How to weld titanium and its alloys successfully
Brief Summary:
- For many years it was believed that titanium welding could only be performed satisfactorily in sealed chambers equipped with glove ports and viewing ports and filled with high purity inert gas such as argon.
- A better understanding of the mechanism of metal/gas interaction has shown that provided adequate local shielding is provided and maintained during welding the use of sealed chambers is not necessary.
- This understanding has afforded possibilities for welding large titanium fabrications and significantly extended the application areas for the metal and its alloys into major structural forms, especially in the aerospace industry.
- The primary requirement then is to provide a protective gas atmosphere to the joint area during welding and subsequent cooling.
- Previous HFT enclosures have been circular in section but developments in manufacturing technology now afford opportunities to produce square and rectangular enclosures.
- Rectangular cross sections and the opportunity to produce to a length to suit the customer's requirements are expected to make the new additions attractive to a wider range of end-users.
- Whereas circular enclosures can be expensive on purge time and purge gas, the rectilinear concept offers users the opportunity to match the shape to meet specific requirements.
- Currently the company is able to manufacture these enclosures up to 2m long and 1m x 1m in section.
- Purge monitors - the Argweld monitor is believed to be the world's first instrument designed specifically for measuring oxygen levels in any purge gas during the welding of titanium and its alloys.
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