Everything Aerospace Welding: How to Get Better At It

Posted by johnpreston on April 4th, 2017

When it comes to aerospace welding, there is much to learn, especially if you intend to become a specialist. If you are transitioning from a different industry, such as pipe welding, for instance, you are likely to have been working with different materials, such as carbon and stainless steel pipe, in this case. So, for aerospace welding, here are some things you need to know.

Smaller and thinner

Everything from the tig torch, the electrodes, the filler wires and likely the welding machine as well will be smaller than what you are used to. When it comes to pipe welding, a 1/8-inch rod is usually considered to be a large size, when in aerospace welding, 1/16-inch is the one considered big.

Things need to be a lot cleaner

In aerospace welding, all joints are usually X-rayed in the testing process. When it comes to titanium, magnesium or aluminum welding, all these metals are prone to porosity. Everything simply needs to be clean, and even more so in the filing of the sheared edge of the metal to be welded. Most of the time you may think it looks clean, but it can trap a lot of oils and corrosive products. File it as much as you possibly can, and then file it some more.

All things make a difference

There are many small considerations to a good welding process to be considered, like tack welds, weld seam, the positioning of the test plates, the flow rate of the purge gas, the angle of the torch, the kind of abrasive you use in cleaning the metal, the angle of the filler metal rod, the purity of the argon, and more. All details matter in welding, so don’t take anything for granted.

Shield everything more

You need to have your end of the rod perfectly shielded. This is because the hot tip puts oxides in the puddle and, contrary to pipe welding, you cannot get away with this when welding for aerospace parts. Use a ¾-inch tig cup to keep the rod shielded at all times.

You can use a small electrode that will get the job done right and, more than that, you can sharpen it in order to get it to work better on thin welds. Less of a taper will do well for thick welds. If you use a big rod, it will only draw more heat than necessary, causing you to use more amperage than needed. A filler wire that is too small will also make you feed more than enough, and you might not be able to keep up.

Tig welding does not have to be difficult, as long as you take care not to skip steps or cut corners.  Your quality will improve, and the result will add value to the bottom line for your business or company.

For more information please visit our website: www.techweld.net