Robotic TipTig Welds at GMAW Speeds
At the ABB customer day our Robotic TipTig was able to deposit welds at GMAW speeds, much to the surprise of conference attendees. The reason our system can produce TIG welds at GMAW speeds is our patented high-speed wire oscillation technology that agitates the weld pool to increase fluidity and decrease heat. This demonstration was recently reported in The Fabricator magazine. An excerpt from that article is below.
Siegfried Plasch, an Austrian welding engineer, invented and patented the process, which uses a constant-feed hot wire superimposed by a high-speed wire oscillation. As Oxlade explained, “This oscillation absolutely changes the characteristics of what takes place in that welding pool. When you oscillate the wire, you basically agitate the weld pool, which is key. It increases the fluidity of the pool, and that wets the sides of the joints more easily and reduces sensitivity to fit-up tolerance.”
This allows the welding torch to travel at a high speed—several times faster than conventional GTAW, according to sources. The high speeds reduce heat. “We’re approaching MIG [GMAW] speeds here,” Oxlade said. The high speeds, low heat, and small heat-affected zone, and the fact that the process occurs in the electrode-negative polarity, also reduce the chance for weld oxidation.