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Welding with Titanium

What types of Arc welding processes can be used on Titanium? Is one better than the
other?
Many different arc welding processes can be used to weld titanium such as GMAW, GTAW,
PAW, and LHAW just to name a few. All of these processes provide their own advantages and
one is not necessarily better than another. Depending on the application, GMAW provides high
weld quality, great versatility and increased productivity. GTAW and PAW provide very high
weld quality but are slow processes in comparison to GMAW & LHAW. LHAW provides the
highest possible welding speed but is limited to automation only.
Can Titanium be arc welded manually or is this something that requires automation? Is
automation easy to do?
Titanium can be welded manually or by automation. Automating your welding process for
titanium is relatively easy. Fronius uses the same equipment for both manual and automation
applications; therefore if you start with a manual system it can be easily adapted for automation
use.
So you say Titanium can be welded with the GMAW process; what equipment is needed to
do this successfully and what does Fronius offer for a solution?
Welding titanium with the GMAW process requires sophisticated power supplies with pulse
capability. Fronius offers the TPS or TransPuls Synergic platform for GMAW welding of
Titanium. The Fronius TPS power supply uses advanced inverter technology to make the welding
of titanium easy for the user. To ensure perfect wire feeding we recommend a push/pull torch,
the Fronius wire feeding system is perfectly synchronized and easy to use.
Can I use the same practices and set up as I use for steel welding or do I need special
equipment?
Special practices must be used when welding titanium. Titanium is not tolerant of contamination;
the material must be cleaned before it can be welded. The parent materials must be cleaned with
a non-chlorinated solvent prior to welding at least one inch away from the weld seam. If the
material is heavily contaminated the surface can be removed by grinding, followed by solvent
cleaning. It is also important to not touch the cleaned materials without gloves as the oil on your
skin can cause weld contamination practice titanium as a white glove treatment. A trailing
shield is always necessary when welding titanium to keep the weld pool from absorbing nitrogen,
oxygen, hydrogen & carbon which can cause the weldment to become brittle. The welded area
must be protected by inert gas until the weld cools below 700F. For butt joints a purge gas is
necessary to protect the root, even on fillet joints it is generally necessary to purge the backside
of the joint.
A common pre-weld procedure is to:
1. Deburr the weld area with a rotary or draw file
2. Wire brush with a dedicated stainless steel brush
3. Solvent clean
4. Tack weld and then wire brush again
5. Solvent clean
6. Begin welding

What shielding gases, wire types and wire diameter are commonly used and does Fronius
offer something that will fit my needs if I choose to weld my parts with GMAW process?
Only inert shielding gases can used for welding titanium, this includes argon, helium or a
mixture of argon and helium. Argon needs to be a high purity argon (99.999%) for best results.
Common wire diameters for GMAW are 0.035 (0.9mm) and 0.045 (1.2mm). There are several
different grades of titanium so it would be best to speak with the wire manufacturer about the
right wire alloy for your application. If you decide to use the GMAW process for your
application Fronius offers the TPS platform for welding titanium. With the TPS platform Fronius
has tailor-made waveforms specific to titanium to allow for perfect and repeatable results.

If I didnt want to use GMAW what would be some other good alternatives and what are
some differences or advantages? Does Fronius offer solutions for other Arc welding
solutions?
Other alternatives to GMAW are GTAW and PAW. Both Tig and Plasma can be utilized either
manually or by automation. Fronius is unique in that the same power supply is used for Tig &
Plasma welding. Plasma welding can be generated with only a small equipment add on such as a
plasma module for the pilot arc and a plasma welding torch. However, the GTAW & PAW
process require a greater skill level of the welder. Another possible arc welding solution is laser
hybrid; this process greatly increases the welding speed. However, this setup can be very
expensive, is limited to automation only and the weld joint tolerances are low.

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