which type are you guys uses for tig stainless and aluminum? are you using one type for all metal?

i was looking the %2 ceriated.?

 

1.5% lanthenated gold band (sp) . works for both ac and d/c ... non radioactive too ..
nice stuff ...

great source ... http://www.aglevtech.com/ ... u may see him on ebay .. but his website prices are cheaper .. after shipping wise ...

 

The most common is the pure tungsten (green tip) for AC and 2% thoriated for DC. You can get away with 2% for both, and it's cheaper.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The most common is the pure tungsten (green tip) for AC and 2% thoriated for DC. You can get away with 2% for both, and it's cheaper. </TD></TR></TABLE>

whats the use of ceriated n lathenated etcc ?

 

I use 2% thoirated for all Tig apps.

 

At school we use 2% thoriated for everything. At home, I use a 2% thoriated for DC and zirconiated tungsten for AC. The Zirconiated tungstens seem to resist contamination a lot better, and also tends to keep its shape when welding hot (hot for the particular size tungsten). I find the 2% tends to wobble and sometimes even melts right down when welding with AC.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The most common is the pure tungsten (green tip) for AC and 2% thoriated for DC. You can get away with 2% for both, and it's cheaper. </TD></TR></TABLE>

engloid .. ive heard that pure tung on inverters is a huge no no .. i tyred it on my machine and know i know .. y .. the arc when crazy and tungsten melted right up to the collet .. everything but pure can be used on inverters ..

any reason y? ...

all the tungsten info u guys need ..

Type of Tungsten

TRI-MIX

Ivory

Three oxides scientifically balance the migration and evaporation rates to extend the service life. It increases the number or arc starts before re-sharpening and fewer misfires save money and time. Tri-Mix offers stability and consistency not seen on most other tungsten types. Increasing weld quality and service life dramatically. Lower work function requires less energy to start than 2% Thoriated Tungsten and runs cooler. Tri-MixTM is a non-radioactive tungsten.

Cryo-T

Clear

2% Thoriated Tungsten contains a nominal 2 wt-% or thorium oxide (ThO2) that is evenly dispersed throughout the entire length of the Tungsten. The most common type of Tungsten used today. Provides excellent resistance from weld pool contamination while at the same time offers the welder easier arc starting capabilities and a more stable arc. Generally used for DC electrode negative or straight polarity applications such as carbon & stainless steels, nickel alloys and titanium.

2% Lanthanated Blue
1.5% Lanthanated Gold

"rare earth" Tungsten contains a nominal 2wt-% Lanthanum oxide (LaO3). This type of Tungsten is very similar to ceriated as it too is a non-radioactive material. Lanthanated electrodes operate at a slightly different arc voltage than Thoriated or Ceriated electrodes. Were developed around the same time as Ceriated Tungsten to help combat the increasing awareness of the radioactivity of Thoriated Tungsten. Generally used to weld carbon & stainless steels, nickel alloys and titanium.
1.5% Lanthanated Gold


2% Ceriated

Orange


2% Ceriated tungsten contains a nominal 2wt-% of cerium oxide(CeO2). Ceriated is different from Thoriated as it is not a radioactive material. Ceriated Tungsten also tends to last longer than Thoriated and can be used proficiently with AC or DC. In manual applications the Ceriated Tungsten will provide slightly different electrical characteristics than the Thoriated Tungsten but generally no difference will be seen by the operator. Generally used to weld carbon & stainless steel, nickel alloy and titanium.

Zirconiated

Brown

Zirconiated Tungsten is excellent for AC welding due to favorable retention of balled end, high resistance to contamination, and good arc starting. Preferred when Tungsten contamination of weld is intolerable.

Pure Tungsten

Green

Pure Tungsten contains a minimum of 99.5wt-% Tungsten with no other alloying elements. This allows the tip to form a clean, balled end which provides good arc stability on AC. Pure can be used with DC but does not compare with Thoriated or Ceriated as far as ease of arc starting. More susceptible to weld contamination than Thoriated, Ceriated or Lanthanated. Usually the least expensive of all Tungsten, Pure Tungsten is generally used in the welding of aluminum and magnesium alloys (AC).

 

if i might piggyback this thread.. whats the relationship of filler diameter to tungsten diameter, and what kind of points are you guys running on the tip? taper, pinpoint, blunted, angled, etc? im self taught (incorrectly ofcoarse)

 

Ill be critisized for this post i know it. But here is what works for me. Tungsten size has nothing to do with filler rod size. you should properly size you tungsten based on your amperage settings. Filler rod size can vary due to personal preferance and base metal thickness. Now what i mean by personal preferance is that some people feed more rod and others dip, meaning more or less filler rod will be deposited at that time. but as a word of mouth guide line try this, if the base metal is 3/32 or less u can use 1/16 or less filler rod, if the base metal is thicker than 1/4 then use 3/32 or more. just practice, practice,practice. get your face close to yourwork so you can see eveything and what is going on. but again this is ONLY from my experience, and will be different for different base metal composistion. as far as tungsten tip shape goes i sharpen everything to a pin point reguardless of metal composistion, remember to grind the tungsten twards the tip you are forming. very important...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbo gli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

engloid .. ive heard that pure tung on inverters is a huge no no .. i tyred it on my machine and know i know .. y .. the arc when crazy and tungsten melted right up to the collet .. everything but pure can be used on inverters ..

any reason y? ...
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Actually, yes. You can run pure tungsten on an inverter machine, but you have to change some of the AC balance settings. When welding AC, current goes from Electrode Positive to Eletrode Negative...very quickly. Most older machines will do this 60 times a second. Inverters have the ability to do this much faster. This isn't the problem you stated, however...it's that the inverters will allow ou to run such that it's Positive for so much of the time, that the electrode gets too hot.

So, you are partially right, and I neglected to explain this fully before. I guess my only savior was the word "usually"...haha

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Actually, yes. You can run pure tungsten on an inverter machine, but you have to change some of the AC balance settings. When welding AC, current goes from Electrode Positive to Eletrode Negative...very quickly. Most older machines will do this 60 times a second. Inverters have the ability to do this much faster. This isn't the problem you stated, however...it's that the inverters will allow ou to run such that it's Positive for so much of the time, that the electrode gets too hot.

So, you are partially right, and I neglected to explain this fully before. I guess my only savior was the word "usually"...haha </TD></TR></TABLE>

ok on my thermal arc 185 (inverter) i can adjust the hz (freq) and the % this i think is what makes it go from elec+/elec- right ?? b/c that can be adjusted up to 65% .. i belive i was only set at 35% .. this might be the reason even my lanthanated tungs would get too had after a short bead ..
thanks for explaining things

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbo gli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

ok on my thermal arc 185 (inverter) i can adjust the hz (freq) and the % this i think is what makes it go from elec+/elec- right ?? b/c that can be adjusted up to 65% .. i belive i was only set at 35% .. this might be the reason even my lanthanated tungs would get too had after a short bead ..
thanks for explaining things </TD></TR></TABLE>

The frequency is how many times, in whatever timeframe, it changes from + to -. The percentage will be how much time it spends on negative (I believe), and the remaining time it will spend on positive.