Donniev Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I hadn't even heard of it 2 weeks ago, and my boss ordered it after looking at it in action. We do process piping for hydronics, we'll have 1500 welds to make for the new power plant going up in town and this is supposed to speed us up. Just gonna take longer than usual since every weld has to pass x-ray (despite it being a 28 pound system) I like it, but the death grip is definitely back- this thing feels huge in my hand compared to my 150 amp rig rig. Anyone else used this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 What's the advantage? You still have to make the puddle before you can fill it, making an automatic wire feed makes me think you should just use a mig. That said it's been so long since I ran Tig I'm a couple decades out of the loop. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 More than just a wire feeder, there is an agitator in-line in the wire feed. The wire is pulsing in and out like a tattoo gun needle, which helps to flatten out the puddle. Expensive, yes, but you get TIG quality with MIG speed. About a 500% speed increase on average, YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwolfforgeca Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Interesting tool mig - tig Hum I have done a Ton of tig work in my life ! would like to run one & see ? if they have to x ray a 28 pound set up they need better Tig welders lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I was wandering if it auto fed like a mig or had a secondary trigger to advance the wire, John. Grew up learning gas welding first (exaust pipe for cars and bikes) so the few times I have used tig I haven't embarks than myself. Stick came second then mig. Now I have to use magnifiers, dark lenses and work lights or I can't see the work and the puddle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donniev Posted October 19, 2017 Author Share Posted October 19, 2017 Wolf they're requiring x-ray because the previous contracted welders migged everything and I guess basically every other weld leaked. So leaks coupled with the fact that it was buried downtown with new concrete poured before they found out it leaked lead to their engineers getting pretty XXXXXX off, hence the x-ray requirement now. It pulses in and out of the puddle like John said around 30 times a second, and the wire is preheated right before it comes out over the cup (that's what that blue ground wire is for). It's a pretty impressive set up honestly, once we both get accustomed to the weight of it we'll be able to fly on these welds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba682 Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Make sure you catch your edges in the root or the xray will fail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donniev Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Headers are about finished then we're on to carbon for the next 4-5 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba682 Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Nice caps so how do you like the new tig combo how was it for putting the root in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donniev Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 Were not going to attempt to put the root in right away with tip tig until we've got a few weeks on it and used to it. My first root with it is almost perfect, key word almost doesn't mean much for an x-ray job though. The plan is for me to root everything by hand and other guy will hot pass/ cap with tip tig. If I remember I'll get a picture of my tip tig root tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba682 Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 Right on id like to see it cause i got a feeling that set up might not be user friendly in the root without practice. I rather freehand the tig root cause ya got more options try as they might it will be along time before they replace the guy in position with the torch the rod and the eye.When they bring in this new stuff its always built to weld the perfect fit and conditions lol in over 20 yrs of positional pipe welding and xray work,i'm still waiting for the perfect fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donniev Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 As you can see with the cold wire in the back, that weld was used to fine tune and adjust the welder, 2nd one is good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba682 Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 Is the qc checking the roots before there shot cause i see a possible repair at 5.30 off the bottom it looks like the root is closing up on the side shot at about 3 o'clock these must be practice coupons are they.I think i'd wanna practice with that tip a little longer to get a bit more comfortable. Like anything else the more ya do it the better it gets its coming along. I wanna get one now to try, what schedule of pipe ya welding . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donniev Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share Posted November 1, 2017 Schd 40 this was just a practice one. Were not going to put the root in with it, I'll root everything by hand other guy will hot pass and cap it all with tip tig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba682 Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I agree with ya on puttin the root in by hand that thing looks like a pain in the --- lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Interesting and sorry I missed the post when it originally came around. I am looking into exactly the same thing for a semi-robotic TIG application I need to do. Unfortunately, I have to do it on the cheap so will end up using the crappy Chinese versions of the wire feeder. Hoping that it works out---will be using a brand new miller welder for the power supply (can't go cheap there) Instead of a running bead, I need to make a series of tiny spot fillet welds along a 3/16" dia T304 SS rod. The guy doing the welding by hand now is actually getting carpal tunnel problems from the repetitiveness of the job--5 or 6 thousand little spots a day. Although I'd rather pay a guy than pay for a robot (work is about people, not just profits), it just has to happen for health reasons. Anything I should know about those TIG cold wire feeders which isn't obvious until you start gaining experience with one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donniev Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share Posted November 1, 2017 Nothing comes to mind immediately...most of it is getting used to the weight of it, the other battle is fighting the tungsten/ wire distance, it has to be a perfect 1/8". Also we change tungsten frequently...since carbon is so dirty if any impurity gets pushed out near the tungsten it grabs on, and this isn't like doing it by hand, can't continue even with a slightly dirty tungsten. Has to be perfect...not sure if that'll help you too much or not, but that's all I can say on this so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Thanks. Anything helps. We're going to use a pencil torch with a gas lens and it won't be handheld. I had already considered the issue of keeping the tungsten clean and consistently sharpening for repeatable results---something I have to get the crew to keep up on if this is going to work. The welds are so small that slight inconsistencies in process will bite me. Biggest shop problem I tend to have is inertia: People resist changes quite strongly..and when finally onboard, complain "why did you force me to do it the old way for so long?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugg Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 does anyone out there using the tip tig use the flex heads that they offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 On 8/22/2019 at 11:25 AM, bugg said: does anyone out there using the tip tig use the flex heads that they offer I don't understand what you're asking. A TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) tip is a tungsten needle electrode used to make an arc to the grounded stock being welded. They are NOT used with flux, the shielding gas serves the same purpose flux does in electric welding. I believe you're thinking of something else. Welcome aboard Bugg, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many members live within visiting distance. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francisco Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 On 11/1/2017 at 1:44 PM, Kozzy said: Anything I should know about those TIG cold wire feeders which isn't obvious until you start gaining experience with one? Hello I am from Argentina. Interesting project. I am designing an automatic arm to put the Tig torch and to be able to perform automatic circular welds on 600mm diameter 304 stainless steel cylinders, commanded by Arduino. I would like to know the results you have obtained. Greetings people! (Sorry for the English, I don't know. I speak Spanish) This image is from modeling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Welcome aboard Francisco, glad to have you. What you want to do has been done for probably a century at least, just not with a set up like you show. Your proposed design would require centering for each cylinder and be touchy as heck. How are you going to feed the welding rod? So, when I worked for Greer Tank, we welded tanks constantly and only one station of 6 had a welder present. The helper, me made regular rounds to make sure everything was running smoothly and mark any welds that needed a look from a welder. The rest of the time I swept, changed wire spools and welding gas tanks and kept the man on the rolls stocked while moving the tack welded tanks to the ready racks. Greer used powered rollers and MIG welders, even for the aluminum and stainless steel tanks. It was simple, low tech and very reliable, the only semi regular problem was if a mig gun had a problem and sputtered a bunch of dingle balls and they stuck to a roller. Yeah, I scraped the dingle balls off the rollers while a welder adjusted the mig gun or yelled at me to change shielding gas tanks. Each welder had IIRC 4 shielding gas bottles in a rack so when one ran out it was a mater of 30 seconds to get a fresh one connected and the welder back in operation. The only adjustment to the system was when we changed tank diameters and there was a traveler to gauge how many inches per minute the tank was turning, after that, turn it on and get out of the way. One of my jobs was to mark the starting point of the welds and as I was keeping an eye on things be ready to hit the off button when the beads overlapped about 1/2" and move the welding gun to the other end of the tank, align it and turn it back on. Both seams on the tank head started in the same position so I only needed one mark. No, it wasn't up by the gun, it was by a visible roller. I got to tack the longitudinal seams if I wasn't too swamped and after a while I welded baffles and manholes. That was after I'd been there a while and proven I could run a competent bead. I hope that's more helpful than long and rambly. Your question brought back some good memories. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francisco Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Thank you very much! The idea is to be able to build a system that adapts to geometries that do not allow the part to rotate, such as an off-center flange. The input material will be fed by a system also commanded by Arduino that will be in tune with the welding machine and calibrated according to the abance speed. The method of centering the part is a problem, but I can solve it with a laser level. It is a new project and I really want to try, my experience is very scarce but as they say "you learn from mistakes". Thank you very much again and greetings to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Do you want it to do 2D or 3D welding? Or should I say 3 axis or 4 axis? Centering anything is off the shelf laser scan tech. Yes, you learn from your mistakes but a SMART person learns from other people's mistakes. That way you can make NEW mistakes rather than repeating old ones. Okay, looked up Arduino, so I deleted my last paragraph. Makes sense. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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