the parent material, but al-
ways so that the ignition point is melted
immediately again afterwards during
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6.5 Moving the torch be filled using a stringer bead, but which
With TIG welding the leftward welding are too narrow for two stringer beads.
principle is used (Figure 19). This defini-
tion is only applicable, however, if the 6.6 Magnetic arc blow
welder holds the torch with his right hand Arc blow is where the arc is lengthened
and moves the filler rod with the left hand due to being diverted from its central axis
as right-handed persons would normally and emits a hissing noise. This diversion
do, and when viewing the positions from could result in discontinuities. This means
the welder’s point of view. The direction that the fusion penetration may become
of welding is more accurately defined by inadequate and with slag-forming welding
saying that the welding rod is moved in processes, slag inclusions could be pro-
the direction of welding in front of the duced in the seam due to the slag flowing
torch. ahead of the molten pool.
This applies to all positions except for The diversion is caused by forces arising
vertical down welding. With GMA- from the surrounding magnetic field. As
surfacing, rightward welding is also with any current-carrying conductor, the
sometimes used due to the greater melt- electrode and the arc are also sur-
ing deposition power. rounded by a toroidal magnetic field; this
is diverted in the area of the arc when it
The torch is placed in a forehand position
comes into contact with the parent mate-
at a angle of around 20° from the vertical
rial. This compresses the magnetic lines
in the direction of welding, and the filler
of force on the inside and expands them
rod is added from the front at a fairly flat
on the outside (Figure 20 a).
angle of around 15° to the workpiece sur-
face. The arc slips into the area of reduced flux
line density. This lengthens the arc and it
The arc first melts to form a molten bath.
emits a hissing noise due to the in-
The filler rod then melts under the arc,
creased arc voltage this creates. The op-
whereby the welder makes dotting
posite pole therefore exerts a repulsive
movements by moving the rod back and
effect on the arc.
forth. In this process the rod must not be
moved too far underneath the arc during Another magnetic force means that the
joint welding because otherwise the fu- magnetic field can spread more easily in
sion penetration into the parent material a ferromagnetic material than in air. The
is reduced. With GMA-surfacing, where arc is therefore attracted by large ferric
low mixing is of less importance, this can masses. This is reflected, for example, in
be turned to the welder's advantage. that when welding a magnetic material
the arc will move inwards at the end of
With joint welding, the end of the rod
the panel.
should melt on the front of the molten
bath. In this process the welder should
ensure that the melting end does not
move out of the shielding gas bell in the ~20°
dotting movements. Oxidation of the end
of the rod would be the result and oxide
could enter the molten bath.
Welding is normally carried out with no ~15°
movement or with a slight weaving
movement. This creates the least distur-
bance of the shielding gas bell. In the ver-
tical up position (PF) on the other hand, a
slight weaving motion should be used on Figure 19 Positioning the torch and the filler
the torch and the filler rod. The same ap- rod [1]
plies to filler runs in a width which cannot
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PA
Effect of the Effect of large
opposite pole ferric masses
PB
PG
PC
a) b)
Figure 20 Magnetic arc blow

The movement of the arc can be coun-
teracted by tilting the electrode as appro- PF
priate (Figure 20 b). As arc blow is

PD
particularly noticeable with d.c. welding, it
can be avoided, or at least reduced, by
welding with alternating current. PE
The arc blow effect may be particularly Figure 21 Welding positions as defined in ISO
strong due to the surrounding ferric 6947
masses when welding root passes. In this
case it helps if the magnetic flux is sup- 6.8 Set welding parameters
ported by closely positioned tack welds The lower limit of possible use of the TIG
which should not be too short. process for steel is around 0.3 mm, and
with aluminium and copper, 0.5 mm.
6.7 Welding positions Maximum efficiency limits are set up-
Irrespective to ISO 6947, the welding po- wards for the application. The melt depo-
sitions are identified with PA – PG. These sition power for the process is not
are ordered alphabetically when viewed particularly great. For this reason, only
on a pipe from above (flat position – PA) the root runs are commonly TIG welded
starting in the clockwise direction (Figure and the other runs are welded using other
21). processes (MMA, MAG) which have a
The flat position (PA) used to be referred higher level of deposition power.
to as horizontal. Then there are the butt When choosing the set welding parame-
weld positions, horizontal on a vertical ters, bear in mind that only the current in-
wall (PC) and overhead (PE), and the fil- tensity is set on the welding machine, and
let weld positions (PB; horizontal) and the arc voltage is given by the arc length
horizontal/overhead (PD). When welding used by the welder. In this case the volt-
panels, the vertical up position (PF) age increases the longer the arc be-
means welding straight upwards, and the comes. A guideline value for an adequate
vertical down position (PG) is welding current intensity for complete fusion when
straight down. When welding pipes sev- welding steel with alternating current (-
eral positions are used at the same time. pole) is a current intensity of 45 amperes
The vertical up position applies when the per mm of wall thickness. When a.c.
pipe is welded starting from the overhead welding aluminium, 40 amperes/mm are
position without turning upwards on both required.
sides; the equivalent applies to the verti- The appropriate welding data for butt
cal down position for welding from top to welds on different materials can be found
bottom (vertical-down). TIG welding can in Table 4 to Table 8.
be carried out in all positions. The weld-
ing data must be matched to the position,
as with all other welding processes.
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6.9 Welding with current pulses
Tungsten electrode
Welding current [A]

When welding with pulse-wave current,
Panel thickness
Welding speed
diameter [mm]
Groove shape
the current intensity and voltage change
No. of runs
to the rhythm of the pulse frequency con-
[cm/min]
tinuously between a low base value and
[mm]
the higher pulse value (Figure 22).
4.0 I 2 2.0 90 24
I [A]
6.0 I 2 2.4 110 20

8.0 I 2 2.4 120 18
10.0 DV 2 2.4 120 16
12.0 DV 2 3.2 140 15
IP
Table 5 Guideline values for TIG welding
Im
aluminium Current type: A.c. – Ver-
IG
tG tP
tical up position – Shielding gas:
t [s]
Argon [3]
T
Panel thickness [mm]
Tungsten electrode
Welding current [A]

Figure 22 Time sequence of the welding cur-
rent during pulse welding
Welding speed
diameter [mm]
Groove shape
IG: Basic current
No. of runs
IM: Moderate current
[cm/min]
Material
IP: Pulse current
tG: Basic current time
tP: Pulse current time
T: 1 period = 1/f
f: Frequency Pure 1.0 I 1 1.0 65 13
nickel
1.5 I 1 1.6 90 12
3.0 I 1 2.4 140 10
Tungsten electrode
Welding current [A]
5.0 V 3 2.4 145 12

Panel thickness
10.0 V 8 2.4 150 12

Welding speed
diameter [mm]
Groove shape
Copper 1.5 I 1 1.6 130 28

No. of runs
3.0 I 1 3.2 200 25

[cm/min]
5.0 I 2 4.0 270 15

[mm]

nickel and copper Current type: D.c.
1.0 I 1 1.0 45 32 (- pole) – Flat position – Shielding
2.0 I 1 1.6 100 30 gas: Argon [3], [1]
3.0 I 1 1.6 125 30
Tungsten electrode
4.0 I 2 2.4 170 25

Welding current [A]
5.0 I 2 3.2 225 22

Panel thickness
Welding speed
diameter [mm]
Groove shape
6.0 V 2 4.0 300 20

No. of runs

[cm/min]
high-alloy steel
[mm]
Current type: D.c. (- pole) – Flat po-

sition – Shielding gas: Argon [1]
1.0 I 1 1.0 60 32
2.0 I 1 1.6 110 30
3.0 I 1 1.6 140 30
4.0 I 2 2.4 190 25
5.0 I 2 3.2 250 22
6.0 V 2 4.0 350 20
unalloyed and non-alloy steel
Current type: D.c. (- pole) – Flat po-
sition – Shielding gas: Argon [1]
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which means that it is more easily con-
Tungsten electrode
Welding current [A]

trolled in out-of-position welding. Ade-
Panel thickness
Welding speed
quate fusion penetration is still ensured,
diameter [mm]
Groove shape however. The effect just described only
No. of runs
occurs if there is a sufficient temperature
[cm/min]
difference in the molten bath between the
[mm]
base phase and the pulse phase. This is

1.0 I 1 1.6 75 26 only the case with pulse frequencies less
2.0 I 1 2.0 90 21 than around 5 Hz.
3.0 I 1 2.4 125 17 One disadvantage is that the welding
4.0 I 1 3.2 160 15 speed needs to be greatly reduced with
5.0 V 2 3.2 165 14 to 17
pulse welding. The welder can also de-
6.0 V 2 4.0 185 10 to 15
tect the pulses in the low frequency range
Table 8 Guideline values for TIG welding as a disruptive flickering of the arc. This
aluminium, current type: A.c. – flat is why this type of TIG welding is used
position – shielding gas: Argon [3]
less often with manual welding where the
Modern inverter power sources generally welder has other options to control the
allow pulse frequencies of between 0.5 bath than with automated TIG welding.
and 300 Hz to be set. Special power
sources also pulse in the kHz range. 6.10 Automation options
Whereas in the higher frequency ranges, The manual TIG process (Figure 24) can
effects such as grain refining in the weld be mechanised using simple equipment.
metal and arc constriction can be pro- This is of particular interest if longer
duced, the lower frequency range is used lengthways seams are being welded on
primarily in the flat position for better con- panels or if frequent circumferential welds
trol of the molten bath in out-of-position are being performed on pipe-shaped
welding. This occurs as follows (Figure bodies.
23): When welding longitudinal seams, the
The fusion penetration in the parent metal torch can be fixed onto a simple travel
is produced thanks to the high pulse cur- carriage which is used to move over the
rent and a dot-shaped molten bath is weld groove side walls. If discontinuities
formed. This starts to become brittle from occur in the groove geometry, it is advis-
the edge inwards due to the effect of the able to use backing.
low base current which follows, until the When welding circumferential welds, the
next current pulse melts it again and en- torch is suspended stationary and the
larges it. In the meantime the arc has al- workpiece moves in a manipulator rotat-
ready been moved at the welding speed, ing device underneath the torch.
which means that in TIG pulse welding With complex parts welding robots are
the weld seam is created from numerous also used for TIG welding.
overlapping welding spots. The size of
In all cases where filler is required, this is
the molten bath is on average smaller
automatically feeded to the arc in wire
than when welding with an even current,
form.
SL
SL = Length of melting point
UL AL
ÜL = Length of lap AL
6.11 Work safety
AL = Nugget spacing
TIG welding is a very clean process. Vir-
tually no harmful gas or smoke is pro-
Welding-
direction duced, which means that no suction
directly at the place of origin is required
by the current work safety regulations.
Figure 23 Structure of the weld seam from in- Fresh air is sufficient, or mechanised ven-
dividual spots [2} tilation of the room. However, the welder
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must protect himself against radiation an increased risk of electric shock, e.g.
from the arc and against electrical dan- when welding in small spaces or on large
gers. iron masses, reduced values apply for al-
To protect against the infrared and ultra- ternating current, e.g. a peak value of 68
violet radiation, the TIG welder normally volts and an r.m.s. value of 48 volts.
wears a helmet (Figure 24), which leaves Modern welding power sources meeting
both hands free for moving the torch and these requirements bear the “S” safety
for adding filler metal. The filter glass is sign in conformance with DIN EN 60974-
integrated into this safety helmet. This fil- 1. Older power sources may still be
ter has recently been defined in DIN EN marked with “K” (d.c.) or “42 V” (a.c.).
169. There are various grades of protec- The safest way for welders to protect
tion which need to be permanently affixed themselves against electric shocks is to
to the glass. With TIG welding, filters of wear undamaged welding gloves made
protection grades 9 to 14 are used, de- from leather and well-insulated work
pending on the used current intensity, clothes including safety shoes.
where grade 9 is prescribed for lower cur-
rents and 14 for the higher current inten- 7 Special features of different ma-
sities. terials
The greatest electrical risk is represented As already mentioned, the TIG process is
by the open circuit voltage. This is the suitable for welding a large range of ma-
maximum voltage which is present on the terials. Some materials are welded using
activated power source between the con- direct current, and others using alternat-
nection sockets when the arc is not burning current. Table 9 lists which materials
ing. After the arc is ignited, the voltage is are better welded with direct current, and
much lower; in TIG welding only around which with alternating current.
12 to 20 volts. Irrespective to the relevant The sections below cover various special
German accident prevention regulations, features of the different materials.
power sources for direct current in normal
operation should have an open circuit
Material D. c.
voltage peak value of max. 113 volts.
With alternating current system this value
Electrode
Electrode
is also 113 volts, but the r.m.s. value is
“+” pole
“–“ pole
limited to max. 80 volts. Where there is
A.c.
Carbon steel XX - -
Stainless steel XX - -
1)
Aluminium and Al alloys - X XX
1)
Magnesium and Mg alloys - X XX
Copper XX - -
Aluminium bronze X - XX
Silicon bronze XX - -
Brass X - XX
Nickel and Ni alloys XX - X
Titanium XX - -
Table 9 Suitable current type for different

materials, shielding gas:
Pure argon
1)
for thin materials only
XX = best results,
X = can be used,
Figure 24 TIG 230 DC, TIG welding in the food - = not recommended
industry
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7.1 Unalloyed and non-alloy steels the higher expansion coefficients than
These steels can be joined using any with unalloyed steel.
molten welding technique. When choos- With components later subject to corro-
ing the welding process, it is generally the sion, any oxide skins and annealing col-
economic factors which outweigh the ours surface of the seam and on the
quality considerations. The TIG process edges on both sides need to removed af-
is therefore underrepresented due to its ter welding by brushing, blasting, grinding
low deposition power with these steels. or etching before the component is used.
One exception is welding root runs. With Increased corrosion would otherwise form
wall thicknesses larger than around 6mm, underneath these skins. This also applies
often only the root is TIG welded and the for the root side when welding pipes. As
other runs are welded using a more pow- mechanical processing is difficult in this
erful process. Another exception is weld- case, it is advisable to prevent oxidation
ing pipes with smaller diameters. For this via forming – see also chapter 3.4 Form-
purpose there is no other process which ing.
is as well-suited for the task as TIG weld-
ing. 7.3 Aluminium and aluminium alloys
One point to note is that pores may be Alternating current is normally used when
produced, e.g. with unalloyed pipe steels welding aluminium materials, with the ex-
(e.g. P235) which contain less silicon or ception of the cases described below.
with welding in of these pipes in boiler This is necessary to deal with the high-
bases. Similarly, with deep drawing qual- melting oxide layer on the bath. Alumin-
ity steels which can only be deoxidised ium oxide (AI2O3) has a melting point of
with aluminium, pores may occur if a re- around 2050°C. The base material, e.g.
duced amount of filler material is used for pure aluminium melts at 650°C, however.
welding. Due to Oxygen intake from the Aluminium bears such a great chemical
atmosphere, which cannot be completely similarity to oxygen that even if the sur-
avoided, even with shielding gas welding, face of the base material is cleaned of ox-
the weld metal is oxidised and pores may ide by brushing or scraping, these skins
occur in the weld metal because of car- will still form on the surface of the bath.
bon monoxide formation. The remedy for Due to their high melting point, they melt
this is to use as much Si/Mn alloyed filler Cleaning by Electrode on plus pole
kinetic energy
metal as possible, which means that the
oxygen is rendered harmless.
7.2 Austenitic CrNi steels

These materials are particularly well- Ions Electrons
suited to TIG welding because the good Al2 O3

viscosity of the weld metal produces
finely feathered, smooth upper beads and Al
flat root undersides.
The relatively slow welding speed of the no cleaning Electrode on minus pole
TIG process and the low heat conduc-
tance of CrNi steels mean that overheat-
ing can easily occur with small wall
thicknesses. This could mean that heat
Electrons Ions
cracks occur and the corrosion-resistance
Al2 O3
may also be reduced. Overheating can
be prevented if required by including
cooling pauses or by cooling the work- Al
pieces. This also reduces the distortion

Figure 25 Explanation of the cleaning effect
which is greater with CrNi steels due to
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partially only directly underneath the arc. also Table 1. It has been shown that for
The majority of the seam surface would an adequate cleaning effect, not all the
therefore be covered with a solid layer of positive half-wave is required, but that
aluminium oxide when welding with direct just 20 or 30% of it is sufficient. This has
current (- pole). This makes it impossible been exploited in modern TIG power
to observe the bath and makes it more sources. These generate an artificial
difficult to include filler. This oxide layer square-wave alternating current in which
can be removed by using flux agents, as fast-reacting switches (transistorss) are
in brazing, but this would mean additional used to connect the plus and minus poles
work. of a direct current source alternately to
With alternating current welding, there is the electrode. This means that the bal-
the option of cracking open and getting ance of both half-waves can be changed
rid of this oxide layer using high-energy in relation to one another, e.g. from 20%
densities in the arc. This only applies to plus / 80% minus to 80% plus / 20% mi-
the ions as the electrons do not have suf- nus (Figure 26).
ficient kinetic energy for the purpose due The lower proportion on the plus pole re-
to their low mass. Figure 25 shows the sults in a higher current-carrying capacity
high-energy density flow in the arc. of the electrode or with the same current
If the minus pole is on the electrode, the setting in an extended service life. With
electrons move from the electrode to the these “square-wave sources” the fre-
worpiece and the remaining ions from the quency of the artificial alternating current
workpiece to the electrode. With this po- can normally also be changed, e.g. be-
larity, no cleaning effect is possible. With tween 50 and 300 Hz. The increase in
reversed polarity, on the other hand, the frequency also conserves the electrode.
heavy ions hit the surface of the work- The artificial square-wave alternating cur-
piece. The kinetic energy in these ions rent has another advantage, however. As
can crack open and eliminate the oxide the current course form is very steep
skin. when the polarity is changed, the idle
Welding on the hotter plus pole would times of the arc are considerably shorter
mean that the current-carrying capacity of with the zero pass than with a sinusoidal
the electrode would be very low. This waveform. The reignition is therefore
variant of TIG welding can therefore only safer, even without an igniting aid, and
be used for welding very thin aluminium the arc is more stable overall. However,
structures (up to around 2.5 mm wall the reignition operations are more notice-
thickness). As a compromise, alternating able due to the louder humming noise.
current can be used. If the positive half- Modern TIG power sources permit weld-
wave is on the electrode, the cleaning ef- ing with direct current, as well as with si-
fect is started. In the subsequent negative nusoidal and square-wave alternating
half-wave, the electrode can then cool current (Figure 28).
down once more. This is therefore also In recent times a variant of TIG minus
known as the cleaning and cooling half- pole welding has been used which uses
wave. The current-carrying capacity is shielding gas with a high helium content
lower when welding with alternating cur- (e.g. 90% He / 10% Ar). When welding on
rent than with direct current minus pole the minus pole, the oxide skin cannot be
welding. However, it is significantly higher cracked open, as explained above. But
than when welding on the plus pole – see the high temperature of the energy-rich
helium arc means that it can be liquefied.
100A +
Current
80% 50% 20% This makes it much less problematic. TIG
100A - 20% 50% 80% direct current welding on the minus pole
using helium is used primarily for repair
Figure 26 Different balance settings with welding on cast components made from
square-wave alternating current
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aluminium/silicon alloys due to the im- rosity. The best option has proved to be
proved fusion penetration characteristics. cleaning oxides from the workpiece sur-
A particular feature of welding the mate- faces thoroughly before welding, but then
rial aluminium is its tendency to form waiting another one or two hours so that
pores when retaining hydrogen. The con- a thin oxide coating can form. The oxide
ditions are considerably more important skins formed on the surface of the filler
than when welding steel. Whereas iron rods also contribute to pore formation.
still has a dissolving power for hydrogen Aluminium fillers should therefore be
of 8 cm3/100 g of weld metal in the transi- stored carefully and for short periods
tion from liquid to the solid state, alumin- only.
ium in the solid state has virtually no
dissolving power for hydrogen. This 7.4 Copper and copper alloys
means that all hydrogen taken up during The welding of copper is more compli-
welding must exit the weld metal before it cated primarily because of its high level
embrittles. Otherwise pores will be proof heat conductance. With larger panel
duced in the weld metal. thicknesses, the material therefore needs
Sources of hydrogen when TIG welding to be pre-heated at least at the start of
aluminium are primarily oxide skins on the weld seam. A pre-heating effect is
the parent material. These attract mois- produced later on by the forward welding
ture and therefore need to be removed heat, which means that large-scale pre-
before welding by brushing or scraping. heating is only required for wall thick-
On the other hand, the arc is quieter if nesses > 5 mm. The TIG process pro-
there is a thin oxide skin on the surface vides the option of using the arc itself for
because this better emits electrons than pre-heating, by using an extended arc in
the pure metal. This means that a com- circling movements to heat the start of
promise needs to be found between a the weld seam.
stable arc and sufficient resistance to po- Pure copper and many Cu alloys are
welded using direct current, with the elec-
trode on the minus pole. Only a few
bronzes such as brass and aluminium
bronze are better welded with alternating
current.
7.5 Other materials

In addition to the materials already dis-
cussed, nickel and nickel alloys are also
TIG-welded to a significant extent. The
Figure 28 TRITON 220 AC/DC, TIG inverter

Figure 27 Using the PICOTIG 160 HF
welding machine
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TIG welding is a very important process.
Its advantages have been described in a
different section of this publication.
8.1 Uses in manufacturing

TIG welding is used primarily in the
manufacture of boilers, containers,
equipment and pipes, but also in the
aerospace and space industry and for the
production of stainless steel longitudinal
seam welded pipes.
A further application of TIG welding lies in
GMA surfacing, particularly in tool manu-
Figure 29 TRITON 160 DC, TIG welding in facture where this process can be used to
equipment construction improve even very fine contours, e.g. on
most important are nickel/chrome alloys dies and blanking dies.
(e.g. Inconel) and nickel/copper alloys
(e.g. Monel). Titanium and titanium alloys 8.2 Example applications
are also TIG-welded. Direct current with a Figure 29 shows the use of manual TIG
negative poled electrode is also best welding in equipment construction.
suited to these materials. When welding A flange is welded into a housing made
titanium, however, not only the welding from stainless CrNi steel (material num-
seam area itself should be protected by ber 1.4301). The TRITON 160 DC weld-
shielding gas but to prevent annealing ing system being used supplies direct
colour shielding gas should also be current up to 160 amperes at a duty cycle
added at a great distance from the weld- of 50%.
ing point and where applicable also on Similarly, the application shown in Figure
the back using a gas trailer. Otherwise 30 is the welding of CrNi steel in the
the material will become brittle due to the chemical industry.
take-up of atmospheric gases.
8 Applications for TIG welding

Example applications for TIG welding are
given in Figure 27 to Figure 32. The TIG
process is used primarily to join thin-
walled workpieces; for thicker materials
generally only the root pass is welded us-
ing this process and the filler and final
passes carried out using other more
powerful techniques. Irrespective to one
statistic, the percentage of this process is
just below 2% based on the total of all
welding seams produced in Germany.
However, this figure comes out particu-
larly unfavourably for TIG welding be-
cause it is based on the consumption of
filler material. As already mentioned, TIG
welding normally uses little filler material.
The actual proportion of this process
could therefore well be greater, although
not approaching the use of manual arc Figure 30 TRITON 260 DC, TIG welding on
welding at around 7.5%. Nevertheless, pipes
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As mentioned above, a sector where TIG
welding is often the preferred choice is
the aerospace and space industry. Figure
31 shows the application of the process
of repairing a jet chamber for an aircraft
engine.
The basic material here is a high-
temperature and corrosion-resistant
nickel-based alloy.
In Figure 32 pipes made from heat-
resistant steel are being welded into the
pipe bend of a heat exchanger. This in-
volves the manual use of the process.
Figure 31 TIG welding in the repair of drive
However, such welding tasks are also of-
unit components
ten mechanised. In this case the torch is
Circumferential welds on pipelines from centred in the interior of the pipe using a
this material are TIG welded using direct tensioning spindle. It normally runs from a
current. Being used here is the more position starting from the flat position in a
powerful TRITON 260 DC welding sys- circle around the pipe (orbital welding).
tem with a nominal current intensity of Filler material can also be added during
260 amperes. The TIG process has been this process. As this runs through all posi-
chosen here primarily because perfect tions from horizontal via vertical down
complete root fusion from outside was and overhead to vertical up, the welding
required. With welding tasks such as this, power sources used here are program-
the inside of the pipe needs to be mable so that the welding data for the
shaped. relevant welding position can be modified
for the position in question. These TIG
orbital welds also occur as butt welds on
pipes. In this case the torch runs around
the pipe on a collect chuck.
9 Literature
[1] R. Killing: Handbuch der Schweißver-
fahren, Teil 1: Lichtbogenschweißen
Fachbuchreihe Schweißtechnik Band
76/I, DVS-Verlag GmbH Düsseldorf 1999
[2] R. Killing: Kompendium der Schweiß-
technik Band 1: Verfahren der Schweiß-
technik Fachbuchreihe Schweißtechnik
Band 128/I, DVS-Verlag GmbH Düssel-
dorf 1997
Schweißen und Schneiden Fachbuchrei-
he Schweißtechnik Band 72, DVS-Verlag
GmbH Düsseldorf 1994
Figure 32 TIG welding used to weld pipes

into pipe bends

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10 Imprint
The TIG Primer, 1st edition 2002
lications – All about welding
Reprinting, including extracts, is forbid-
den. No part of this brochure may be re-
produced or electronically procssed,
reproduced or distributed in any form
(photocopy, microfilm or any other proce-
dure) without the written permission of
EWM.
© EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH

Dr.-Günter-Henle-Str. 8
D-56271 Mündersbach, Germany
Phone: +49(0)2680.181-0
Fax: +49(0)2680.181-244
mailto:info@ewm.de
http://www.ewm.de

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MIG/MAG PRIMER
The EWM MIG / MAG Primer
Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................................1
1 Preface ..........................................................................................................................................................2
2 The process ..................................................................................................................................................2
2.1 General ...............................................................................................................................................2
2.2 Current type ........................................................................................................................................3
3 Fillers and auxiliary materials........................................................................................................................3
3.1 Types of wire electrodes.....................................................................................................................3
3.2 Welding-engineering delivery conditions for wire electrodes and cored wire electrodes ...................4
3.3 Shielding gases...................................................................................................................................5
3.4 Weld metal properties .........................................................................................................................6
4 Groove preparation .......................................................................................................................................7
4.1 Groove shapes....................................................................................................................................7
4.2 Placement of the weld groove side walls............................................................................................7
4.3 Backing ...............................................................................................................................................8
4.4 Forming...............................................................................................................................................8
5 Welding machines.........................................................................................................................................9
5.1 Power sources ....................................................................................................................................9
5.2 Wire feed units ..................................................................................................................................11
5.3 Tube package and torch ...................................................................................................................12
5.4 Control ..............................................................................................................................................13
6 Material transfer with MIG/MAG welding ....................................................................................................14
6.1 Arc ranges.........................................................................................................................................14
6.2 Short arc ...........................................................................................................................................14
6.3 Long arc ............................................................................................................................................15
6.4 Spray arc...........................................................................................................................................15
6.5 Mixed arc ..........................................................................................................................................16
6.6 Pulse arc ...........................................................................................................................................16
6.7 Special types of material transfer .....................................................................................................16
7 Setting the set welding parameters.............................................................................................................17
7.1 Setting with conventional systems....................................................................................................17
7.2 Synergetic setting of set welding parameters...................................................................................18
7.3 Regulating the MIG/MAG process ....................................................................................................19
8 Performing welding work.............................................................................................................................19
8.1 Igniting the arc ..................................................................................................................................19
8.2 Moving the torch ...............................................................................................................................20
8.3 Ending the welding process..............................................................................................................20
8.4 Welding parameters..........................................................................................................................20
8.5 Automation options ...........................................................................................................................22
9 Work safety .................................................................................................................................................23
10 24
10 Special features of different materials.........................................................................................................24
10.1 Un-alloyed and low-alloy steels ........................................................................................................24
10.2 High-alloy steels and nickel-based alloys .........................................................................................24
10.3 Aluminium and aluminium alloys ......................................................................................................25
10.4 Other materials .................................................................................................................................26
11 Applications for MIG / MAG welding ...........................................................................................................26
11.1 Uses in manufacturing ......................................................................................................................26
11.2 Example applications ........................................................................................................................26
12 Literature .....................................................................................................................................................27
13 Imprint .........................................................................................................................................................27
EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 1 11.07

Dr. Günter-Henle-Str. 8 D-56271 Mündersbach/Ww., Germany Art. Nr.: WM.0223.01
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1 Preface 2 The process

MIG/MAG welding (Figure 1) is one of the 2.1 General
more recent developments in arc welding
The new generic term for all arc welding
processes. It originated in the USA where
processes where a wire electrode is
it was first used in 1948.
melted using shielding gas, as defined in
ISO 857-1, is gas-shielded metal arc
welding (process no. 13). In Germany the
generic term previously used was metal
shielding gas welding. The ISO standard
defines the process as follows: metal-arc
welding using a wire electrode in which
the arc and the weld pool are shielded
from the atmosphere by a shroud of gas
supplied from an external source. De-
pending on the type of shielding gas be-
ing used, there are further sub-
classifications into metal inert gas weld-
Figure 1 MAG welding in a workshop ing (MIG), process no. 131, when an inert
gas is used and metal active gas welding
A short time afterwards it came to (MAG), process no. 135, when an active
Europe. It was first only used with inert gas is used.
gases or with argon containing only low
Other variants also given in ISO 857-1
quantities of active components (e.g.
are: Flux-cored wire welding with active
oxygen) and was therefore called
gas shield (process no. 136), Flux-cored
S.I.G.M.A. welding. This stands for
wire welding with inert gas shield (proc-
“shielded inert gas metal arc”. In 1953 the
ess no. 137), plasma MIG welding (proc-
Russians began to use an active gas for
ess no. 151) and electrogas welding
welding instead of the expensive inert
(process no. 73).
gases such as argon or helium, namely
carbon dioxide (CO2). This was only pos- This primer relates to MIG/MAG welding
sible because in the meantime wire elec- only. This is characterised in that a wire
trodes had been developed that electrode supplied from the spool by a
compensated for the higher alloy burn-off wire feed motor is supplied with current
with active gas welding. by the contact nozzle shortly before it
MIG/MAG welding enjoys great popularity
today in virtually all branches of industry
from workshops to large-scale industrial
applications because it is by nature par-
tially mechanised and, with relative ease,
can be fully mechanised or used auto-
matically.
This publication covers the special fea-
tures of the process and provides infor-
mation on its correct usage.
Figure 2 Principle of gas-shielded metal

arc welding as defined by ISO
857-1
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DIN EN 440. The standard differentiates
between the chemical compositions of 11
types of welding wires. It also contains
welding wire types commonly used in
other European countries. In Germany
only types G2Si1, G3Si1 and G4Si1
(given in Table 1 for unalloyed steels) are
used in any quantity. These contain in-
creasing amounts of silicon and manga-
nese in the order given, with an average
of 0.65 to 0.9 % of silicon and 1.10 to
Figure 3 Welding fine-grained constructional
1.75 % of manganese. For fine-grained
steels in crane construction work steels, the types G4Mo, G3Ni1 and
G3Ni2 are also used (Figure 3).
leaves the torch so that the arc can burn Cored wire electrodes for welding these
between the end of the wire electrode types of steel are given in DIN EN 758.
and the workpiece. The shielding gas Depending on the composition of the fill-
flows out of the shielding gas nozzle, ing, a distinction is made here between
which covers the wire electrode concen- rutile types, basic types and metal pow-
trically (Figure 2). der types. In addition to cored wires for
MIG/MAG welding, DIN EN 758 also de-
This shields the weld metal from being
fines self-shielding cored wires, which
penetrated by the atmospheric gases
can be used for welding without the addi-
oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. The
tion of any shielding gas. They are com-
shielding gas has other purposes in addi-
monly used for GMA-surfacing (Figure 4).
tion to its protective function. As it deter-
mines the composition of the arc Wire electrodes for welding creep resis-
atmosphere, it also affects its electrical tant steels are defined in DIN EN 12070,
conductance and thus the welding char- and cored wire electrodes for these steels
acteristics. It also affects with pick-up and in DIN EN 12071. The wire electrodes
burn-off processes and the chemical range from molybdenum alloy only vari-
composition of the weld metal produced - ant to wires with 1, 2.5, 5 and 9 %
in other words, it also has a metallurgic chrome to wire electrodes with 12 %
effect. chrome. Other alloy elements are molyb-
denum, vanadinite and tungsten. There
2.2 Current type are cored wire electrodes with up to 5 %
Apart from more recent exceptions, chrome.
MIG/MAG welding is normally performed
using direct current, with the plus pole of
the power source on the electrode and
the minus pole on the workpiece. With
some cored wire the reverse polarity is
also sometimes used.
In more recent times alternating current is
also used for very special applications,
e.g. for MIG welding on very thin panels.
3 Fillers and auxiliary materials

3.1 Types of wire electrodes
Wire electrodes for MIG/MAG welding of
unalloyed steels and fine-grained con- Figure 4 Hard-facing of spiral conveyors
structional steels are defined in
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1 2 3
Chemical composition in % (m/min) ) ) )
Code
C Si Mn P S Ni Mo Al Ti and Zr
G0 Any other agreed composition
G2Si1 0.5 to 0.8 0.9 to 1.3
G3Si1 0.7 to 1.0 1.3 to 1.6
0.06 to 0.14 0.02 0.15
G4Si1 0.8 to 1.2 1.6 to 1.9 0.025 0.15
G3Si2 1.0 to 1.3 1.3 to 1.6
G2Ti 0.04 to 0.14 0.4 to 0.8 0.9 to 1.4 0.05 to 0.2 0.05 to 0.25
G3Ni1 0.5 to 0.9 1.0 to 1.6 0.8 to 1.5
0.06 to 0.14 0.02 0.15
G2Ni2 0.4 to 0.8 0.8 to 1.4 2.1 to 2.7
0.02
G2Mo 0.08 to 0.12 0.3 to 0.7 0.9 to 1.3 0.15
0.4 to 0.6
G4Mo 0.06 to 0.14 0.5 to 0.8 1.7 to 2.1 0.025 0.15
G2Al 0.08 to 0.14 0.3 to 0.5 0.9 to 1.3 0.15 0.35 to 0.75
1
) Unless otherwise specified: Cr d 0.15, Cu d 0.35 and V d 0.03. The proportion of copper in steel plus coating
should not exceed 0.35%.
2
) Single values in the table are maximum values.
3
) The results should be rounded to the same place as the values specified by ISO 31-0, Appendix B, Guide-
line A.
Table 1 Codes for the chemical composition of wire electrodes

Wire electrodes for welding stainless and Cored wires generally start from a diame-
heat-resistant steels are defined in DIN ter of 1.0 mm. However, they are also
EN 12072; cored wire electrodes for used in thicker dimensions such as 2.4 or
these steels are defined in DIN EN 3.2 mm.
12073. The standards differentiate be- Unalloyed and non-alloy wire electrodes
tween fillers for martensitic/ferric chrome are normally used with a copper-coated
steels, austenitic steels, ferric/austenitic surface. The copper plating reduces the
steels and full austenitic highly corrosion- slippage resistance during feeding and
resistant steels, as well as special types improves the contact. It does not provide
and heat-resistant types. any significant corrosion protection be-
For wire electrodes for welding aluminium cause it is porous. Cored wire electrodes
and aluminium alloys there is currently a can only be copper plated if they have an
draft version of a new European standard enclosed coating without any gaps.
(EN ISO 18273). High-alloy wires cannot be galvanically or
3.2 Welding-engineering delivery condi- electrolytically copper-plated. They are
tions for wire electrodes and cored supplied with a bright surface. Welding
wire electrodes wires made from aluminium are also used
with a bright surface. As drawing agents
Wires, rods and wire electrodes for
can penetrate the soft surface of the alu-
shielding gas welding are manufactured
minium, which would cause pores to form
by cold drawing. Cored wire electrodes
during the subsequent welding process,
for certain manufacturing processes are
quality wires are stripped before the final
manufactured by cold rolling.
drawing process.
Standard diameters and permissible limit
Wire fillers for shielding gas welding are
dimensions for wire electrodes and cored
supplied on reels, core spools or basket
wire electrodes can be found in DIN EN
coils. Larger packs such as barrel reels
759. The diameters range from 0.6 to 4.0
are also available.
mm. With solid wires for MIG/MAG weld-
ing, however, the most commonly used
diameters are 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.6 mm.
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3.3 Shielding gases argon/helium mixtures. They are used for
Shielding gases for MIG/MAG welding TIG, MIG, and plasma welding, and for
can be found in DIN EN 439. This stan- root protection.
dard defines all shielding gases for arc The large M group, which is divided into
welding and arc cutting. The shielding subgroups M1, M2 and M3, contains the
gases are divided into 7 groups and fur- mixed gases used for MAG welding.
ther sub-groups (Table 2). Each subgroup also contains 3 or 4 fur-
Group R includes argon/hydrogen mix- ther subgroups. The gases are arranged
tures, which have a reducing effect. The from M1.1 to M3.3 depending on their
gases in group R1 are used for TIG weld- oxidation properties, i.e. M1.1 is only
ing and for plasma welding, along with slightly oxidising and M3.3 has the high-
argon and helium, whereas the gases in est level of oxidisation. The main compo-
subgroup 2 with a higher hydrogen con- nent of these gases is argon, and the
tent (H) are used for plasma cutting and active components added are oxygen (O)
for root protection (forming gases). or carbon dioxide (CO2) or oxygen and
carbon dioxide (three-component gases).
Group I includes the inert gases, includ-
ing argon (Ar) and helium (He), as well as In the range of gases used for MAG weld-
1
Code ) Components in volumetric percent
Slow Normal
Oxidising Inert Reducing Notes
Group No. reacting application
CO2 O2 Ar He H2 N2
1 > 0 to 15 TIG, plasma weld-
2
R Residual ) ing, plasma cutting,
2 > 15 to 35
root protection
1 100
MIG, TIG, plasma
2 100
I welding, root pro- inert
> 0 to tection
3 Residual
95
1 > 0 to 5
> 0 to 5
2 low oxidi-
M1
3 sation
> 0 to 3
4 > 0 to 5
1 > 5 to 25
2
2 Residual )
M2 > 3 to 10
3 > 0 to 5 MAG
4 > 5 to 25 > 0 to 8
1 > 25 to 50
M3 2 > 10 to 15
3 > 5 to 50 > 8 to 15
1 100 high oxidi-
C
2 Residual > 0 to 30 sation
slow to
1 100 Plasma cutting,
F react
root protection
2 > 0 to 50 Residual reducing
1
) If components not given in the table are added, the gas mixture is designated as a special gas and marked with the
letter S. More information on the designation S is given in section 4.
2
) Argon can be replaced with helium up to 95%. The helium percentage is indicated by an additional code irrespective to
Table 5, see section 4.
Table 2 Classification of shielding gases for arc welding and arc cutting (EN 439: 1994)
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ing, group C contains pure carbon dioxide low density of helium. The pressure of the
and a carbon dioxide / oxygen mixture. gas coming out of the cylinder or the ring
The latter is not used in Germany, how- pipe is first reduced. The quantity set can
ever. The gases in group C have the be read off a manometer that has been
highest level of oxidisation because the calibrated together with a nozzle, or on a
CO2 decomposes in the high arc tem- flowmeter with suspended load.
perature, producing large quantities of More information on the effect of the
oxygen in addition to the carbon monox- shielding gases on the welding process is
ide. given later on in the description of the
Lastly, group F includes nitrogen (N) and various arc types.
a nitrogen/hydrogen mixture. Both gases
3.4 Weld metal properties
can be used for plasma cutting and for
forming. With welding fillers for unalloyed steels
and for fine-grained constructional steels,
In addition to the oxidation properties, the
the main factor when choosing a
electrical and physical properties in the
wire/shielding gas combination is recreat-
arc area and thus the welding properties
ing the strength and toughness properties
also change with the composition of the
of the parent material in the weld mate-
gas. Adding helium to argon, for example,
rial. The standard DIN EN 440 provides
improves the heat conductance and the
some help here. Just as for stick elec-
heat retention of the arc atmosphere.
trodes, a designation system provides
Both result in an energy-rich arc and thus
specifications for the minimum values for
in better fusion penetration characteris-
the yield point and fracture elongation,
tics. The addition of active components to
and the strength and impact energy of the
the mixed gases creates finer drop forma-
weld metal. The designation system is
tion when melting the wire electrode. The
shown in Table 3.
heat transport in the arc is also improved,
which in turn means improved fusion In the chosen example, a wire electrode
penetration characteristics. G3Si1 is welded using mixed gas (M).
The weld metal for this wire/shielding gas
The quantity of shielding gas required
combination has a minimum yield
can be calculated using a rule of thumb; it
strength of 460 N / mm2, a strength of 530
should be 10 - 12 x wire diameter in li-
to 680 N / mm2 and a minimum expansion
tres/minute. The greater tendency to-
of 20 % (46). Impact energy of 47 joules
wards oxidation of the material when MIG
will achieve a temperature of up to -30 °C
welding aluminium means that slightly
(3). A similar system also exists for char-
higher flow quantities need to be set.
acterising the weld metal of cored wire
With Ar/He mixed gases, significantly
electrodes in DIN EN 758.
higher quantities should be set due to the
Codes for the strength and expansion properties of the weld metal Codes for the impact energy of the weld metal
1
Code Min. yield strength ) Strength Min. fracture Code Temperature for min. impact
2 2
N/mm N/mm strain 2) % energy 47 J °C
35 355 440 to 570 22 Z No requirements
38 380 470 to 600 20 A +20
42 420 500 to 640 20 0 0
46 460 530 to 680 20 2 -20
50 500 560 to 720 18 3 -30
4 -40
5 -50
6 -60
EN 440 – G 46 3 M G3Si1
Table 3 Example codes for a wire/shielding gas combination defined by DIN EN 440
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With creep resistant steels, corrosion- 4.2 Placement of the weld groove side
resistant and heat-resistant steels and walls
with aluminium materials, the general rule With unalloyed and low-alloy steels, the
is that to achieve the necessary material edges of parts to be joined are normally
properties, the weld metal needs to be of prepared by oxygen cutting. High-alloy
as similar type as possible or with slightly steels and metals that can be MIG/MAG
more alloy. For wire electrodes and cored welded (e.g. aluminium) can be fusion cut
wire electrodes for welding creep resis- using a plasma arc. It is not necessary to
tant, corrosion-resistant and heat- remove the oxide skins formed during the
resistant steels, details are given on the thermal separation, but may be required
minimum values for yield strength, in some circumstances. The special fea-
strength, expansion and impact energy of tures of aluminium as a material in this
the weld metal in the relevant standards respect are covered in another section.
as tables. These values do not form part
Joint type Workpiece thick- Diagram
of the designation system, however. ness (mm)
A wire electrode for MAG welding creep- One-sided 3-8
Square weld
resistant steel 13 CrMo 4.5 has the des- both sides <8
ignation as defined in DIN EN 12070: One-sided 3-10
Single-V weld with backing run
EN 12070 - G CrMo1Si 3-40
A wire electrode for MAG welding corro- Single-V butt
One-sided 5-40
sion-resistant CrNi steel with material weld with
with backing run
broad root
number 1.4302 has the following desig- face
>10
nation as defined in DIN EN 12072:
EN 12072 - G 19 9 L
The designation for a wire electrode for Double-V butt
MIG welding material AlMg 5 is: Both sides > 10
weld
EN 18273 - G RAlMg5Mn
4 Groove preparation
One-sided > 12
4.1 Groove shapes Single-U butt
with backing run
weld
The most important groove shapes used >12
in MAG welding on steel are shown in One-sided 3-10
Figure 5. Single-V butt
with backing run
weld
Due to the good fusion penetration char- 3-30
acteristics the process offers, seams with
root faces (square, single-V, double-V Fillet weld T-
One-sided >2
welds) can be welded with complete fu- joint
sion and without gouging on greater
panel thicknesses than with manual arc
welding. Gouging from the underside is Fillet weld One-sided >2
corner joint both sides > 3
recommended, however, with larger ma-
terial thicknesses, to avoid faults. The
root face height depends on the current Fillet weld lap
One-sided >2
intensity being used. joint
Larger weld preparation angles (70 - 90 °)
Fillet weld,
are recommended with aluminium mate- double fillet Both sides > 2
rials for larger thicknesses due to the weld
greater heat carry-off.
Figure 5 Groove shapes as defined in
DIN EN 29692 – ISO 9692
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If there are any particular requirements spontaneous sagging of the weld metal,
for observing lower tolerances, mechani- e.g. at points where the gap is slightly
cal undercutting of the edges of parts to wider, so that the molten metal is caught
be joined could be advisable. This applies and a root bead can be produced. The
in particular to circumferential welds. The backing also forms the underside of the
modern options for cutting with an elec- root weld. For this purpose a groove is
tron beam or a laser beam are provided therefore generally created for it.
in automated production.
4.4 Forming
4.3 Backing This is the extra addition of shielding gas
Whereas in manual welding the welder to the back of the root where the material
watches the progress of the weld and can being welded is also in a molten state,
achieve an even root weld even if the root but is not reached by the shielding gas
opening is uneven by setting the correct supplied to the top side. Unlike TIG weld-
current intensity, adjusting the position of ing where because of the relatively low
the arc in the groove and the welding welding speed the back of the root often
speed in fully automated welding every- has a “burnt” appearance due to oxida-
thing must be correct from the chosen tion that should be prevented by the form-
welding groove the root opening set to ing gas, MIG/MAG welding does not
the correct set welding parameters and require this forming gas for this reason.
the continuous quantity of filler wire Thanks to the forming process, the for-
added. Backing runs are therefore often mation of oxide skins and annealing col-
used with machine welding to simplify the ours on the back of the root is also
root welding (Figure 6). prevented, or at least reduced. This is
If there is no significant variation in the important when welding corrosion-
root gap, root faces can also be used as resistant steels, for example, because
natural backings, e.g. with square edge these oxide skins impair the corrosion-
and single-V seams (internal backings). resistance of the weld. These skins need
Depending on the root face height, the to be removed by brushing, blasting or
set welding parameters for welding the etching. The best option is to prevent
first pass need to be selected so that the these skins occurring in the first place by
root face is not fully melted. The remain- using the forming process.
der of the root face can then be created When welding pipes, the ends can simply
when welding the backing run, with or be blocked and the forming gas fed into
without gouging. the interior. When welding metal panels,
Artificial (external) backings consist of the forming gas can be allowed to flow
metals, for example, with most metals out of openings in the backing bars. Ar-
and alloys, of copper, and with alumin- gon or an argon/hydrogen mixture can be
ium, which has a low melting point, of used as the forming gas. In many cases,
stainless steel. Ceramic backing plates however, the more cost-effective forming
are also used in welding for this purpose. gases in group F in DIN EN 439 can be
The backing plate should prevent the used. These gases may consist of a hy-
Internal backing root face drogen/nitrogen mixture, for example. In
some circumstances, pure nitrogen can
also be used for forming.
Square edge root face Single-V joint
External backing
Single-V butt weld on Cu rail

Figure 6 Backings with machine welding

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5 Welding machines
Machines for MIG/MAG welding consist
of the power source, the control and the
wire feed unit with tube package and
torch. For various applications, these can
be used as compact machines or as uni-
versal machines.
With compact machines (Figure 7) the
power source, control and wire feed unit
are housed in a casing.
The operation radius corresponds to the
length of the torch tube package. De-
pending on the wire electrode diameter
being used, this is 3-5m. Irrespectively,
compact machines are used mainly at
fixed workstations, e.g. in welding booths
or on production lines. With universal
machines (Figure 8), also known as de-
compact machines, the wire feed is
Figure 8 Water cooled universal machine
housed separately in a case and con-
WEGA 401
nected to the power source and the con-
trol using a link cable. the high voltage from the mains and sup-
These machines can be moved to the plying the high current intensity required,
workpiece, which means that the opera- even if a short-circuit occurs. As with
tion radius is 10 to 20 m larger in com- MIG/MAG welding, apart from a few re-
parison to the compact machine. cent developments, only direct current is
Universal machines are therefore gener- used, rectifiers and inverters are used as
ally used at mobile workstations and on power sources. Power sources for
construction sites.
5.1 Power sources
The power source has the task of supply-
ing the welding process with the electrical
energy required. This includes reducing
Figure 7 Gas cooled compact machine

SATURN 301 Figure 9 Inverter multiprocess machine
PHOENIX
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plex power sources, the current is set in
the rectifier part using controllable rectifi-
ers (thyristors). A scheme of a system of
this type is given in Figure 11.
By adjusting the thyristors as appropriate,
more or fewer parts of the a.c. half-waves
are allowed through, changing the weld-
ing voltage.
Figure 10 Principle of a step switch machine More demanding MIG/MAG machines are
equipped with inverters as power
MIG/MAG welding have a horizontal or sources. The inverter is an electronic
slightly falling characteristic (constant power source. After a period of using
voltage characteristic). This is required to analogue, secondary clocked and primary
permit the process to be regulated inter- clocked electronic power sources, devel-
nally. More information on this will be re- opment has now focussed on primary
quired later on. For machines to be used clocked devices, which work in a com-
as multiprocess systems, the characteris- pletely different way to conventional
tic can also be adjusted from vertical fal- power sources (Figure 12).
ling to horizontal.
The current coming from the mains is first
The welding rectifier consists of the trans- rectified and then, in order to transform it,
former and downstream rectifier stacks. chopped into short sections by switching
Whereas the transformer converts the on and off. This process is known as
high voltage and low current intensity clocking. This is possible, thanks to fast-
from the mains supply into welding cur- reacting electronic switches called tran-
rent with low voltage and high current in- sistorss. The first transistorsised inverters
tensity, the rectifier stacks rectify the used a clock frequency of around 25 kHz.
alternating current coming from the trans- Today with highly developed transistorss,
former. To meet the special requirements clock frequencies of 100 kHz and more
of different welding tasks, the power are possible.
sources need to be adjustable. With sim-
ple machines for MIG/MAG welding, this After “chopping” (clocking), the current is
occurs via a primary-side turn tapping us- transformed into the necessary high cur-
ing step switches. Figure 10 shows the rent intensity and low voltage. A square-
functioning principle of a step switch ma- wave alternating current is then created
chine. on the transformer, and is rectified once
more. The high clock frequency has the
Adding more or fewer turns on the pri- advantage that the mass of the trans-
mary coil changes the transmission ratio former can be kept very small because it
of the transformer and thus the voltage is dependent on the frequency of the cur-
on the secondary side. With more com- rent being transformed. Lightweight
power sources can thus be produced.
With electronic power sources, much of
what is achived components such As re-
sistors, chokes and capacitors, is trig-
D.C. - A.C. converter Rectivier (diode)
Mains
Regulator
- single -
Rectivier (diode) Transformer Choke
Figure 11 Functional principle of a thyristor- Figure 12 Block diagram for a 3rd generation
controlled power source inverter

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gered electronically by the control. The
control for these power sources is there-
fore just as important as the power unit.
The current is adjusted in clocked
sources, for example, by changing the ra-
tio between the current input/output
times. Changing the clock frequency can
also be used to adjust the current level.
To generate pulse-shaped current, the ra-
tio of the input/output times is changed
cyclically by the control. The slope-
up/slope-down is produced in a similar
way.
However, new technology means that
controlled power sources are also possi-
ble, something that had been missing in
welding technology for a long time. A Figure 13 Interior view of a wire feed unit with
control device measures the welding cur- a 4-roller drive unit
rent and welding voltage and compares it
With MIG/MAG welding wire feed speeds
to the set values. If the set welding pa-
of between 2 and 20 m/min are standard,
rameters change, e.g. due to undesirable
and more with high deposition power
resistances in the welding current circuit,
units. The motors are therefore con-
the control will adjust them irrespectively.
nected to the drive roller via a gear unit.
This occurs very rapidly in the Ps range.
Similarly, the short-circuit current can The wire feed unit should not damage the
also be limited and the cosM improved. surface of the wire electrode. The wire
Greater efficiency and lower open circuit feed rollers therefore need to have a di-
losses of the inverter power sources are ameter sufficient to ensure that the spe-
already produced by the lower mass of cific pressure on the wire surface does
the transformer. not become too great. In contrast to a 2-
roller drive unit, 4-roller drive units can
5.2 Wire feed units feed the wire with reduced surface pres-
The wire feed unit moves the wire elec- sure and without slipping. The surface
trode via feed rollers at the speed at pressure between the rollers can be re-
which it is melted by the process. The duced further if multiple rollers are being
wire is drawn off the spool and moved
into the tube package that has the weld-
ing torch at its end. For this purpose there
is a guide nozzle in front of the feed roll-
ers, which moves the wire in a defined di-
rection and behind the rollers, at the start
of the tube package, is the wire inlet noz-
zle. Systems for fully automated welding
often also have an intermediate relay
unit, preventing the wire from being bent
during unwinding.
The feed rollers are driven by a d.c. mo-
tor that can be infinitely adjusted in the
speed of rotation. With modern units that
permit regulated welding, the wire feed
speed is measured using a speedometer
and controlled irrespective to the load. Figure 14 4-roller drive unit

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Figure 16 Swan-neck torch
a) b) c) welding consists of a steel spiral. When

using wire electrodes made from
Figure 15 Various drive rollers chrome/nickel steel and from aluminium
a) Steel
and other metals, a tube made from
b) Aluminium
c) Cored wire wear-resistant plastic (e.g. Teflon) is
used. Plastic guides have a more favour-
driven. With 4-roller drives, all the rollers able friction coefficient than steel. The
are often geared together and driven by a control lead allows control signals to be
common motor. sent from the torch to the control. A torch
Figure 14 offers a view into a wire feed switch on the torch handle is used to acti-
unit with 4-roller drive. Figure 15 shows vate the necessary functions during weld-
the details in the drive unit.
Generally only one roller of the feed roller
pair has a trapeziform groove, whilst the
counter-roller is smooth (Figure 13).
This produces a 3-point support for the
wire surface between the rollers, which
protects the surface of the wire. With
cored wire electrodes and soft wire elec-
Figure 17 HIGHSPEED rapid welding torch
trodes, both rollers sometimes also have
a semi-circular groove. It is important that ing.
the wire surface is not damaged because At the end of the tube package is the
wire shavings are conveyed into the tube welding torch. The following illustrations
package and can block the package in a show some common torch types.
short space of time. Increased metal
The most commonly used type is the
damage is also caused if the feed rollers
swan-neck torch (Figure 16). They are
are worn. Their condition should therefore
lightweight and affording the arc very
be checked at regular intervals.
good access to the welding point. The
5.3 Tube package and torch rapid welding torch has a special shape
The tube package contains all the neces- and manoeuvrability (Figure 17).
sary supply lines, in other words the Another torch type is the pistol torch. It is
power cable, the shielding gas pipe, the shown in Figure 18 as a push-pull torch.
wire feed tube, the control lead and, with
machines equipped for higher current in-
tensities, the cooling water supply and re-
turn lines.
With water cooled machines the power
lead is in the water return line. The size of
the line can therefore be kept smaller
than without cooling and the tube pack-
age is more flexible. With unalloyed and
non-alloy steel the wire feed tube for Figure 18 Push / Pull torch
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and very thin and soft wires can be trans-
ported without problems. Figure 21 gives
a cross-section diagram of a swan neck
torch.
This clearly shows that the steel spiral
used to feed the wire is moved right up to
the contact nozzle screwed into the noz-
Figure 19 Torch with display and remote con- zle holder. Thus, if feed errors occur, the
trol wire that has been fed in is prevented
from buckling here in the front part of the
torch.
5.4 Control
Various functions can be set on the weld-
ing system control, some of which can
then be initiated on the torch switch via
the control lead. This also includes
switching from non-latched to latched op-
eration. Other functions include setting a
creep speed for the wire electrode during
ignition and setting a burn-back time for
Figure 20 Spool gun torch the arc when finishing welding. The ad-
justable speed of the wire electrode dur-
With a push-pull drive, the wire electrode ing ignition makes the ignition process
is drawn by a feed motor located in the safer because the arc, which at the start
torch handle, whilst at the same a motor is burning weakly on the cold material,
located in the machine moves the wire does not go straight out again due to the
into the tube package. This means that wire being fed in. The set burn-back time
even soft and thin wires can be fed in prevents the electrode sticking in the end-
without problems. A push/pull drive is crater. This is achieved in that the wire
also often used with robot systems and feed is shut down slightly before the
with mechanised welding systems where welding current. However, if the burn-
the wire electrode needs to be trans- back time is too long, the wire may stick
ported across large distances due to the to the contact nozzle. Another pro-
design. Figure 19 shows yet another gramme can be used to prevent an ex-
torch type, for a digitised welding system cessively large drop remaining on the end
in which welding data is read off the dis- of the wire once welding has ended,
play and can be adjusted on the torch. which would interfere with reignition. For
With a spool gun torch (Figure 20), a mini this reason, the drop formed on the wire
wire spool is fitted directly on the torch is detached by a current pulse immedi-
and the feed motor is fitted in the handle. ately before the welding process is com-
The feed lines are therefore very short, pleted. The latter function is especially
Figure 21 Cross-section diagram of a MIG / MAG torch head

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Name Material transfer
Spray arc Minimal to fine drops >
virtually short circuit-proof
Wire electrode Long arc Rough drops >
not short circuit-proof
Short arc Fine drops >
in short-circuit
Pulse arc Drop size and drop fre-
quency adjustable >
virtually short circuit-proof
Table 4 Arc types as defined in DIN 1910-4
force, also known as the pinch effect, is a
Figure 22 Scheme diagram of the pinch effect radial force directed inwards resulting
[1] from the surrounding magnetic field (Fig-
ure 22) that cuts into the molten end of
important with fully automated systems, the electrode and pinches off individual
whilst with partially automated processes, drops from it.
the welder can pinch off the end of the DIN 1910 - 4 differentiates and describes
wire before reignition. Modern MIG/MAG the arc types given in Table 4.
systems also permit a ramped increase of
Material transfers carried out with the
the current at the beginning and a corre-
same type of current occur partly in the
sponding reduction at the end of the weld
lower output range, i.e. at lower current
seam.
intensities and voltages and partly in the
6 Material transfer with MIG/MAG upper output range.
welding Figure 23 shows a scheme of their posi-
tion in a current/voltage diagram.
6.1 Arc ranges The pulse arc occurs across all output
Depending on the set set welding pa- ranges. The individual arc types are de-
rameters and the shielding gas being scribed below.
used, different material transfer types are
6.2 Short arc
created in MIG/MAG welding, also known
as arc operating conditions. Various The short arc occurs in the lower power
physical phenomena are at play here, in- range, i.e. at lower current intensities and
cluding surface tension and viscosity of arc voltages. Its name does not just de-
the metal, gravity and plasma flow, along scribe the fact that it is a very short arc,
with electrical forces, such as the Lorenz but it was previously called a short-circuit
force. The latter electro-magnetic force arc because of the type of drop transfer.
has a dominant influence in drop trans- Figure 25 shows the stages of the drop
fers occurring in the open. The Lorenz transfer process.
Under the effect of the arc heat, a small
drop (a) forms on the end of the elec-
Arc voltage US [V]
e
garc rang
- / Lon
Spray
lb
Slb / L
1
rc
da
xe
Mi b 2
M l
rc range
Short a 3
Klb
a) b) c)
Current Intensity IS [A] Figure 24 Drop transfer with a long arc

1: Wire electrode
Figure 23 Position of the working ranges 2: Drop
3: Arc
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atmosphere using these shielding gases,
there is no pinch effect or it is only barely
1 noticeable. Figure 24 clarifies this type of
material transfer.
Large drops form on the tip of the elec-
2 trode (a) that are transferred to the work-
3 piece primarily under the influence of
a) b) c) gravity. Short-circuit bridges are often
created between the drops and the mol-
Figure 25 Drop transfer with a short arc ten pool during this process (b), in which
1: Wire electrode filler material is transferred into the mol-
2: Drop ten pool. Isolated, very large drops may
3: Arc
sometimes also be transferred over (c). In
trode, which due to the short arc comes this case the short-circuits are virtually
rapidly into contact with the molten bath. continuous due to the large drop size.
A short-circuit is produced and the arc This produces very high short-circuit
goes out (b). The drop is sucked away flows resulting in significant spatter for-
from the end of the wire by the surface mations when re-igniting the arc.
tension of the molten bath; the pinch ef- This process, which occurs in the upper
fect has no significant impact on the drop current intensity and voltage ranges, pro-
detachment due to the low current inten- duces a large, hot molten bath. The proc-
sity. The arc then re-ignites (c). This pro- ess is therefore only suited to welding in
cess is repeated at very regular intervals the flat and horizontal vertical positions
of approx. 20 to 100 times a second, de- (Figure 26). Out-of-position welding is not
pending on the shielding gas used. Dur- possible.
ing the short-circuit phase, the current
increases (short-circuit current). Due to 6.4 Spray arc
the small size of the drop, the short-circuit When using argon and mixed gases rich
phase is very short, however, and there in argon, the arc at the start of the drop
are no especially high current peaks. In surrounds the entire end of the electrode
addition, chokes in the welding current so that the pinch effect can be optimally
circuit slow down the rate at which the
PA
current is increased with conventional
power sources. This makes the arc re- PB
ignition after the short-circuit gentle and
PG
without any significant amount of spatter.
With inverters, the software for the power
source prevents an excessive rise in the
current.
Using a short arc is a relatively “cold” PC
process. It occurs when using all shield-
ing gases for welding root passes, thin
panels and out-of-position welding.
6.3 Long arc PF
The long arc occurs in the upper power

PD
range when welding with carbon dioxide
or shielding gases with a high CO2 con-
PE
tent. The limit for the CO2 content in this
case is around 25 %. As the arc base is Figure 26 Welding positions as defined in ISO
greatly constricted at the wire electrode 6947
due to the physical properties of the arc

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This creates a fine-drop, low-spatter
welding process.
1 With fixed values for the base current
(voltage), pulse current (voltage) and
pulse duration, the deposition power can
be set using the wire feed and the arc
length adjusted by changing the pulse
frequency. The pulse arc occurs across
the entire power range and is also suit-
3 2
able for out-of-position welding in the
a) b) lower and moderate current intensity
ranges.
Figure 27 Drop transferwith a spray arc 6.7 Special types of material transfer
1: Wire electrode
In addition to the standard arc types al-
2: Drop
3: Arc ready described, other special types have
been increasingly used over the past few
set with sufficient current intensity (Figure years.
27). The end of the wire is constricted (a)
With current intensities above those for
and individual drops are detached from
the conventional spray arc, i.e. with wire
the electrode (b).
feed rates of 1.2 mm wire, e.g. of more
This creates a short-circuit-proof, low- than 15 m/min, high deposition power
spatter material transfer. The spray arc spray arcs occur when using mixed
occurs in the upper power range with gases. However, this creates such a
shielding gases rich in argon. This type of deep, cutting fusion penetration that
arc also forms a large, hot molten bath, faults could occur in the weld metal. It is
so that the process is only suitable for therefore seldom used. When increasing
out-of-position welding in a limited way. the voltage, the arc begins to rotate in
6.5 Mixed arc this power range and the fusion penetra-
In between the short arc on the one hand tion expands. The rotating arc is used to
and the spray or long arc on the other is increase the deposition power or to raise
an arc shape for which a mixed material the welding speed for filler and final
transfer is typical partly in the short-circuit passes with butt welds and fillet welds on
and partly in free movement. In this area, thick-walled components.
however, significant spatter formation is With high deposition power short arcs,
created, even using mixed gases rich in the process has a material transfer in the
argon. It is therefore advisable to avoid typical short-circuit transfer mode. It oc-
this moderate current intensity range or to curs at current intensities in the same
use a pulse arc. range for the conventional spray arc, but
6.6 Pulse arc
The pulse arc occurs if a pulse-shaped
current is used for welding instead of a
uniform current. The setting parameters
with this type of arc, are depending on
the modulation of the power source, the
wire feed speed as well as the base cur-
rent or the base voltage, the pulse current
or pulse voltage, the pulse duration and
the pulse frequency. As shown in Figure
28, a drop detaches from the electrode tip
due to the pinch effect in the pulse phase. Figure 28 Drop detachment with a pulse arc
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Arc is to long is shortened, however. The

voltage must be increased
Valtage U (V) irrespectively at the same
time to ensure that the arc
Source does not become too short.
characteristics
When increasing the volt-
Usable arc
age, a higher characteristic
Arc is to short =I
characteristics needs to be set on the step
area switch, and when reducing
A = Working point the arc voltage, a lower
Current I (A)
characteristic is required.
With the most common,
Figure 29 Suitable arc ranges with MIG/MAG welding [1] slightly falling shape of the
horizontal power source
characteristic, adjusting the
at a considerably lower arc voltage.
required parameter will always also result
The high deposition power variants of in a slight change in the other parameter.
MIG/MAG welding are only used with full With a completely horizontal form, the pa-
automation, with a few exceptions. rameters do not have a reciprocal effect.
7 Setting the set welding parame- In order to provide optimum conditions for
welding, the arc must not be too short or
ters too long. If the arc is too short, increased
7.1 Setting with conventional systems short circuits and therefore spatter occur.
In contrast to manual arc welding and The short circuits can be detected by the
TIG welding, two adjustments are re- rattling noise produced by the arc. As the
quired to set up MIG/MAG systems. This arc increases in length, there is an in-
process is described below using the ex- creased risk of air penetrating the arc
ample of setting a step switch machine. area, producing a greater risk of pores.
The tendency to form undercuts also in-
For MIG/MAG welding, constant voltage
creases. The welder can detect an arc
power sources are used. The required
that is too long, because the arc will emit
voltage is therefore selected by setting a
a hissing noise. The line for the ideal
specific characteristic on the rough and
working points, i.e. the ideal working
fine step switches for the power source
characteristic, runs roughly diagonally
and the most suitable arc is achieved by
through the current/voltage diagram. In
setting the relevant wire feed speed. Fig-
reality there is one useable arc character-
ure 29 shows how changes in the power
istic. This is the working range that
source setting and the wire feed speed
should be used for welding. Figure 30
affect the position of the working point.
Ar + 18% CO
The working point (A) is the intersection 2
Ar + 8% CO
2
between the source characteristic set and Wire electrode SG 2-1,2mm

Arc voltage
the arc characteristic. It is identified using

the current intensity Is and the voltage
Us. If the wire feed speed is increased,
the arc shortens, the working point moves
to the right on the source characteristic Welding current
and the current intensity rises. The oppo-
site occurs when the wire feed speed is Figure 30 Working ranges for two argon
reduced. This means that the potentiome- mixed gases [1]
ter for the wire feed unit can be used to Klb = Short arc
Mlb = Mixed arc
set the required current intensity. When
Slb = Spray arc
the current intensity is increased, the arc Wire electrode SG2 = G3Si-EN 440
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shows the working ranges for a Si/Mn al- It began as early as the 1970s with one-
loy wire electrode and two different mixed dial operation where a single rotary po-
gases. tentiometer was used to set the deposi-
All working points inside the working tion power by changing the wire feed, and
ranges represent good welding condi- the same adjusting knob in a specific
tions. Working points falling downwards transmission ratio was connected to an
mean excessively short arcs, and working infinitely adjustable characteristic modify-
points above the upper limit line produce ing device so that the voltage was modi-
arcs that are too long. The working fied at the same time. A second knob
ranges only ever apply for a specific wire also permitted specific corrections to be
electrode. As changing the shielding gas made to the working point.
results in different physical conditions in Today, many MIG/MAG systems provide
the arc atmosphere, the working range a more far-reaching simplification of the
also only ever applies to a specific shield- setting work as standard. The ideal work-
ing gas. ing characteristics for commonly used
When welding with pulse-shaped current, welding tasks are saved in the machine.
the pulse arc occurs across the entire All the person operating the system
range. However, as the material transition needs to do is to use touch controls, for
is short circuit-proof in any case, the example, to set the material being
range limits at lower and moderate cur- welded, the required wire diameter and
rent intensities tend to create higher arc the shielding gas connected. This will call
voltages. up the pre-programmed, optimum work-
ing characteristic. The output can then be
7.2 Synergetic setting of set welding pa- infinitely adjusted using a rotary dial, and
rameters a correction knob is available for specific
As there are not always sufficient num- requirements relating to the optimum arc.
bers of sufficiently well trained welders Figure 32 and Figure 33 show displays
available in all sectors, modern MIG/MAG from modern welding systems that allow
systems offer simplified options for set- even more complex settings to be made.
ting the set welding parameters, such as In the central section, the welding task
the PHOENIX multiprocess machine can be set using touch controls. In addi-
(Figure 31). tion to prescribing the material and the
wire electrode diameter, as well as the
shielding gas, the control can be used to
stipulate whether solid wire or cored wire
should be used, or whether special tasks
such as MIG brazing or GMA surfacing
are to be performed. As the system is a
multi-process system, this section is also
used to change the characteristics re-
quired for other processes (TIG, MMA). In
Figure 32 Display on the PHOENIX 300 EX-

PERT welding machine
Figure 31 PHOENIX multi-process machines
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shorter because more wire is being fed
into the arc than is currently being melted
there. This is how after a short time the
original arc length is achieved once more
and the arc burns at the current intensity
and voltage previously set. This control
functions virtually inertia-free and is
therefore very fast. This is a self-
regulating effect within the system, which
is why it is known as internal control or #i
control.
Figure 33 Display on the PHOENIX
PROGRESS welding machine 8 Performing welding work
the left-hand part of the display, the out- The MIG or MAG welder requires good
put can be set on the upper rotary dial, training, not just in practical welding skills,
the middle dial is used to set the arc but also in the specific theory aspects of
length correction, and the lower to the process. This helps to prevent faults.
change the arc dynamics using an ad- 8.1 Igniting the arc
justable choke. The current intensity and
After the torch switch is pressed, the wire
voltage appropriate for the working point
electrode starts moving at the speed pre-
are displayed on the upper part of the
viously set. At the same time, it is made
display. The welding data used can be
live via the power relay and the shielding
saved and re-used later on as appropri-
gas starts flowing. When touching the
ate.
surface of the workpiece, a short-circuit is
7.3 Regulating the MIG/MAG process produced. Due to the high current inten-
The set welding parameters set should sity at the tip of the electrode, material
be as constant as possible during weld- starts to turn to vapour at the point of
ing. The internal control in MIG/MAG contact and the arc ignites. At high wire
welding provides this constancy, and its feed rates, the still very weak arc may go
functional principle is explained below. out due to the wire material pressing onto
The simplest way to explain the se- it, which means that the ignition process
quence involved in a control operation is may only be successful after the second
to assume that the arc starts at a higher or third attempt. It is therefore advisable
stage and is led down. How the current to ignite at a reduced feed speed and
intensity and arc voltage change during only to switch to the actual wire feed
this process is shown in Figure 34.
The working point AI corresponds to the
parameters at which the arc burns on that
Voltage u
stage. During the transition across the

stage, the arc lengthens and the working
point moves from AI to AII. The current a AII
c
b
intensity reduces here by the amount #i. AI
There is no significant drop in the voltage,
as the characteristic for the power source Di
is slightly falling. The internal control is
used to return the arc, which is now much iII iI
too long, back to its original dimension. At Current i
the lower current intensity iII less wire
Figure 34 Internal regulation (' I regulation) –
melts than previously. As the feed speed Characteristic of the current inten-
of the wire electrode remains unchanged, sity and voltage when pre-welding a
however, the arc gradually becomes stage
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speed once the arc is burning steadily. 8.3 Ending the welding process
Newer types of MIG/MAG systems pro- At the end of the seam, the arc must not
vide the option of setting what is known shut down suddenly or the torch removed
as a “creep speed”. Ignition should never from the end-crater. Especially with
be performed outside the groove and only thicker panels where deep end-craters
at points that are melted once more im- may occur in large-volume beads, it is
mediately afterwards. Crack formation advisable to remove the arc slowly from
can be assumed with ignition points the bath or, if the system being used
which have not been pre-welded due to permits it, to set an end-crater filling pro-
the high cooling speed of these points of gram. With most systems, a specific post-
localised heating. flow time for the shielding gas can also
8.2 Moving the torch be set, so that the last molten weld metal
The torch is tilted in the direction of weld- remaining can embrittle under the shield-
ing by around 10 ° to 20 ° and can be ing gas shroud.
moved backhand or forehand (Figure 35). However, this is only effective if the torch
Its distance to the workpiece should be is held at the end of the seam for a time.
such that the free wire end, i.e. the dis- 8.4 Welding parameters
tance between the lower edge of the con- The lower limit for the possible use of the
tact nozzle and the start point for the arc, process for butt welds with unalloyed
is around 10 - 12 times the wire diameter steel is around 0.7 mm, with stainless
[mm]. If the torch is tilted too much, there steel 1 mm and with aluminium materials
is a risk that air is sucked into the shield- around 2 mm.
ing gas. Forehand torch movements are
Root passes and thin panels are gener-
normally used when welding solid wires,
ally welded using a short arc or using a
and backhand welding is used with cored
lower power range pulse arc. With filler,
wire that conveys slag. The torch is nor-
final and backing runs on thicker panels,
mally moved with a slightly backhand mo-
spray or long arcs are set with higher
tion in the vertical down position. Vertical
power range. These welding tasks can
down welding (pos. PG) is used mainly
also be performed with very low spatter
with thinner panels. With thicker panels
with the pulse arc.
there is a risk of fusion faults due to weld
metal running ahead. This type of fusion Guidelines for suitable welding data for
fault may also occur in other positions if welding butt welds and fillet welds are
welding is performed at too low a welding given in Table 5 to Table 9.
speed. Wide weaving movements should
therefore be avoided wherever possible,
except in the vertical up position. The
standard weaving movement shape is the
open triangle.
< 20°
Figure 35 Position of the torch against the

parent metal
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Wire electrode diameter mm
Current intensity Ampere

Root face distance mm
Current intensity Ampere
Wire electr. diam. mm

Root face distance mm
Panel thickness mm
Panel thickness mm
Wire feed m/min

Opening angle °
Arc voltage Volt

Groove shape
Wire feed m/min
Opening angle °
Arc voltage Volt

Groove shape
Position
Passes
Position
Passes
1 0 PG 0.8 4.0 70 15
1 0.8 3.8 70 18
0 PA 1.5 PA 3.5 100 16
1.0 4.3 125 2 I -
2 2.0 PG 4.0 105 1
I - 1.5 PG 0.8 7.1 130 19 17
1 4 2.5 4.3 115
2.0 PA 4.8 135 3.4 95 15
4 6 1.0
2.5 PG 5.4 160 20 10.0 200 26 2
4.3 125 19 4.4 110 16 1
PA 1.0 8 2
8.4 205 22 2 PA 10.0 200 26
6 V 60 2.0 3
4.7 130 19 1
PG 3.0 110 17 1
5.4 170 20 2
2
2.0 3.1 135 18 1 12 1.2
8.0 250 28 3
PA 1.2 2 4
8.1 270 28
8 3
Table 6 Guideline values for MAG welding
1
PF 1.0 3.7 100 17 butt welds on stainless CrNi steel
2 1.4541
3.2 135 19 1 Wire electrode: G199L, shielding
PA 1.2 2 gas: Mixed gas M1.2,
9.0 290 28 values acc. to [2]
10 2.5 3
1
PF 1.0 4.5 120 18
2
Throat thickness mm
V 50
3.2 130 19 1
Current intensity
Wire feed m/min
Arc voltage Volt

Wire electrode
No. of passes
diameter mm
PA 3
9.2 300 29
Position
Ampere
4
15
5
3.2 130 19 1
PF 2 PB 6.5 100 17
3.0 1.2 4.2 160 20 2.0 0.8
3 PG 7.0 110 18
PB 9.0 200 24
3.8 140 19 1 3.0 1
PG 1.0 8.8 195 22
2
4.0 10.4 220 26
3 5.0 PB
20 PA 1.2 8.0 250 28
9.5 310 29 4 6.0 3
5
6 fillet welds on stainless CrNi steel
1.4541.
Table 5 Guideline values for MAG welding Wire electrode: G 19 9 L, shielding
butt welds on unalloyed and low- gas: mixed gas M1.2,
alloy steel. values acc. to [2]
Wire electrode: G3Si1/G4Si1 Shield-
ing gas: Mixed gas M2.1,
Values irrespective to [1] and [2]

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Panel thickness mm machines. With pulse welding, the display
Root face thickness

instruments show the arithmetic average
Wire electrode di-
Current intensity
Wire feed m/min
Opening angle °
Arc voltage Volt

value of the current intensity and arc volt-
Groove shape
ameter mm
age produced in the pulse and base
Ampere
phase at the set pulse frequency. The ta-
Passes
mm bles can therefore also be used as guide-
line values for MIG/MAG pulse welding. If
2 2 0.8 5.0 110 20 no measuring devices are integrated into
I -
4 4 1.2 3.1 1
170 22 the machine, external devices can be
6 6.0
70 1.5 used for measuring, or the welder needs
8 6.8 220 2
1.6
26 to refer to the wire feed speed also given
6.2 200 1
10 2.0 6.0 170 24 2
in the tables. The correct arc length then
Y needs to be set irrespective to what the
7.2 230 G
60 welder sees and hears.
13.7 240 26 1
12 1.5 1.2 12.2 220 2
8.5 Automation options
15.6 250 28 G
*) without root face surface spacing G= backing run With partly mechanised MIG/MAG weld-
ing, the addition of the filler material and
Table 8 Guideline values for MIG welding
butt welds on aluminium materials
the shielding gas, and the arc length con-
Wire electrode: GRAlMg5, shielding trol are automated, and only the welding
gas: argon, flat welding position, movement itself needs to be performed
values acc. to [1] and [2] manually.
A simple option for full mechanisation is
Wire electrode diameter
to clamp the torch and move it over the

Effective throat thick-
workpiece at welding speed using a trol-

Wire feed m/min
Arc voltage Volt
ley or by affixing the torch in a stationary

Current inten-
sity/amperes
Position no.
position and moving a rotationally sym-

ness/mm
metrical component underneath the torch

Position
in a rotating device (Figure 36).

mm
PA/PB
1.0 3.8 65 17
PG
0.8
PA/PB 7.3 130 19
2.0
PG 7.1 100 20
PB 10.6 215 23
3.0 1
PG 1.0 9.0 210 22
4.0 PA/PB 10.7 220 23
5.0
PB 1.2 9.5 300 29
6.0
PF 1.0 4.7 115 18
PB 1.2 9.5 300 29 3
8.0
PF 1.0 4.8 130 19 2
PB 9.5 300 29 3
10.0 1.2
PF 4.2 165 19 2
fillet welds on unalloyed and low-
alloy steel.
Wire electrode: G3Si1/G4Si1,
Shielding gas: mixed gas M2.1,
Values acc. to [1]
The current and voltage values used for
information purposes by the welder are
displayed on the measuring devices, Figure 36 Fully automated welding
which are normally integrated into the
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The functional principle of the process MIG/MAG welder normally wears a hel-
also makes this procedure suitable for dif- met, which leaves both hands free. The
ficult mechanisation tasks where, for ex- filter glass is integrated into this safety
ample, multiple torches are used helmet. This filter has recently been de-
simultaneously on one workpiece. Not fined in DIN EN 169. There are various
without reason is MIG/MAG welding grades of protection that need to be per-
therefore also by far the most commonly manently affixed to the glass. With
used process with industrial robots for arc MIG/MAG welding, filters of protection
welding. grades 10 to 15 are used, depending on
the current intensity, where grade 10 is
9 Work safety prescribed for lower currents and 15 for
In MIG/MAG welding the arc transfers the the higher current intensities.
drop. As a consequence of the high tem- The greatest electrical risk is represented
peratures prevailing there, there is more by the open circuit voltage. This is the
metal vapour than with the TIG process, maximum voltage present on the acti-
for example. More harmful gases and vated power source between the connec-
smoke are therefore produced. With tion sockets when the arc is not burning.
cored electrodes, this amount increases After the arc is ignited, the voltage is
due to the filler components being vapor- much lower; in MIG/MAG welding only
ised. It is therefore a requirement that ex- around 17 to 30 volts. Irrespective to the
traction is virtually always used directly at relevant German accident prevention
the point of origin, both with extended pe- regulations, power sources for direct cur-
riods of welding work performed at a fixed rent in normal operation should have an
position and with short-term usage. With open circuit voltage peak value of max.
non-localised welding work, fresh air is 113 volts. With alternating current sys-
sufficient, or mechanised ventilation of tems, which in recent times have been
the room is sufficient, except for welding used in special cases with MIG/MAG
high-alloy steels and coated materials. An welding, this value is also 113 Volts, but
extractor can be integrated into the torch the peak value is limited to max. 80 Volts.
in MIG/MAG welding (Figure 37). Where there is an increased risk of elec-
It is important that the extraction nozzle is tric shock, e.g. when welding in small
designed so that the shielding gas is not spaces or on large iron masses, reduced
also sucked away from the welding point. values apply for alternating current, e.g. a
The welder must also protect himself peak value of 68 volts and an r.m.s. value
against radiation from the arc and against of 48 volts. Modern welding power
electrical dangers. To protect against the sources meeting these requirements bear
infrared and ultraviolet radiation, the the “S” safety sign in conformance with
DIN EN 60974-1. Older power sources
may still be marked with “K” (d.c.) or “42
V” (a.c.). The safest way for welders to
Torch angle protect themselves against electric
shocks is to wear undamaged welding
gloves made from leather and well-
Extraction chamber insulated work clothes including safety
Vacuum zone shoes.
Vacuum zone
Air
Harmful substance Shielding gas MIG/MAG torch
Figure 37 Extraction integrated into the torch

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with a high nitrogen content, e.g. nitriding
10 Special features of different ma- steels. However, the nitrogen is normally
terials absorbed from the air due to an incom-
As mentioned above, the MIG/MAG pro- plete shielding gas bell. Safe protection
cess is suitable for welding a large range from this is guaranteed if the correct
of materials. The sections below cover quantity of shielding gas has been set
various special features of the different and turbulence in the shielding gas flow,
materials. e.g. due to spatter in the shielding gas
nozzle or instabilities in the process, is
10.1 Un-alloyed and low-alloy steels avoided. Carbon dioxide as a shielding
Unalloyed and low-alloy steels are gas is less sensitive to this type of pore
welded using mixed gases M1, M2, M3 or formation than mixed gases. With mixed
using pure carbon dioxide (Figure 38). gases, the sensitivity is reduced as the
Due to the low spatter formation, primarily CO2 content increases.
in the upper power range, mixed gases
predominate in Germany, however. 10.2 High-alloy steels and nickel-based al-
These steels can normally be welded loys
very well using the MAG process. One This group of materials can in principle
exception is grades with a high carbon also be welded well using the MIG/MAG
content, such as E 360 (formerly St. 70), process. The shielding gases used for
with approx. 0.45 % C. Due to the high high-alloy steels are argon/oxygen mix-
fusion penetration of the process, the tures with 1-5 % oxygen (M1.1) or argon
weld metal absorbs a relatively larger with CO2 contents of up to 2.5% (M1.2). A
amount of carbon via dilution, creating a significant disadvantage when welding
higher risk of hot cracks. This can be corrosion-resistant steels is the oxide
remedied by all measures that reduce the skins which occur after welding and
fusion penetration and therefore also the which are left on and next to the seam.
dilution. This includes low current intensi- These skins need to be removed by
ties and welding on forward traveling brushing, etching or blasting before the
weld metals - Caution: Risk of fusion component is used in operation, because
faults. they impair the corrosion-resistance of
Pores form in unalloyed and low-alloy the metal. The amount of cleaning work
steels primarily due to nitrogen. This can required for MAG-welded seams is
be due to dilution when welding steels greater than with MMA welding, where
the slag covering prevents oxygen from
penetrating the seam surface at higher
temperatures. Part of the economic ad-
vantages of part-mechanised welding can
therefore be lost due to the amount of
clean-up work required. Mixed gases
containing CO2 are more favourable in
this respect than those containing O2.
They are therefore being increasingly
used. The carbon dioxide content in
shielding gas must not be too high, how-
ever, as the gas decomposing in the arc
causes the weld metal to carbonise,
which in turn reduces the corrosion-
resistance. The permissible CO2 content
is therefore limited to max. 5 %.
When welding corrosion-resistant steels,
Figure 38 MAG welding on beams in steel
construction work any overheating must be avoided be-

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cause it could result in embrittlement and Argon is generally used as the shielding
reduces the corrosion-resistance due to gas. Due to the aluminium’s high level of
chromium carbide deposits. The heat heat-conductivity, additional helium is es-
feeding therefore needs to be checked pecially useful here. As mentioned above,
and it may be necessary to allow the helium improves the heat conductance
workpiece to cool down by including cool- and the heat retention of the shielding
ing breaks during work. With materials in gas atmosphere. This provides deeper
the full austenitic steels groups, “cold” and wider fusion penetration, as shown
welding is also an option to avoid heat as a scheme diagram in Figure 40.
cracks. When this deeper fusion penetration is
As austenitic steels do not embrittle un- not required, e.g. when welding thinner
der the influence of hydrogen, a few per- panels, welding can be performed more
cent of hydrogen can also be added to quickly with the same fusion penetration
the argon to improve the deposition form. Thicker aluminium needs to be pre-
power (increase the welding speed). Due heated due to the significant heat-
to the risk of pore formation, the H2 con- conductivity of the material. This not only
tent should not be more than 7 %, how- ensures sufficient fusion penetration, but
ever. Whereas when using duplex steels also reduces the tendency to form pores
with a two-phase structure of austenite because the weld metal has more time to
and ferrite, a higher risk of crack forma- release the gas during the embrittleing
tion due to hydrogen is present. process. When using shielding gases
Nickel-based alloys are normally MIG- containing helium – standard content lev-
welded using argon. With pure nickel and els are 25 or 50 % - the pre-heating can
some alloys, low levels of hydrogen addi- be reduced, and at smaller wall thick-
tives can reduce the surface tension and nesses, pre-heating may not be neces-
thus improve the seam formation. sary at all. This partly offsets the higher
price of gases containing helium.
10.3 Aluminium and aluminium alloys
Difficulties in eliminating the high-melting
Aluminium materials are normally MIG- oxide skin on the bath do not occur in
welded (Figure 39). MIG welding because the plus pole is on
the electrode (cathodic cleaning). Never-
theless, it is still advisable to remove the
oxide skins immediately before welding
by scraping or brushing, as they are hy-
groscopic and therefore carry hydrogen
into the weld metal. Hydrogen is the sole
cause of pore formation when welding
aluminium materials. Aluminium in its
molten state has a relatively high level of
solubility for hydrogen, but in the solid
state, this gas is barely soluble in the
metal. Any hydrogen absorbed during
Shielding gas
Argon Argon/Helium 50/50 Argon/Helium 50/50
260 A / 27 V 260 A / 32 V 260 A / 32 V

vS 100% vS 100% vS 140%
Figure 40 Penetration profile with different

shielding gases. Material: AlMg3,
Figure 39 MIG aluminium welding in vehicle
Wire electrode: 1.6mm
construction
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welding must therefore exit the weld special torch position, such that the arc
metal before embrittleing if no pores are burns only on the molten bath.
to be formed. This is not always possible,
especially with thicker sizes. Completely 11 Applications for MIG / MAG weld-
pore-free seams cannot be achieved with ing
aluminium materials for larger wall thick-
nesses. The favourable effect of pre- 11.1 Uses in manufacturing
heating has already been mentioned. Irrespective to recent statistics, the pro-
AlMg and AlSi alloys tend towards heat portion of MIG/MAG welding used on de-
cracks during welding at Si contents of posited weld metal in relation to all arc
around 1% or Mg contents of around 2%. welding processes is 80%.
This alloy range should be avoided when There are virtually no branches of indus-
choosing the filler material. Wire elec- try where MIG/MAG welding is not used.
trodes with an alloy content one degree The main areas of usage are in vehicle
higher are therefore better than elec- construction, where heavy goods vehi-
trodes of exactly the same type. cles, locomotives and ships are manufac-
tured, for example. Aluminium is
10.4 Other materials increasingly being used as the material
In addition to the materials already men- for these applications. Other uses are to
tioned, only copper and copper alloys are be found in steel and bridge construction
MIG-welded in any significant quantity. work, and in the construction of ships and
Pure copper needs a relatively high level machines. In crane and excavator con-
of pre-heating in order to avoid fusion struction, higher strength steels are in-
faults due to its high heat conductivity. creasingly being used, something for
The weld metal for bronze wires, e.g. which MAG welding is particularly appro-
made from aluminium bronze or tin priate because the weld metal has a
bronze, has good sliding properties. It is lower hydrogen content, allowing no cold
therefore used for GMA-surfacing sliding cracks to occur. MAG welding is slightly
surfaces. With welds of this type on iron under-represented in boiler, equipment
materials, the fusion penetration needs to and pipeline construction where, due to
be kept low using relevant measures, be- the excellent quality of the weld metal,
cause iron has a low level of solubility in basic stick electrodes are often still used
copper. It is included in the weld metal in for welding.
the form of small balls and reduces the MAG welding is not just used for indus-
usage properties. trial applications, however, but also in the
The conditions for MIG brazing are simi- trades it is hard to find a workshop that
lar. This process is used to connect zinc- does not use the process. This applies
plated panels in automobile construction, both to car bodyshops and to metalwork-
for example. The fillers used are wire ing firms and small steel construction op-
electrodes made from silicon bronze or erations.
tin bronze. Due to the low melting point of
11.2 Example applications
these bronzes, the zinc vaporisation level
is reduced. Fewer pores are produced In conclusion, a few selected example
and the protection provided by the zinc applications are used here to clarify the
coating is retained right up to near the proper use of MIG/MAG process.
seam and on the back of the panels. In Figure 38 shows the use of MAG welding
this situation, too, no fusion penetration in steel construction work.
should occur in the steel material if pos- On beams such as those shown in the il-
sible, but the connection should be made lustration, fillet welds or double bevel butt
solely via diffusion and adhesion forces, welds are used on the corners. With
as in brazing. This is achieved by using longer beams, butt welds also need to be
modified set welding parameters and a used crosswise to the main load direc-
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12 Literature
[1] R. Killing: Handbuch der Schweißver-
fahren, Teil 1: Lichtbogenschweißen,
Fachbuchreihe Schweißtechnik, Band
76/I, DVS-Verlag Düsseldorf 1999
Schweißen und Schneiden, Fachbuchrei-
he Schweißtechnik, Band 72, DVS Verlag
Düsseldorf 1994
13 Imprint
st
The MIG/MAG Primer, 1 edition 2002
Figure 41 MIG brazing in assembly vehicle lications – All about welding
bodywork
tion. Particular specifications apply to
these welds with regard to preventing Reprinting, including extracts, is forbid-
faults. den. No part of this brochure may be re-
produced or electronically processed,
On car bodies, short MAG seams are reproduced or distributed in any form
used in addition to numerous resistance (photocopy, microfilm or any other proce-
welding points (Figure 41). dure) without the written permission of
Galvanised panels are also MIG brazed. EWM.
Bodywork made from aluminium is resis-
tance spot and MIG welded.
Figure 42 shows MIG welding on tanks
for tanker vehicles, manufactured from Dr.-Günter-Henle-Str. 8
aluminium alloys. D-56271 Mündersbach, Germany
A push/pull unit is used here for welding Phone: +49(0)2680.181-0
so that there are no feed problems with Fax: +49(0)2680.181-244
the relatively soft aluminium wires. mailto:info@ewm.de
http://www.ewm.de
Figure 42 MIG welding used to manufacture

tanks

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PLASMA PRIMER
The EWM PLASMA Primer
Contents
1 Welding with a plasma arc.......................................................................................................................2

1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
2 The process.............................................................................................................................................2
2.1 General..........................................................................................................................................2
2.2 Current type...................................................................................................................................3
2.3 Electrodes .....................................................................................................................................3
2.4 Gases for plasma welding .............................................................................................................3
2.5 Filler metals ...................................................................................................................................4
3 Classification of plasma welding..............................................................................................................4
3.1 Plasma joint welding......................................................................................................................4
3.1.1 Micro plasma welding........................................................................................................4
3.1.2 Soft plasma welding ..........................................................................................................4
3.1.3 Thick sheet plasma welding ..............................................................................................5
3.1.4 Plasma powder joint welding.............................................................................................5
3.2 Plasma deposit welding.................................................................................................................6
3.3 Plasma brazing..............................................................................................................................6
4 Setups for plasma welding.......................................................................................................................7
4.1 Control...........................................................................................................................................7
4.2 Power source.................................................................................................................................7
4.3 Welding torch.................................................................................................................................9
5 Performing the welding operation ............................................................................................................9
5.1 Setting the shielding gas quantity..................................................................................................9
5.2 Edge preparation .........................................................................................................................10
5.3 Forming .......................................................................................................................................10
5.4 Igniting the arc.............................................................................................................................10
5.5 Guiding the torch .........................................................................................................................11
5.6 Magnetic arc blow effect ..............................................................................................................11
5.7 Welding positions ........................................................................................................................11
5.8 Ending the welding operation ......................................................................................................11
5.9 Welding parameters ....................................................................................................................11
5.10 Work safety..................................................................................................................................12
5.11 Special features of different materials .........................................................................................12
5.11.1 Unalloyed and low-alloy steels ........................................................................................12
5.11.2 High-alloy steels ..............................................................................................................12
5.11.3 Aluminium and aluminium alloys .....................................................................................13
5.11.4 Other materials................................................................................................................15
5.11.5 Materials for plasma deposit welding ..............................................................................15
6 Applications for plasma welding and brazing.........................................................................................15
6.1 Example applications ..................................................................................................................15
6.2 Comparison with TIG welding......................................................................................................16
7 Literature ...............................................................................................................................................16
8 Imprint....................................................................................................................................................16

Dr.-Günter-Henle-Strasse 8 · D-56271 Mündersbach Item no.: WM.0268.01
Phone +49(0)2680.181-0 · Fax +49(0)2680.181-244
www.ewm.de · info@ewm.de
1 Welding with a plasma arc

1.1 Introduction
Plasma gas
Plasma welding is one of the most recent fusion
welding processes. It is a tungsten shielded gas Shielding gas
welding process (PW) and was not introduced

into Germany until the 1960’s. The international
ISO 857-1 standard describes plasma welding
(process no. 15) as follows: Arc welding using a
constricted arc.
Very early on it was attempted to increase the
power density in the arc by constricting it. Due to
the high energy density in this type of arc, the
substance reaches a gaseous state in which it
moves significantly at high temperatures, has
special electrical properties and is very bright.
The physicist Langmuir called this state "thermal
plasma". It consists of a mixture of ions, elec-
trons, and neutral particles, but is ionised to a
great extent. This substance state occurs in the
core of any arc, but more so in a constricted arc
Figure 1: Principle of plasma welding
due to the high energy density. As in the TIG
process, the addition of the filler metal in plasma plasma arc welding. In the latter case, the arc is
welding is not related to the current intensity, i.e. ignited between the electrode and the water
the setting of the welding parameters can be cooled copper nozzle. The arc then only burns
concentrated on the requirements of the welding within the torch and the hot gases escape in the
process itself. In the field of welding technology, form of a beam – plasma beam welding. This
thermal plasma is used for welding, for thermal variant is not of relevance to welding and cutting,
spraying and for fusion cutting. This brochure will but to plasma spraying.
focus primarily on its applications in welding.
2.2 Current type
2 The process Direct current is normally used for the plasma
2.1 General welding of steel and the minus pole of the current
The arc is constricted via a water cooled copper
nozzle with a narrow hole, through which the arc
is forced, figure 1. This gives it a virtually cylindri-
cal shape and it diverges by just a few degrees.
This produces the high energy density. Inside the
plasma nozzle, the arc burns on the needle-
shaped tungsten electrode. It is surrounded by
plasma gas. The gas escaping through the small,
constricted hole cannot of course protect the
point of welding to any great extent during the
welding process. Extra shielding gas is therefore
supplied from a second nozzle. Depending on
the type of arc, a distinction is made here bet-
ween the transferring arc and the non-
transferring arc, figure 2. In the former case the
welding current circuit is between the electrode A = transferring arc
and the workpiece. This variant is also known as B = non-transferring arc
Figure 2: Arc types

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source is on the electrode. In addition to welding

with direct current, pulse welding is also used.
When welding aluminium materials, welding is
carried out on the plus pole due to the lack of
cleaning effect in minus pole welding; however,
only low current intensities can be used due to
the low current loading capacity of the electrode
on the plus pole. Alternating current welding
represents a compromise here, as it combines
an adequate cleaning effect with greater current
loading capability. Modern systems for alterna-
ting current welding use square waveform
alternating current. A more recent variant is the
plasma welding of aluminium on the direct
current minus pole using shielding gases with a
high helium content. Table 1: Tungsten electrodes
conforming to DIN EN 26848
2.3 Electrodes 2.4 Gases for plasma welding
The same tungsten electrodes are used for Plasma welding also uses gases which are
plasma welding as for TIG welding. Due to the standardised in DIN EN 439. Argon is normally
high melting point of tungsten, the electrodes used as the plasma gas in welding, also known
are produced via powder metallurgy by sintering as the central gas, because it ionises more
followed by compression and compaction, and readily, which in turn means that it reaches a
are standardised in DIN EN 26848 (ISO 6848), higher level of ionisation. When welding chro-
table 1. The diameters are between 1.6 mm and me/nickel steels and nickel-based alloys, small
8mm. The most commonly used diameters are quantities of hydrogen are also added to the
between 1.6 mm and 4 mm. Electrodes with argon as this improves the heat transfer and
oxidic constituents feature greater current permits faster welding speeds. A similar effect is
loading capacity and a longer service life in achieved when welding aluminium, titanium and
comparison to electrodes made from pure zircon by adding helium to the plasma gas. Argon
tungsten, as they do not heat up as much at the or argon/hydrogen mixtures are generally used
same current intensities. This has to do with the as the outer shielding gas for unalloyed and high-
fact that the electron emitting work from the alloy steels. Active mixed gases based on
oxides enclosed in the electrode is lower than argon/carbon dioxide or argon/oxygen can also
from the pure metal. It is also easier to ignite be used for welding unalloyed and low-alloy
electrons containing oxides. Instead of the steels. As well as pure argon, argon/helium
thoriated electrons mainly used previously, mixtures are also used as the shielding gas when
electrons containing ceroxides have been used welding aluminium, titanium and zircon.
increasingly in more recent times. Because
thorium is an alpha emitter, electrons containing 2.5 Filler metals
thorium emit a weak level of radioactive radiati- The filler metal is added for manual welding in the
on. With direct current minus pole welding, the same way as for TIG welding, in other words by
electrodes are ground to a point as in TIG wel- feeding in rods. In the fully automated version of
ding. For direct current plus pole welding and for the process, a special feed unit is used to melt in
alternating current welding, which is carried out wire-shaped filler metal. In plasma powder
on aluminium, the ends of the electrodes are in welding, the filler metal is added in the form of a
contrast ground to a blunt-ended cone shape metal powder; in a separate feed gas flow in
only, or not ground at all. deposit welding and using the shielding gas in
plasma powder joint welding. The filler metals for
plasma welding are the same as for TIG welding.

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They should be the same type as the parent Source characteristics
Voltage U
metal or slightly over-alloyed.
Arc characteristic
3 Classification of plasma welding of a constricted arc
Plasma welding is carried out exclusively using a
transferred arc. Depending on the application
type, an initial distinction can be drawn between
plasma joint welding and plasma deposit wel- Arc characteristic
ding. Joint welding is sub-divided again by output of a free-burning arc
level. This is covered in more detail below.
Current intensity I
3.1 Plasma joint welding Figure 3: Operating points with free-burning
3.1.1 Micro plasma welding and constricted arcs
Previously the focus was always on the high
3.1.2 Soft plasma welding
energy density of the process due to the constric-
ted arc, from which one might conclude that WIf the opening of the constricting nozzle is
plasma welding was only suitable for thicker enlarged slightly in comparison to the nozzle
workpieces. In actual fact, however, it is with very width normally used in plasma torches, an arc is
thin materials that other typical advantages of the produced which is less constricted and more
constricted arc are revealed when compared to rich in energy, the effect of which is between the
TIG welding. When welding foils and minimal TIG and plasma arc. It offers advantages in
thickness sheets, current intensities of just a few manual welding for panel thicknesses between 1
amperes or even less than one ampere are mm and 2 mm.
required. The TIG arc is highly unstable at such
low currents because no defined operating point 3.1.3 Thick sheet plasma welding
is set. Figure 3 shows this as a schematic dia- DThis range, which ranges up to material thick-
gram [1]. The current sources used in TIG wel- nesses of up to around 10 mm, must be subdivi-
ding have a virtually vertically falling characteris- ded into the extrusion range and the keyhole
tic at low current intensities in particular. The range. The extrusion range is so called because
characteristics of a non-constricted arc also the heat is only supplied from the surface and is
follow a virtually vertical path at low current forwarded to the lower layers by heat conductan-
intensities, in what is known as the ayrton range. ce. The weld metal is extruded downwards by
This means that there is no exact intersection the pressure from the plasma arc and forms a
point at the operating point but instead only a root on the backing side. In the extruded range,
glancing contact between two characteristics, the welding can be carried out both manually
which results in the arc instability described and with full automation. With sheet metal
above. The vertically falling part of the arc cha- thicknesses over around 2.5 mm, a technique
racteristic is missing with a constricted arc, which known as keyhole technology can be used. The
means that this also continues to burn in a stable plasma arc pushes through the entire panel
way on an exact operating point, even at very low thickness and forms a welding eyelet. The heat is
current intensities. For example, the plasma arc transferred via this eyelet not only from the
can be used to join workpieces of just 1/100 mm surface but also across the entire cross-section
thickness in the foil range flush, even at currents penetrated by the beam. This improves the
below 1 ampere. This range up to around 50 efficiency of the process and the potential
amperes is therefore known as micro plasma welding speed increases greatly in comparison
welding. It is normally carried out manually. to the speeds which can be achieved using the
extrusion technique. The liquid pool is pressed to
the side by the plasma beam, but flows back
together on the rear edge of the eyelet and

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Ignition unit
hardens there to form a welding bead. Naturally
everything needs to be right here, such as the
-
distance of the torch and the welding speed. This Plasma gas
+ Auxiliary
type of welding can therefore be fully mechani- power
source
sed.
Powder and
powder gas
3.1.4 Plasma powder joint welding Water - Main
cooling power
A more recent variant of plasma welding is +
source
plasma powder joint welding, figure 4 [2]. Unlike Shielding gas
plasma powder deposit welding, which is cover-
ed in the section below, no special supply gas Pilot arc
flow is required in this process for the powder Semi-liquid Main arc
welding additive. It is added along with the powder steel
shielding gas. This means that the dimensions of Workpiece

the torch can be kept smaller. When considering
the advantages of this process, a comparison Figure 5: Principle of plasma powder deposit welding
movement of the head is not necessary because

the powder additive is added concentrically
around the arc.
Plasma gas
3.2 Plasma deposit welding

In plasma powder deposit welding, figure 5 [1], a
Powder and powder welding additive is added in a separate
shielding gas
Water cooling
supply gas flow. It melts in a non-transferring pilot
arc, which is already partially burning out bet-
ween the electrode and the water cooled copper
nozzle. The transferred main arc melts onto the
parent metal and the melted parent metal and
Main arc Pilot arc melted additive material mixes to form a weld
bead. The optimum composition of the weld
Workpiece
metal can be set by matching the current intensi-
Figure 4: Principle of plasma powder joint welding ty with the quantity of melted powder. In plasma
Plasma Hot wire
with TIG welding is useful. In the manual applica- power source power source
tion the welder has one hand free because it is
not necessary to add the filler metal in the form Gas
of a rod. This means that the welder can concen-
wire
trate more fully on the actual welding operation
itself. In fully mechanised TIG welding, where Gas
the additive wire is normally added after the
torch, the entire weld head needs to be moved in
curved movements along with the nozzle supp-
lying the wire, because otherwise the wire
cannot completely melt in the weld pool. In robot
welding this rotating movement carries out the
last manual axis, which means that it is not
required for other positioning movements of the
torch. In plasma powder welding, this rotating Figure 6: Principle of plasma hot wire welding

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hot wire welding, figure 6 [1] two wires on a metal and is positioned more on a portion of
separate current source are pre-heated via forward brazing metal. This largely avoids the
resistance heating and then melt in the weld pool panels melting on, but sufficient heat is supplied
of a plasma arc. During the onward motion of the to the two parts being joined in order to produce
weld head in the direction of welding, the entire a brazed joint via diffusion and adhesion forces.
system is moved to and fro across the direction of The process can be carried out manually using a
welding to form deposit beads of up to 60 mm in rod filler metal added by hand, but the continu-
width. In this process, and in plasma powder ous addition of the brazing wire to the torch can
deposit welding, the fusion penetration and thus also be carried out using a separate feed unit.
the mixing is at a low level so that only a few Figure 7 shows a plasma torch with cold wire
layers are required to achieve the required feed for manual brazing. In the fully mechanised
composition on the surface. application, a machine torch is used where the
filler wire is also continually moved onto the
3.3 Plasma brazing brazing point. The torch can also be moved via a
welding robot.
MWith the increasing use of zinc-plated panels in
the automobile industry, arc brazing is being
used more and more in place of welding. In 4 Setups for plasma welding
addition to MIG brazing, plasma brazing has also A system for plasma welding consists of the
recently captured a definite range of applica- power source, the control and the torch.
tions. This process variant is different from micro
or soft plasma welding primarily in the type of
filler material. Instead of the steel wires or rods of 4.1 Control
the same or similar type normally used in wel-
Welding machine control INTIG03
ding, copper based alloys are used. For zinc-
plated panels, these are silicon or tin bronzes,
and aluminium bronzes are used for aluminium-
plated panels. Due to the low melting point of
these additives, the metallic coatings are dama-
ged far less by vaporisation and combustion than
in arc welding. In comparison to MIG brazing, a
Figure 8: Display on the control of a plasma

welding system
The control has the tasks of switching the wel-

ding current on and off, regulating it and keeping
it constant. Figure 8 shows the display from a
welding system for plasma direct current wel-
ding. Several parameters can be preset by this
system, like the gas pre-flow time and the pilot
arc current. In addition to the main current, the
Figure 7: Manual torch for plasma brazing ignition current, the ramped starting and stop-
ping of the current (up-slope/down-slope) and
better seam appearance and better solidity and the gas post-flow time can be set. The plasma
strength values are achieved in the brazing current source is equipped with a high-voltage
metal. pulse ignition unit. Via the high voltage pulses,
However, plasma brazing requires a slightly alternating voltage of several thousand volts, a
different torch movement in comparison to weak, non-transferring arc (known as the pilot
welding. The arc is directed less onto the parent arc) is ignited between the water cooled copper

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nozzle and the electrode. This remains switched plasma welding figure 14 weigh only some
on during the welding process as well. It pre- kilograms.
ionises the subsequent arc path so that the arc With electronic power sources, much of what is
can ignite without contact when the main circuit achieved using components such as resistors,
is switched on. chokes and capacitors, is triggered electronically
by the control. The control for these power sour-
4.2 Power source ces is therefore just as important as the power
The power source is tasked with converting the unit. The current is adjusted, for example with
alternating current coming from the mains at switched-mode sources, by changing the ratio
high voltage and lower current intensity into between the current input/current output times.
welding current with low voltage and adjustable The clock frequency can also be changed to
high current intensity. Modern power sources for adjust the current level. To generate pulse-
plasma welding work in accordance with the shaped current, the ratio of the on/off times is
inverter principle. The inverter is an electronic changed cyclically by the control. The new
power source which functions according to a technology also means that controlled power
completely different working principle than sources are possible, which is precisely what
welding technology had been waiting for. The
conventional power sources (figure 9). The
electronic control compares the set welding
Inverse rectifier (transistor) Rectifier (diode) current nominal value with the actual value and
maintains this at a constant level even in the case
Mains of large changes in the welding voltage. An
improved level of efficiency, as well as cos phi
and lower open circuit losses in the inverter
Rectifier (diode) Transformer Choke power sources are produced simply from the
lower mass of the transformer. Inverter power
sources for plasma welding normally have a
Figure 9: Block diagram of a 3rd generation
inverter, clock frequency up to 100 Hz vertically falling characteristic (constant current
current coming from the mains is first rectified

and then divided into short sections by switching
on and off, so that it can be transformed. This
process is known as cycling. This is permitted
via quick-reaction electronic switches; transis-
tors. The first transistorised inverters work at a
cycle frequency of around 25 kHz. Today, cycle
frequencies of 100 kHz and more are possible
with highly developed transistors. After “cutting
up” (cycling) the current, it is transformed to the
required high current intensity and low voltage.
After the transformer, a square-shaped alterna-
ting current is produced which is then rectified
once more. The high clock frequency has the
advantage that the required mass of the trans- Figure 10: TETRIX welding system for plasma welding
former can be kept very small. This is dependent
on the frequency of the current being transfor- characteristic) in the operating range, figure 11
med. This means that lightweight current sour- left. With this type of characteristic, the current
ces can be produced. A recent system for plas- intensity does not change when the arc length is
ma welding for thick panels with an output of 400 changed.
A therefore weighs around just 100 kg including
For plasma welding with alternating current,
all auxiliary units – figure 10. Systems for micro
electronic current sources are used which emit

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Characteristics curve in the working area

Vertical, falling Horizontal
L2
L1
K1 A3
K2
U [V]
U [V]
L2
K1
A1 A1 A2
L1
A3
A2
I [A] I [A]
K1/K2 = Power source characteristics L1 = Shorter arc
L1/L2 = Arc characteristics L2 = Longer arc
A1/A2/A3 = Operating points
Figure 11: Constant current and constant

voltage characteristics
Figure 12: Manual torch for plasma welding

an artificial square-shaped alternating current.
This is generated in that the plus and minus poles
of a direct current source are alternated in rapid
succession on the electrode by electronic swit-
ches (these days normally transistors). As the
switching operations are carried out in quick
succession, this produces a square-shaped
alternating current with a very steep crossover
when the polarity is changed. The frequency of
the alternating current can normally be changed
between 30 Hz and 300 Hz. In addition, the
balance of the alternating current half-waves can
be adjusted, namely between 20% plus/80%
minus and 80% plus/20% minus. The proportions
of the two half-waves can be used to affect the
current carrying capacity of the tungsten electro-
de and the fusion penetration of the arc.
Figure 13: Machine torch for plasma welding
4.3 Welding torch
For micro plasma welding, which is normally
carried out manually, lightweight torches are 5 Performing the
used which are roughly similar in shape and size welding operation
to the torches used in TIG welding, figure 12.
Before starting the welding process, the groove
With higher welding currents, intensive water
faces in the weld seam area must be cleaned
cooling of the torch is required. Thanks to this,
thoroughly. They must be bare metal and free of
and thanks to the two shielding gas flows requi-
grease, dirt, oxides and paint residue. The
red, the torch becomes even bigger, which
cleaning can be carried out via mechanical
makes the manual application of the process
processing, grinding or brushing. With corrosion
more difficult. For the fully mechanised variant of
resistant materials, only brushes made from
the plasma welding process, machine torches
stainless steel may be used.
are therefore used. Figure 13 shows a machine
torch for plasma joint welding. Suitable solvents should be used for cleaning
and degreasing. Warning: Poisonous vapour
may be produced when using solvents contai-
ning chlorine.

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5.1 Setting the shielding gas quantity

The plasma gas quantity depends on the work- Butt weld
piece thickness being welded and thus on the Single-V butt weld
torch size. With micro plasma welding this is with broad root face
between 0.2 l/min and 1 l/min and with thick
panel plasma welding between 1 l/min and 6 Corner joint
l/min. The quantity of external shielding gas is
between 5-10 l/min and 15-25 l/min. accordingly
[1]. The flow quantity can be measured indirectly Edge weld without
using manometers which measure the pressure edge preparation
in front of an integrated pitot tube proportional to
the throughput. The manometer scale is then
calibrated directly in l/min. Measuring equipment Raised-edge weld
which uses glass tubes and suspended bodies
directly in the shielding gas flow to the torch.
Figure 14 shows the gas dosing unit on the Figure 15: Typical welds in plasma welding
Mikroplasma 20 welding system.
5.3 Forming
This means the additional feeding of shielding
gas to the rear of the root, where the material
being welded is also in a liquid state, but the
shielding gas supplied to the top side does not
reach it. Unlike TIG welding, the seam is “burnt”
Figure 14: Gas dosing unit on the "Microplasma 20"

microplasma welding system
5.2 Edge preparation

The edge shapes most commonly used in
plasma joint welding are given in figure 15. Due
to the good fusion penetration characteristics,
the workpiece edges are often only prepared as
butt welds and melted without filler metal being
added. With thicker panels which cannot be Figure 16: Plasma torch
welded through in one run as a butt weld, a with integrated cold wire feed
single-V butt weld with broad root face is prepa-
red. The V-shaped upper part of the joint then much less in plasma welding due to the higher
needs to be filled in with filler metal, however. For welding speed if it is not formed. The cold forming
this purpose there are plasma torches with gas does assist in forming the rear of the root,
integrated cold wire feed – figure 16. Raised however. This gives it the name “forming gas”.
seam welds, edge welds without seam prepara- Forming also prevents the formation of oxide
tion and corner welds are also used. skins and annealing colour on the rear of the root,
or at least reduces this. This is important when

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welding corrosion-resistant steels, for example, Despite this, the general rules for avoiding the
because these oxide skins reduce the corrosion blow effect should also be observed in plasma
resistance of the welded joint. When welding welding, i.e. in root welding the tack points
pipes, the ends can simply be blocked off and the should be located very close together and the
forming gas introduced into the inside. When repelling effect of the opposite pole utilised by
welding panels, it can be allowed to escape the appropriate fitting of the ground connection
through openings in the backing lines. Argon or to the workpiece.
an argon/hydrogen mixture can be used as the
forming gas. DIN EN 439 standardises more
5.7 Welding positions
cost-effective forming gases in group F, however.
These consist of a hydrogen/nitrogen mixture, for Plasma joint welding is only used in the manual
example. Pure nitrogen can also be used for application in the vertical (flat) and horizontal
forming in some circumstances. (horizontal vertical) positions. In fully mechani-
sed welding, longitudinal seams are welded in
the flat position and circumferential welds in the
5.4 Igniting the arc horizontal vertical position or as transverse
First the non-transferring pilot arc is ignited in the seams in the horizontal position. Plasma deposit
interior of the torch between the tungsten electro- welding is normally carried out in the flat position
de and the constricting nozzle. This pre-ionises only.
the gas path between the torch and parent metal
so that the main arc can ignite without contact
5.8 Ending the welding operation
after the welding current is switched on, when the
torch has approached the workpiece to a distan- When ending the welding operation, the current
ce of a few millimetres. The pilot arc can be seen is dropped in a ramp formation to keep the end
by the welder behind the dark safety glass, and crater small. This is especially important when
helps him to find the start of the weld more easily welding using the keyhole technique. In this case
(pilot arc). it may be necessary to drop the gas pressure as
well at the end of the seam to close the keyhole.
5.5 Guiding the torch

5.9 Welding parameters
In manual plasma welding, welding to the left is
preferred, as with TIG welding; in other words the In addition to the electrical parameters welding
welding rod is moved in the direction of welding in current intensity and welding voltage, the fusion
front of the torch. Manual welding is used in micro penetration characteristics in plasma welding is
plasma welding, in soft plasma welding, when also affected by the welding speed and by the
using the extrusion technique and in plasma pressure of the plasma gas, i.e. by the quantity of
powder joint welding. In the latter case, the plasma gas added and the diameter of the
welding additive, as already mentioned, is added constricted opening. The welding voltage is
in powder form concentrically around the plasma higher than in the closely related TIG welding
nozzle. In contrast, plasma welding is used with process due to the longer length of the arc.
the keyhole technique and plasma powder Tables 2 and 3 [3] contain welding data on micro
deposit welding normally only with full mechani- plasma welding and on thick panel plasma
sation. In this case, additional investment for welding on austenitic chrome/nickel steels.
driving units are required to move the torch in the
direction of welding or for moving the workpiece 5.10 Work safety
underneath the fixed torch.
Plasma welding, like TIG welding, is a very clean
process. Virtually no poisonous gases or smoke
5.6 Magnetic arc blow effect is produced, which means that there is no legal
IIn contrast to the TIG arc, the plasma arc is requirement for extraction directly at the point of
considerably more stable in direction. It is there- origin according to the existing work safety
fore less affected by external magnetic fields. regulations. Free ventilation or mechanical

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ventilation of the room is sufficient. The welder current intensities. The greatest electrical hazard
does need to protect himself against the radiati- arises from the open circuit voltage. This is the
on from the arc and against electrical hazards, highest voltage, which runs between the connec-
however. To counteract the infrared and ultravio- tion sockets with the power source switched on,
let radiation, the plasma welder normally wears when the arc is not burning. After the arc is
a head shield which leaves both hands free for ignited, the voltage is much lower, in TIG welding
moving the torch and adding the filler metal. The only around 12 to 20 Volts, for example. In accor-
welder’s safety filter is integrated into this protec- dance with German accident prevention regula-
tive screen. This filter is standardised in DIN EN tions VBG 15, power sources for direct current in
169. There are various safety levels which need normal operation may have a threshold value of
to be permanently marked on the glass. In the open circuit voltage of max. 113 volts. With
plasma welding, filters in safety levels 9 to 14 are alternating current systems, this value is also
used, depending on the current intensity being 113 volts, but the effective value is limited to max.
used, with level 9 for the lower currents, e.g. for 80 volts. Under increased electrical hazard, such
micro plasma welding, and 14 for the higher as when welding in small rooms or on large iron
masses, lower values apply for alternating
Workpiece Welding Welding Plasma Shielding Welding current, e.g. a threshold value of 68 volts and an
thickness current voltage gas gas speed effective value of 48 volts. More modern welding
mm A V l/min l/min cm/min
0,1 3 21 0,2 5 30
power sources meeting this requirement bear
0,2 6 22 0,2 5 30
the “S” safety sign in accordance with DIN EN
0,4 14 24 0,2 6 35
60974-1. Older power sources may still be
0,5 18 23 0,2 6 20
marked with “K” (direct current) or “42V” (alterna-
1,0 40 25 0,3 7 35
ting current). The welder can ensure maximum
Edge preparation: Butt weld without gap
protection against electric shocks by using
Parent metal: X 5 CrNi 18.10
undamaged welding gloves made from leather
Plasma gas: Argon I1 - DIN EN 439
and well insulated work clothes including safety
shoes.
Shielding gas: Argon/hydrogen R1 - DIN EN 439
Welding position: Flat
5.11 Special features of different materials
Table 2: Welding parameters for manual Plasma welding is suitable for joint welding a
microplasma welding (values from [5])
large range of steels and non-iron metals and
alloys.
Workpiece Welding Welding Plasma Shielding Welding
thickness current voltage gas gas speed
mm A V l/min l/min cm/min 5.11.1 Unalloyed and low-alloy steels
2,5 200 24 1,5 15 80
Plasma welding is a good choice for use with
3,0 210 28 2,5 18 75
these materials, assuming certain special
4,0 220 27 2,5 18 65
features are taken into account. Due to the deep
5,0 230 29 2,5 20 45
fusion penetration and the typical edge shapes in
6,0 240 28 2,8 20 40
plasma welding with large ridges which need to
8,0 290 28 3,5 20 25
be melted, the weld metal consists to a large
Edge preparation: Butt
extent of melted parent material. With unalloyed
Parent metal: X 5 CrNi 18.10
steels, such as pipe steels containing little
Plasma gas: Argon I1 - DIN EN 439
silicon, the weld metal can then be disrupted by
Shielding gas: Argon/hydrogen R1 - DIN EN 439 an in take-of oxygen. The consequence of this is
Welding position: Flat a metallurgic pore formation in the weld metal.
Filler metal: For larger gaps with 3 mm sheet metal thickness
and over When selecting the batch, care therefore needs
to be taken regarding the silicon content, or
Table 3: Welding parameters for fully larger proportions of Si/Mn-alloyed filler metals
mechanised plasma keyhole welding need to be added.
(values from [5])

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5.11.2 High-alloy steels carriers in the arc. If the minus pole is on the
Plasma welding with keyhole technology is electrode, the electrons move from the electrode
ideally suited for use with this material group. The to the workpiece and the residual ions from the
viscosity of the weld metal specific to these workpiece to the electrode. Cleaning effect is not
materials produces especially flat and finely possible with this pole setup. With the poles
feathered beads underneath. This means that reversed, on the other hand, the heavy ions hit
mechanical backing runs are not normally the surface of the workpiece. They can take off
necessary. and remove the oxide layer thanks to their kinetic
The more intensive heat feeding by the concen- energy. Welding on the hotter plus pole results in
trated arc is compensated by the greater welding Cleaning via
Electrode on the plus pole
speed, in comparison to TIG welding, for exam- kinetic energy
ple, which means that there is no risk of disad-

vantageous effects in the form of a tendency
towards heat cracks or reduced resistance to
corrosion. For components subsequently expo- Ions Electrons
sed to a high risk of corrosion, the corrosion skins
formed by the welding process must at least be
removed on the side touching the product by
brushing, blasting, grinding or etching because a
greater degree of corrosion could occur under-
neath. No cleaning Electrode on the minus pole
5.11.3 Aluminium and aluminium alloys

DIt is not possible to weld aluminium materials on
the minus pole with argon as the shielding gas. Electrons Ions
The high-melting oxide layer on the pool cannot
be dealt with, therefore. Aluminium oxide (Al2
O3) has a melting point of around 2050°C. The
parent metal, e.g. pure aluminium, melts at
650°C on the other hand. Aluminium has such a Figure 17: Cleaning effect and electron emission
high degree of chemical relationship to oxygen, work in welding of aluminium alloys
which means that even if the surface of the
parent metal has been freed of oxides before
welding by brushing or scraping, skins form on the current loading capacity of the electrode
the surface of the pool quickly again. Due to their being quite low, however. Thick electrons must
high melting point, these skins only partially melt be used with semi-cone shaped ends. The
directly underneath the arc. This means that the fusion penetration is relatively low due to the low
greater part of the seam surface would be cover- current loading capacity. When welding with
ed with a solid layer of aluminium oxide when alternating current the cleaning effect occurs
welding with direct current (- pole). This makes when the positive half-wave is on the electrode.
monitoring the pool impossible and makes it The electrode can then cool down again in the
more difficult to add filler metal. This oxide layer subsequent negative half-wave. This is therefore
can be removed by using flux, as in brazing, but also known as the cleaning and cooling half-
this would mean a lot of extra work. wave. When welding with alternating current, the
When welding with direct current on the plus current-loading capacity is lower than with direct
pole, it is possible to take off and remove this current minus pole welding. However, it is higher
oxide layer via charge carriers in the arc. Here than when welding on the plus pole. It has been
only the ions are the issue as the electrons do not shown that for sufficient cleaning effect, the
have sufficient kinetic energy for this due to their entire positive half-wave is not required at all, but
low mass. Figure 17 shows the flow of charge that 20% or 30% of the half-wave is sufficient.

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This fact has been exploited in modern current hydrogen taken up during welding must exit the
sources in which the balance of the two half- weld metal before it hardens. Otherwise pores
waves can be changed in relation to one anot- will form in the weld metal.
her, e.g. from 20% plus/80% minus to 80% Sources of hydrogen in TIG welding of aluminium
plus/20% minus. The lower proportion of the plus are primarily oxide skins on the parent metal.
pole results in a higher level of current loading This bind in humidity and must therefore be
capacity of the electrode, or with the same removed before welding by brushing or scraping.
current setting, in a longer service life. With On the other hand, the arc is quieter if there is a
these “square-wave sources” it is normally still thin oxide skin on the surface because this emits
possible to change the frequency of the artificial
alternating current as well, e.g. between 50 Hz
and 300 Hz. Increasing the frequency also
improves the level of wear on the electrode.
The square-wave artificial alternating current
has another advantage, however. As the current
output wave form is very steep when the polarity
is changed, the idle times of the arc in the cros-
sover are considerably shorter than with a sine-
shaped wave form. The re-ignition is therefore
more reliable and the arc is more stable overall.
Modern power sources permit the use of direct
current in welding, both with sine and square
wave-form alternating current.
More recently a variant of minus pole welding
Figure 18: Upper seam sides and fusion penetration
has also been used, in which shielding gas with in the plasma welding of AlMg3,
a high helium content is used. In manual welding t=3mm, no filler metal
the proportion of helium in the shielding gas a) Plasma plus pole welding
needs to be at least 90 % to ensure sufficient I=35A, U=26V, vs=40cm/min,
pool monitoring for the welder. In machine Plasma gas: Ar, shielding gas: 70%Ar / 30%He
welding a helium proportion of 70 % is also b) Plasma minus pole welding
I=70A, U=20V, vs=90cm/min,
adequate. When welding on the minus pole Plasma gas: 30%Ar / 70%He, shielding gas: He
under argon, the oxide skin cannot be broken c) Plasma alternating current welding
open, as explained above. Due to the high I=45A, U=26V, vs=40cm/min,
temperature of the energy-rich helium arc, it can Plasma gas: Ar, shielding gas: 70%Ar / 30%He
be liquefied, however. This means that it is less
of a problem. Figure 18 [4] shows a comparison lighter electrons than the pure metal. A compro-
of the surface formation and the fusion penetrati- mise therefore needs to be found between a
on in plasma welding of aluminium with the stable arc and sufficient protection against pore
variants described above. When interpreting the formation. It has proven useful to remove oxides
results it should be noted that the welds have thoroughly from the workpiece surfaces before
been carried out using different current intensi- welding, but then waiting one or two hours before
ties. starting the welding process so that a new thin
oxide layer can form. The oxide skins formed on
Another special feature in welding the material the surface of the welding rods also contribute to
aluminium is its sensitivity to pores when in the pore formation. Filler metals made from alumini-
take-up of hydrogen. The relationships are more um should therefore be stored carefully and not
problematic than when welding steel. Whereas for too long a period.
iron can still dissolve hydrogen at 8 cm3/100 g
weld metal in the transfer from the liquid to the
solid state, aluminium in its solid state dissolves
practically no hydrogen at all. This means that all

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5.11.4 Other materials In equipment construction it is ideal for welding

The concentrated heat feeding of the plasma arc compensators, bellows and metal screens. A
has an especially useful effect with copper and more recent area of application is in dental
copper alloys in particular, which have a high technology, where it is used in dental labs
level of heat conductance. In comparison to TIG instead of brazing.
welding, it can therefore be possible to reduce or Applications for plasma powder deposit welding
even do without the pre-heating process normal- can be found primarily in fittings construction for
ly required to ensure sufficient fusion penetrati- armour-plating sealing surfaces, and in engine
on, especially with larger wall thicknesses. construction when welding on valve seats.
In addition to the metals and alloys mentioned Plasma brazing is used mainly where thin metal-
above, nickel and nickel alloys can be successful- coated panels are processed. A main area of
ly plasma welded, as well as titanium and titani- application is in car construction, but also in
um alloys. other sectors of industry where panels in the
thickness range of around <1 mm occur.
5.11.5 Materials for plasma deposit welding
In plasma powder deposit welding, 6.1 Example applications
cobalt/chrome/tungsten alloys (stellite) or alloys Figure 19 shows membranes made from black
based on nickel/chrome/boron (colmonoy) are plates, with raised seams welded onto their
frequently welded on as depositing materials. By circumferences using micro plasma welding.
the separate setting of the current intensity and
the quality of power additive, very low mixtures
can be maintained, which means that very thin
coatings are sufficient. The plasma hot wire
process has previously generally been used to
apply corrosion-resistant plating made from CrNi
steel, as well as nickel/chrome alloys for protecti-
on against wear and tear.
6 Applications for
plasma welding and brazing
Plasma welding can be used to weld joints,
starting from very thin parts in the foil area (micro Figure 19: Edge-formed seam on membranes
plasma welding) up to large workpiece thicknes-
ses. Keyhole technology permits thicknesses of Another example of micro plasma welding is
up to 10 mm to be through-welded on steel as a shown in figure 20. In this case there are longitu-
butt weld, for example. With titanium this upper dinal seams on protective grilles for chemical
thickness threshold is increased up to 12 mm. In ovens. The thickness of the individual rods is
addition to this, a single-V butt with broad root 0.15 mm.
face must be produced.
In deposit welding, on the other hand, a minimum
thickness needs to be specified for the parent
metal. This is around 4 mm for plasma powder
deposit welding, and around 20 mm for plasma
hot wire welding.
Plasma joint welding is used in pipe and closed
container construction, for example when manu-
facturing pipes made from stainless steel with
longitudinal welds, and for welding containers Figure 20: Longitudinal seam on protective grids
such as barrels, storage tanks and gas cylinders. for chemical ovens

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Figure 21 shows internal and external round Plasma welding (in comparison to TIG welding)
seams on fittings for heating unit construction Advantages Disadvantages
which have been joined using plasma joint • Reduced sensitivity in • Higher investment
welding. comparison to changes in costs
arc length
• Torches difficult to use
• Greater arc stability at higher output levels
• Deeper fusion penetration • Less suitable for out-of-
and more concentrated position welding
heat feeding
• Longer service life of the
tungsten electrode
• Easier to locate the start of
the weld seam via a pilot arc
Figure 21: Internal and external seams on fittings

for heating unit construction Table 4: Comparison between TIG and plasma welding in
joint welding
Figure 22 shows the application of manual

plasma brazing in the automobile industry on the
door sill of a BMW car body. The filler metal is
added manually in this case in the form of rods.
Figure 22: Manual plasma brazing on the door sill

of a BMW car body
6.2 Comparison with TIG welding

There is an obvious comparison between
plasma welding and the closely related TIG
welding process. As well as the high welding
speed of the plasma process already mentio-
ned, there are other advantages, which are
balanced out by several disadvantages, howe-
ver. A comparison of advantages of disadvanta-
ges are given in table 4.

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7 Literature
[[1] Killing, R.: Handbuch der Schweißverfahren Band 1:
Lichtbogenschweißverfahren (Handbook of Welding
Processes Volume 1: Arc welding processes)
Fachbuchreihe Schweißtechnik Band 76/I,
(Specialist book series on welding technology, volume 76/I)
DVS-Verlag Düsseldorf 1999
[2] Chruszez, M, R. Killing, H. Köstermann and J. Marksmann:
Plasma-Pulver-Verbindungsschweißen – ein Verfahren mit
besonderen Einsatzbereichen (Plasma power joint welding – a
process with special applications)
DVS-Berichte Band 194 (German Welding Association reports,
volume 194), p 21-26, DVS-Verlag Düsseldorf 1998
[3] Aichele, G.: Leistungskennwerte für Schweißen und
Schneiden, Fachbuchreihe Schweißtechnik Band 72,
(Performance characteristics for welding and cutting,
Specialist book series on welding technology, volume 72)
[4] Dzelnitzki, D.: Plasma welding of aluminium – direct current
or alternating current
DVS-Jahrbuch Schweißtechnik 2000 (German Welding
Association Yearbook of Welding Technology 2000), p.141-156
8 Imprint
The PLASMA Primer, 1st edition 2004
From the EWM Knowledge range of publications – All about
welding: All rights reserved.
Reprinting, including extracts, is forbidden. No part of this
brochure may be reproduced or electronically processed,
reproduced or distributed in any form (photocopy, microfilm or
any other procedure) without the written permission of EWM.

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Notes
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WM.0413.01 · 11.2007 · We reserve the right to make amendments
© EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 2007

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EWM WELDING DICTIONARY

MMA TIG MIG/MAG PLASMA

Simply more technology!

Simply more quality!

EWM - Simply welding, simply more!

9 Special notes for MMA welding on different materials ....................................................................................15

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 1 11.07

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 3 11.07

The composition and the thickness of the PB

coating have a significant effect on the PG

welding characteristics. This relates both

The size of the drop being transferred in

The cellulose type (Figure 3, c) has a PE

medium- to large-drop material transfer.

4.1 Groove shapes Single-V butt One side 3-10

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 7 11.07

Codes for the impact energy of the weld metal

Table 3 Electrode designations irrespective to DIN EN 499

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 8 11.07

4.2 Placement of the weld groove side

- (+) Electrode holder

Figure 12 Transformer principle [2]

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 10 11.07

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 11 11.07

may damage the coating until it breaks

Figure 17 Principle for setting the arc force R=

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 13 11.07

Table 4 Current intensities irrespective to the

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 14 11.07

fore limited by the accident prevention

regulations. It must not exceed a peak

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 16 11.07

Figure 22 Use of MMA welding in beam con-

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 18 11.07

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 1 11.07

full name of this process irrespective to

differs from other fusion welding tech- Arc

niques in that it offers various interesting

Figure 1 TRITON 260 DC, TIG welding of

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 2 11.07

2.4 Shielding gases

4 The welding torch

As water is a relatively expensive operat-

Figure 7 Gas cooled TIG welding torch

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 6 11.07

Figure 8 Exploded diagram of the TIG weld-

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 7 11.07

Figure 13 Basic diagram of the welding recti-

D.C. - A.C. converter Rectivier (diode)

Rectivier (diode) Transformer Choke

Figure 15 Block diagram for a 3rd generation

Gas nozzle size

Filler rod di-

© 2002 EWM HIGHTEC WELDING GmbH 11 11.07

Figure 20 Magnetic arc blow

priate (Figure 20 b). As arc blow is

Welding current [A]

6.0 I 2 2.4 110 20

Panel thickness [mm]

Welding current [A]