DCEN TIG for Aluminum

[wendell]

Can some one point me towards a resource to learn about DCEN tig welding of Aluminum with He shielding. I've bene a little surprised at how hard information is to come by. Cheers, W

[taylorkh]

That might be because AC is generally used for aluminum.

Ken

[MR.57]

Pure Helium has an unstable arc and it can be a bit tricky to run with DC. I found it VERY sensitive to arc length. Hope your HF start is in good shape - you'll need it.

Shovelon gave me some good info about it here

[yorkiepap]

Hey wendell,
Most fellows prefer TIG with AC, although anything is possible..... it all depends on the lengths you are willing to go. Here's a thread on the Hobart forum by WeldTalk member B_C who is an artist with alum TIG. He has posted many aluminum jobs he has done..... take a look & join & ask him what may help you.

Denny

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtal...ad.php?t=39603

[wendell]

Denny,
Thanks for the link. Just what I was looking for! If any one has any tips they want to share (other than use AC w/ HF), I'm all ears.
W

[1930case]

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtal...ad.php?t=30243

[wendell]

Pure Helium has an unstable arc and it can be a bit tricky to run with DC. I found it VERY sensitive to arc length. Hope your HF start is in good shape - you'll need it.

Shovelon gave me some good info about it here

On my first pass I missed the link. Thanks. W

[Rbeckett]

If ypu hop over to the Hobart site and contact B.C. and Pangea (and SundownIII too) they will give you a ton of info on what you are trying to do. They do it all of the time and make some very very nicely welded stuff for their employers. If you go to the aluminum sub forum they are somewhere around and are pretty active so you probably wont wait to long for a reply. Do a search though, they have done a bunch of threads on it already too.
Bob

[jrscgsr]

Sundown III has answered a similar question on here before. He posted proper gas to be using and some info on the subject of DCEN aluminum welding.