Pulsed TIG tips or "tricks"? Anyone?

[HAWK]

Worth a try...

For anyone interested: If you happen to tune in on a set of pulse parameters in the 1-2pps range, add filler on the pulse on and move the torch on pulse off. Of course the 2pps will be harder to do so start with 1 or 1.2pps. It is a lot of hand/eye/ear coordination-Use your ear and "listen' to the sound of pulse on. I can hear it on Dc as well as AC with the Dynasty series.

Good Luck

HAWK

[HAWK]

Hawk,

Man, that pretty much hits the nail on the head.

This guy's calling ME the idiot.

At least I have a couple tig machines and know how to tig weld. Also know where the pulse capability can be used to my benefit.

Funny thing is, when I got my first tig welder with pulse capability (tig welded for 40 years without it) the first thing I did was sit down and read a couple books and articles on pulsing. Then I sat down and started trying different settings til I found what worked best for me. If the OP had just done a little homework and maybe used the search feature, he'd understand that tig pulsing is a "very broad" subject that doesn't lend itself to "short and sweet tips and tricks". In fact, if he'd simply read Miller's Tig Handbook (page 18), he'd already have the basic advantages of pulsing outlined. But, not only is he pretty thickheaded but he's lazy to boot.

I did get a good laugh when he called me an idiot. Maybe I should draw him into an intellectual debate. Really wouldn't be fair though, he'd be like the guy who brought a knife to a gunfight. Actually, if he's really looking for an idiot, he needs to look no further than his bathroom mirror.

You are correct:

I use pulsed GTAW for everything from adding filler using low pulse frequencies to reducing heat on many weldments (not just thinner materials) to agitating weld puddles (high pulse rate) on cast aluminum, etc. Pulse GTAW covers a very broad spectrum to say the very least.

[crabber]

Yep, you are right. At my age (and I am NOT a puppy anymore! GEEZ..How did I get to be so old all of a sudden??? How could I POSSIBLY have a kid that is 40??) I don't know you or even any of the guys you mentioned, but I don't take BS easily and, as I said, don't take kindly to being told what, when or how to think or believe. In my lifelong trade I enjoyed helping new guys along, but if they had some kind of an attitude problem I was NOT impressed in any positive way and wouldn't go out of my way to help such a person. Everyone has to start somewhere learning, gathering knowledge and experience and most everyone I know that is really good at what they do had the help of a "mentor" and/or guys with more experience. It is sad when one of the folks that has knowledge and experience in some specialized field takes themselves out of the picture and refuses to help newbies because they are so set in their ways that when some other person doesn't think the same way they do (politics, religion, general life philosophies, etc.) comes along, they just can't deal with it.

And yes, I, too get "fed up" with people with some kind of attitude problem just because they think (or thought) that whatever knowledge they have in some field also entitles them to attempt to dictate to others what they should do, think, believe, etc.

I also believe in ******** 'em for the most part and have taken a lesson from my dogs..."If you can't eat it or screw it, piss on it!"

I cannot fathom what you even are upset about. You got lots of replies (from Sundown as well) that gave you answers to your question.

Somehow, you were offended. Amazing you have made it this far in life with such thin skin.

As for the name calling, you have made it clear to anyone who reads your posts, just what kind of guy you are in real life.

-Ian

[old but new]

There is some

really good information on this forum , mostly from the old guys. You still have to
evaluate answers and information, use what you think will work and forget the BS and move on. I am an old guy compared to some and in my younger days made my money as a welder for about 6 years. However, that was a long time ago and now I am just getting back to making some money instead of having a charity hobby.
So, that being said, the forum is entertaining when ya`ll go flaming each other. Keep up the flame wars. Heh, heh.

old but new

ps. Thanks cruizer, I read all your posts. One of the areas I need info is the machines.

[dondlhmn]

Somehow, you were offended. Amazing you have made it this far in life with such thin skin.

As for the name calling, you have made it clear to anyone who reads your posts, just what kind of guy you are in real life.

-Ian

Ian;

Yes, I did get a lot of informative responses, but only got attitude and the "info" that pulse was only a way to make up for basic technique (in spite of the fact that he uses pulse, huh?) from one person. And I thank those that understood the questions and why I asked them without themselves having to spout forth with their own misguided assumptions about people, situations and goals of which they obviously have no understanding.

Yeah, I do sometimes call 'em as I see 'em. Most people don't deserve such strong labels, but some do and they tend to get their shorts in a wad when anyone applies those labels as they have no understanding of why they desreve them.

Sorry if I offended you, too, but I did not intend to do so. And the kind of guy I am in real life is probaly best described as one that calls BS when he sees it and REALLY doesn't like anyone trying to tell me what to think or when to think it. "Just give me the facts, ma'am", and let me make up my own mind.

I've been working on the "thin skinned" thing and have had a buddy point out to me that one can't get upset by the screwballs and idiots in the world. They will always be there and you can't change that fact and if you try, or you let them upset you, all you get is heartburn. He was right.

Ian, Thanks for your input. Right on target in some areas!

[Old Skool]

And now...........back to the show !!!

[shovelon]

And now...........back to the show !!!

So again, what pulse values are available to you? Or should I say what machine are you going to use so I can look it up?

Or just mess around on your own like the rest of did.

[dondlhmn]

Yesterday afternoon I messed around with a *incoln liquid cooled torch TIG pulser (sorry, I don't remember the model) on some 18 ga tubing (1 3/4" round steel). Used 1.5 pps and tried about 40 to 60% primary in several steps with the primary at several different settings...between 65 and about 80 amps max if I remember right. I actually made some decent looking welds with that thing and I am NOT a great TIG welder by any means! One real problem is that, at my age and with eyes getting weaker, I have trouble seeing where I am going even with cheaters in my hood and the welds are coming out kind of crooked. Gotta figure out how to fix that, I guess. I was using a foot pedal as I am not coordinated enough to use my hands for the torch, feeding filler AND doing the finger control thing. Guess i will have to try that one day...never know, I might actually be able to do it and like it, huh?

I hate to admit it, but sundown was right about pulse making up for a lack of technique (of which I have only a little). Thing is, it is kind of like using a backhoe to make up for my lack of digging ability or an airplane to get somewhere fast to make up for my lack of ability to fly, so I guess it should be a tool that one learns about, puts in his "bag of tricks" and then has it to use in situations that call for it.

I think today or tomorrow I will have to try different pulse per second settings (likely all slow ones) and also play around with the other settings. I may go and get really wild and crazy and dig up the manuals for the various machines and even read them! Also, I will have to try other models of both Miller and *incoln pulsed TIG rigs. Trouble is, it is tempting to make so many changes and try them all that I will never be able to remember any of them. I guess the trick is to be able to see what the puddle is doing and adjust from there to suit the task at hand by knowing what the machine can do to help with all the "options" available. I guess the best way to learn all that is to have tried as many as possible to see what the results are like.

I really like learning about this...now I am REALLY going to have to get enough together to buy a TIG machine...gotta win the lottery or something!

[shovelon]

dondlhmn,

For steel, try running your pulse way up. 100pps if you can. Try it on thin material. It makes the puddle more stable, and fuses root of the joint easier before adding rod.

[SundownIII]

shovelon,

This is precisely what I was trying to get the OP to avoid.

Read where he is with regards to tig welding. Go back and read a few of his previous posts. He's been in a "tig class" for nearly a year and he's still having trouble with the very basics (puddle control, torch movement, filler feeding, etc). Trying a bunch of pulse settings to "improve his weld" is fruitless until he has the basics down pat. Also, from the machines he's mentioned (all transformers), I don't think he has the capability for high speed pulsing.

At his stage of development, the only pulse setting he should be concerned about is a low speed (about .8 PPS, with 50% peak, and 50% background) pulse which may help him develop his dip timing.

The other uses for pulse (lowering average heat, puddle agitation, welding thin material, etc, etc) are not in the cards at this point. He just needs to spend the "hood time" needed to learn to TIG WELD. Once he learns how to do the basic welds well, then he can look at steps to "improve" them.

I see this so often with the guys new to tig. So many of them think they need to go out and buy the most advanced machine available. They hear about the capabilities of the "advanced squarewave" machines but are not willing to pay the price for a quality machine. Then they go out and buy Chinese junk because the machine has high speed pulsing, sequencers, freq control, etc, etc. They keep thinking there's a "silver bullet" out there. Then they can't understand why the oldtimers with their 330 A B/P's and Sync 250's can lay down beads that they can only dream about even with their "all the bells and whistles" machines. The freaking guy holding the torch produces the weld, not the machine.

So many of the new guys spend so much time rattling the bells and blowing the whistles on their new machines, that they never properly learn the basics of tig welding.

[HAWK]

Bingo!!!

sundown111,

Bingo! You hit that nail on the head! Give me a Sync 250DX anytime over the chinese rattletraps. I have smoked a lot of tungsten and aluminum filler on Dynastys -200 and 300DX. I like them a lot, but it is hard to beat a good old transformer machine like the Syncrowaves.

I am getting ready to pick up a Sync 200 with a new micro--P board. It has to be field tested for a while. No. It is not a Dynasty or a Fronius, and falls short of the Sync250DX , but still a very nice machine. It certainly is NOT a chinese whistle trap. I will let you know how it does. I have to run another circuit for power and a few other small obstacles must be overcome.

[shovelon]

shovelon,

This is precisely what I was trying to get the OP to avoid.

Read where he is with regards to tig welding. Go back and read a few of his previous posts. He's been in a "tig class" for nearly a year and he's still having trouble with the very basics (puddle control, torch movement, filler feeding, etc). Trying a bunch of pulse settings to "improve his weld" is fruitless until he has the basics down pat. Also, from the machines he's mentioned (all transformers), I don't think he has the capability for high speed pulsing.

At his stage of development, the only pulse setting he should be concerned about is a low speed (about .8 PPS, with 50% peak, and 50% background) pulse which may help him develop his dip timing.

The other uses for pulse (lowering average heat, puddle agitation, welding thin material, etc, etc) are not in the cards at this point. He just needs to spend the "hood time" needed to learn to TIG WELD. Once he learns how to do the basic welds well, then he can look at steps to "improve" them.

I see this so often with the guys new to tig. So many of them think they need to go out and buy the most advanced machine available. They hear about the capabilities of the "advanced squarewave" machines but are not willing to pay the price for a quality machine. Then they go out and buy Chinese junk because the machine has high speed pulsing, sequencers, freq control, etc, etc. They keep thinking there's a "silver bullet" out there. Then they can't understand why the oldtimers with their 330 A B/P's and Sync 250's can lay down beads that they can only dream about even with their "all the bells and whistles" machines. The freaking guy holding the torch produces the weld, not the machine.

So many of the new guys spend so much time rattling the bells and blowing the whistles on their new machines, that they never properly learn the basics of tig welding.

I see your point, which is why I get so frustrated with newbies. I just thought he was beyond toddler.

[davedarragh]

Sync 200

sundown111,

Bingo! You hit that nail on the head! Give me a Sync 250DX anytime over the chinese rattletraps. I have smoked a lot of tungsten and aluminum filler on Dynastys -200 and 300DX. I like them a lot, but it is hard to beat a good old transformer machine like the Syncrowaves.

I am getting ready to pick up a Sync 200 with a new micro--P board. It has to be field tested for a while. No. It is not a Dynasty or a Fronius, and falls short of the Sync250DX , but still a very nice machine. It certainly is NOT a chinese whistle trap. I will let you know how it does. I have to run another circuit for power and a few other small obstacles must be overcome.

HAWK: I think you'll like the 200. It's a very solid machine. If I only had two choices for a shop, I'd have a good O/A set and a 200(+) CC transformer machine.

The Sync 200 will do everything a "home hobbiest" or beginner needs to do. It runs 7018's very well, and 6010's good. Never had a complaint with mine, either AC or DC TIG, only with the operator.

Can't emphasize the fundamentals of welding begin with O/A and stick. Master those processes, and the rest is a snap.

Oh, Don: If I knew only 1/2 of what Sundown III does, I'd be a genious. Take what he says as "the Truth." He knows what he's talking about..........

David

[shovelon]

shovelon,

This is precisely what I was trying to get the OP to avoid.

Read where he is with regards to tig welding. Go back and read a few of his previous posts. He's been in a "tig class" for nearly a year and he's still having trouble with the very basics (puddle control, torch movement, filler feeding, etc). Trying a bunch of pulse settings to "improve his weld" is fruitless until he has the basics down pat. Also, from the machines he's mentioned (all transformers), I don't think he has the capability for high speed pulsing.

At his stage of development, the only pulse setting he should be concerned about is a low speed (about .8 PPS, with 50% peak, and 50% background) pulse which may help him develop his dip timing.

The other uses for pulse (lowering average heat, puddle agitation, welding thin material, etc, etc) are not in the cards at this point. He just needs to spend the "hood time" needed to learn to TIG WELD. Once he learns how to do the basic welds well, then he can look at steps to "improve" them.

I see this so often with the guys new to tig. So many of them think they need to go out and buy the most advanced machine available. They hear about the capabilities of the "advanced squarewave" machines but are not willing to pay the price for a quality machine. Then they go out and buy Chinese junk because the machine has high speed pulsing, sequencers, freq control, etc, etc. They keep thinking there's a "silver bullet" out there. Then they can't understand why the oldtimers with their 330 A B/P's and Sync 250's can lay down beads that they can only dream about even with their "all the bells and whistles" machines. The freaking guy holding the torch produces the weld, not the machine.

So many of the new guys spend so much time rattling the bells and blowing the whistles on their new machines, that they never properly learn the basics of tig welding.

I see your point, which is why I get so frustrated with newbies. I just thought he was beyond toddler. First notion would be to render him pulseless.

[HAWK]

Thanks for your input...

HAWK: I think you'll like the 200. It's a very solid machine. If I only had two choices for a shop, I'd have a good O/A set and a 200(+) CC transformer machine.

The Sync 200 will do everything a "home hobbiest" or beginner needs to do. It runs 7018's very well, and 6010's good. Never had a complaint with mine, either AC or DC TIG, only with the operator.

Can't emphasize the fundamentals of welding begin with O/A and stick. Master those processes, and the rest is a snap.

Oh, Don: If I knew only 1/2 of what Sundown III does, I'd be a genious. Take what he says as "the Truth." He knows what he's talking about..........

David

davedarragh,

Thanks for your comments on the Sync 200. I have never welded with one. I had a couple of Dynasty 200DX's and a D300DX when I owned my businesses. Unfortunately, my ex scored all my tools, welding equipment (around 250K) in the divorce. I miss my BB Air Pak more than anything. I've been welding for myself for nearly 20 years and for machine shops 10 years prior to that. I don't do much OA: Some CCW/CW rod/torch manipulation for the fun of it. I welded 6G 6010 root, fill, and pass on 1-2" API5Lxxx for natural gas line for a few years along the way. I also spen t much time with heavy equipment repair using stick except where hardfacing and/or dual shield was required. SMAW is my first love, then GTAW! GMAW only when required-preferably 3G.

The Sync 200 is a field test loaner to get me back on my feet until I can re-purchase in the Dynasty series. I have spent a few hundred hours on a Sync 250DX, but most of my time is on one of the first digital Dynasty 300DX units. Miller released it as the successor to the Analog dialed Dynasty.

Thanks,

HAWK