Aluminum Gas Welding Using GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding)

Aluminum gas welding using the Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), also known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, is an arc welding process that is uses a tungsten electrode. GTAW can be used to weld many metals other than aluminum, including steel. TIG welding steel is easy, but welding aluminum is another cup of tea altogether. There are various factors that contribute to making aluminum hard to TIG weld.  

Here are the factors that make aluminum so much harder than steel to be TIG welded: 

Aluminum oxidizes a lot faster when left outside in the elements. This applies to boats, dock ladder, boat propeller etc. It creates problem when welding, which you should avoid by cleaning the aluminum before you TIG weld it.

Keep the settings right - the current setting should be A/C and the high frequency switch ought to be kept at continuous mode. If not, the arc will stutter. 

Since aluminum is a very good conductor, you will continuously have to control the amperage to keep the right amount of heat on the work piece. A foot pedal is a necessity here.

Robotic Arc Welding Requirements Functionality

(1) A more advanced seam tracking system will decrease resources needed for programming. In the general case, this will allow the sensor to guide the robot from start to end with only a small number of intermediate poses in the case of complex weld joints. Naturally, the sensor guidance must include orientation as well as this is an important parameter to obtain defined quality and productivity.

(2) In cases where the sensor detects a change of orientation of the weld joint, the welding torch must be oriented at a specific angle relative the joint to produce the weld in accordance with the welding specification procedure. This procedure defines the conditions to comply with quality requirements and the torch orientation is as important as many other parameters to control.

Robotic Arc Welding in Future Trends

Robot systems for automation of welding are today a robust technology that combines productivity with quality in a variety of designs of robot stations. The technology is combined with a set of supporting techniques related to welding engineering (different processes, control of the welding process, etc.), sensor technology and simulation and programming. New welding processes such as rapid arc and laser welding will put further demands on control aspects on robot systems as the travel speed increases and process operating parameters become more narrow. The use of new production processes is however linked to product design and the preparation of robust programs for the Robotic Arc Welding station so that the benefits of new processes can be utilized to their optimum.