Plasma Arc Welding

NIRAJ KUMAR Roll No.-BLM 01

Welding
Welding is a process of joining two materials with the help of heat or pressure or by some other means. The cost of welding is very less as compared to other processes and forms a strong joint. So, Basically the main purpose of welding is to join two pieces.

It is Largely Used in the following fields of engineering:Manufacturing of machine tools,autoparts, cycle parts etc. Fabrication of farm machinery and equipment, and buildings, Bridges and Ships. Construction of Boilers, Furnaces, Railways, Aeroplanes, Rockets and Missiles. Manufacturing of TV Sets, Refrigerators, Kitchen Cabinets etc.

What is Plasma Arc Welding?

Plasma arc welding (PAW) is a advanced version of the tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process. In which, a mixture of gases such as argon, hydrogen and helium is passed through an electric arc due to heat it is ionised. This is called as to be plasma and it is passed through welding torch.

The piece of metal to be joined is heated through this and tongeston electrode is used as filler material with water as a cooling agent. This can be used for cutting. It is a development of the TIG method, which is designed to increase productivity.

In PAW, there are two separate gas flows, the plasma gas which flows round the tungsten electrode and subsequently forms the core of the plasma arc and the shielding gas which provides protection for the molten pool.

History

The plasma welding process was introduced to the welding industry in 1964 as a method of bringing better control to the arc welding process in lower current ranges. Today, plasma retains the original advantages it brought to industry by providing an advanced level of control and accuracy to produce high quality welds or precision applications and to provide long electrode life for high production.

How Plasma Welding Works

A plasma is a gas which is heated to an extremely high temperature and ionized so that it becomes electrically conductive. Similar to GTAW (Tig), the plasma arc welding process uses this plasma to transfer an electric arc to a work piece. The metal to be welded is melted by the intense heat of the arc and fuses together.

Equipment Required List

Power Supply Plasma Console (sometimes external, sometimes built in) Water re-circulator (sometimes external, sometimes built in) Plasma Welding Torch Torch Accessory Kit (Tips, ceramics, collets, electrodes set-up gages)

Features, Benefits, and Applications

Features: Protected electrode, offers long times before electrode maintenance (usually one 8 Hr Shift) Low amperage welding capability (as low as 0.05 amp) Arc consistency and gentle arc starting produce consistent welds, time after time Stable arc in arc starting and low amperage welding

Minimal high frequency noise issues, HF only in pilot arc start, not for each weld Arc energy density reaches 3 times that of GTAW. Higher weld speeds possible. Weld times as short as 5 msecs (.005 secs) Energy density reduces heat affected zone, improves weld quality Length of arc benefit due to arc shape and even heat distribution

Diameter of arc chosen via nozzle orifice Benefits: The full list of reasons for using the plasma welding process is lengthy but can be summarized into three main features where customers desire the advantages of at least one feature.

Precision: The plasma process is generally more precise than conventional Tig (remember that enhanced power supplies can create an arc that is different to a conventional Tig arc) Plasma offers the following advantages over conventional Tig: Stable, concentrated arc Forgiveness in arc length variations (Tig +/- 5%, Plasma +/- 15%)

 Small

Part Welding: Low amperage capability (many plasma power supplies go down to .1 amps) Stable at low amps Gentle arc transfer (arc start) with no high frequency noise.

 High

Production Welding: Long electrode life offers many more hours of welding than Tig before electrode contamination occurs. In many applications, many of the unique advantages of plasma combine to benefit the overall welding process.

Applications

Small Part Welding: The plasma process can gently yet consistently start an arc to the tip of wires or other small components and make repeatable welds with very short weld time periods. This is advantageous when welding components such as needles, wires, light bulb filaments, thermocouples, probes and some surgical instruments.

Sealed Components: Medical and electronic components are often hermetically sealed via welding. The plasma process provides the ability to: Reduce the heat input to the part Weld near delicate insulating seals Start the arc without high frequency electrical noise which could be damaging to the electrical internals

PAW is used in three modes:

Microplasma welding, with welding current from 0.1A to 20A. Medium-plasma welding, with welding current from 20A to 100A. Keyhole welding, above 100A, where the plasma arc penetrates the wall thickness. It is widely used for high-quality joints in the aircraft/space, process, chemical industries.

Advantages of Plasma Arc Welding (PAW):

Requires less operator skill due to good tolerance of arc to misalignments; High welding rate; High penetrating capability (keyhole effect); Less sensitivity to changes in Arc length. Less filler metal required in keyhole mode significantly reduces porosity.

More consistency Less distortion. Less stress in welded component. Lower risk of damaging any heat sensitive parts adjacent to the weld joint.

Disadvantages of Plasma Arc Welding(PAW)

Expensive equipments High distortions and wide weld as a rersult of high heat input.

Queries?