Two viable processes for orbital welding applications By John Emmerson rl gas angen are welding Oi erie fling ali em nue ous manutacires worked hs becn ace by many indses wel in to'a ery af tana Fit cove oped 30 ys ag ea ob forte cored al pear power indies, ihe pots able oo epee tte dy. he mecanied pipe welding indus ty hes conte te pw fora number ofreson 1 fcrenng soap of lle wel en wort 2. terran stngnt weld qlly sandra ines previa ar by eo snd 5. The need to ede labor coss 4. The ceveapent of pe mater extn tht enter Wel pre ct to maintain deed meals shatecs In fact, cortsin industries-including semiconductor, pharmaceutical, biotech- nology, and food processing—no longer permit the use of manual welding, Orbital pipe welding equipment using Uke GTAW provess can produce high-qual> ity welds in all pipe orientations where it is not possible or practical to rotate the pipe. The chief limitation of the GTAW process is that it is slow. The practical limit for 360-degree orbital welding is 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) per hour depo- sition rate Certain techniques and process vari- ‘ions can increase this somewhat, “Hot wire” GTAW, in which an electrical cur rent is used to preheat the filler wire, al- lows the deposition rate to be increased to ebout 5 pounds (1.4 kilograms) per hour. This comes, however, with added complexity in both equipment and opera tor skill requirements. For these reasons, orbital GTAW has been primarily used for fusion welding of small-diameter tubing and welding of pres sure pipe requiring filler wire addition up fo about 12 inches (52.5 centimeters) With the exceptions of a few special ap plications, orbital GTAW is usually too slow for welding larger diameter or heavy- wall pipe. ‘The GMAW and FCAW Processes The gas metal are welding (GMAW) process became commercially available in the late 1940s, A continuous solid wire (electrode) is passed through an electri cally hot contact tip, which causes an are between the wire and the weld pool and subsequent melting of the filler wire. The solié wire is shielded with a protective {gas that prevents the molten weld puddle from oxidizing. ‘The flux core are welding (FCAW) process (see Figure 1) substitutes the iu Dular wire with a core of fusing elements in a powdered form. A slag cover is de~ posited on the face of the weld bead. The process is similar to GMAW and also uses, either inert or active shielding gases. ‘The flux contained in the electrode serves two basle purposes: 1. The composition of the flux ean af: fect the chemistry and metallurgy of the deposited metal 2. The flux controls the rate of soli cation of the moiten weld puddle, There- fore, cettain fluxes allow welding “out of position” a process usually prevented by gravity. All-position flux core wires con- ‘ain lux which causes the puddle to freeze before gravity can act upon it. Extemally supplied shielding gas is sill used in conjunction with flux core filler wire. The fluxing material aids wetting of the puddle edges, helps improve bead con- tour, and helps cleanse the weld puddle of impurities, Manual GMAW and FCAW equipment consists of a power source, a filler wire feeder, and a torch, Manual GMAW (of. ten referred to as semiautomatic) allows a welder to deposit up to 4 pounds (18 kilo grams) per hour when welding 2 pipe that cannot be rotate. So why do most shops not use the GMAW or FCAW process for arbital ‘welding of pipe and tube, especially for applications such as heavy-wall or larger diameter pipe? Early in its development, short-circuit GMAW developed a bad repatation. W proper spplication and appropriate pa. rameters, excellent welds can be produced using short-circuit GMAW. However, if the welder is not careful to follow estab. lished procedures, a number of serious weld defects can occur The mest significant of these defects is Jack of sidewall fusion; the molten puddle of metal does not fully fuse with the pipe sidewalls, and a *eold lap” defect occurs ‘This is a significant structural defect that cifficut to identify with commonly used nondestructive inspection methods stich as radiography. So while the GMAW and FCAW processes have gained popularity for many applications, hey have not been ‘considered serious options for most pipe ‘welding operations. This poor reputation is no longer de. served, however, Continuous develop- ‘meat in both power supply and consum- able technology have made this process viable alternative (o manual GTAW or shielded metal are welding (SMAW) of pipe (see Figure 2) GMAW Transfer Characteristics Its best to think of GMAW/FCAW as a closely related family of processes. How- ever, all of the variants of GMAW have the following characteristics in common: 1. A continuous consumable electrode is used, with the are forming between the end ofthe electrode and the workpiece 2. The consumable electrode is autor tically fed into the weld puddle. 3. External shielding gas is usod to pre vent the electrode and weld puddle from oxidizing and (o influence the metallurgical characteristics ofthe deposited weld metal ‘The characteristics of the GMAW proc: cess are best described in terms of the ba- sie means by which metal is transferred from the electrode (0 the work: i Shori-circuiting transfer oO]‘and Siag-Forming Matera Figure 1 ‘This draving shows the detail of tho FCAW process. 2. Globular transfor 3, Spray transfer 4 Puised-spray transfer ‘The mode of transfer is determined by a number of factors: 1. Welding amperage level 2. Electrode diameter 3 Shielding gas 4. Electrode type/ecmpasition 5. Blectrode stick-out (extension from the contact tip) 6 Power source design ‘The short-circuiting transfer mode of GMAW (commonly known as short are) is associated with low average currents and voltage levels. The electrode actually contacts the weld pool, initiating a shor circuit that causes a rapid rise in current flow and the subsequent melting of the slectrode tip This short-circuiting process occurs from 20 to more than 206 times per sec: cond. No motal is transferred across the are gap. This results in a rather violent (cansfer of the molten metal, which caus cs high spatter Until recently, only limited attempts have been made to control the dynamics of the short-cizcuiting process. Because of its lower relative heat input, great care rust be taken to avoid lack-ofrfusion de- fecis. This has resulted in a rather poor reputation for the short-circuiting provese {for applications requiring high weld qual- ity and integrity. As the voltage and amperage of the process increase, the elecirode starts to ‘melt before contacting the workpiece sur- face, and metal is transforred across the are, Ata transition point, globular trans- fer occurs, which is characterized by a droplet with a diameter greater than that of the electrode. The large droplet size is alfecied by gravity, limiting this operating mode to the flat position, With increasing currents and voltages. and with the use of argonrich shielding gS, 6 transition ocours to spray transfer. Spray transfer is characterized by drops smaller than the electrode diameter that are formed and detached at the rate of +undreds per second. They are accelerated across the are gap by are forces al speeds uffcient to overcome the elleet af gravity. ‘This transfer mde resulis in deeper penetration and lower spatier levels than either the short-circuiting or globular modes. Spray transfer can produce high |wality welds meeting any quality stan- ards, ts one serious limitation, however, is that the large puddle size that rapidly forms trom the high heat input is acted upon by gravily, making this unsuitable for out of position welding. Pulsed-spray transfer was developed In the 1960 (0 circumvent sume of the limitations of spray transfer. Spray trans fer occurs above a certain transition cur- rent, Pulsed-spray altemates the current level to peaks above the transition level during which spray transfer occurs, ker nating with substantially lower levels be- low this transition current. ‘The background current provides some energy to melt the wire, but not enough to transfor metal. The pulses of current com- plete the melting, adding enough energy to transfer dhe molten droplet, The aver- age current level is actually maintained below the transition current. Pulsed-spray transfer provides high penetration and low spaticr with lower heat input and allows welding in all positions Recent Advances in GMAW Power Sources Although pulsed-spray GMAW theo- retically overcame many problems with out-of position welding, it was difficult to implement on the shop floor environment The goal of the pulsed-spray process Is 10 detach one droplet of wire with each en- ergy pulse applied to the electrode Ap- plying precisely this amount of energy at precisely the correct time produces a sta- ‘le are, optimal puddle formation condi- lions, and minimizes spatter, However, a number of variables-high pulse current level, background eurrent level, peak pulse time duration, and pulse frequency-must be precisely controlled for this to happen. The interdependence and sensitivity of these parameters make it dificult for the practical user to propery adjust 2 pulsing power supply outside of a laboratory setting, Power supply manufacturers came to terms with this problem by developing power sources capable of “synergic” or single-knob operation. Essentially, syner- go}Deposition Rate* Wit mete! depestion per hour Deposition Etficiency The ratio of weight of wold me depasted ithe weight used. Duty Cycle Factor ‘The ratio of arc hours to clock hours fora welder or weting operator (arc on te) ‘SMAW Manual cuaw ‘Mechanized Pipo Welder "Based on: SAW -4 mm (5:32) Electrode E6010 Manual GMAW S11 mm (045) Flic Core Elactrede Mechanized Pipe Woldor 1.1 mm (0-45") Fux Core Electodo SMAW Manual ‘cma Mechanized Pipe Woldor Figure 2 Deposition characteristics end duty eyele factors for Hnzo methods of orbital pipe welding are compared here. sic programming is based on the concent ‘hat the pulse parameters are factory-pre- programmed for a given wire diameter, ‘material, and shielding gas. The wire feeder interacts with the fac: tory preset program, which automatically adjusts one or more of the pulse variables to maintain a uniform energy output per unit of wire. The welder is then free to simply increase or decrease the wire feed without worrying about the pulse param: eters, which are automatically adjusted to ‘maintain a sable arc The “synergic” power source was the first attempt to provide a varieble control fora complex process that was essentially transparent io the welder. However, when ‘synergic operation” was first developed, it was usually too simplistic. For example, simple preprogrammed relationships be- tween two parsmeters such as wire feed speed and pulse frequency are useful but are often inadequate for optimal control of the complex GMAW/FCAW processes. The most recent evolution in power supplies is the use of artificial intelligence (Al) and fuzzy logic. These types of power sources can monitor multiple information. inputs to regulate « desired output, simi lar to the way the human brain processes Information. Previous use of microprac: cessors to rogulate welding processes has essentially heen to store preprogrammed parameters AL and fuzzy logic allow more com plex control systems, in which multiple input parameters might control a desired optimal output parameter. For example, power source pulse frequency and oper- ating charactoristies-constant current (CO) or constant voltage (CV)-might he changed based on both wire speed and are voltage, ‘The inverter-hased power module de- signs introduced in the 1980s allowed su perior control because ofthe fast responce possible in the power supply output by jodifying the nature and shape of the pulse waveform or momentarily changing the power supply output characteristic “Puzzy logic control provides automat ie adjustment of are voltage to provide op- timum are characteristics. This provides good stability despite uctuations in tip- to-werkpieve distance and sudden changes in tavel speed, making the process more forgiving and suitable for unskilled weld- ers? states Bill Guest of Daihen, Ine /OTC, Charlotte, NC. Power supplies are available that use AL to modify the nature and shape of the Pulse wave form. “This allows welds 10 be made at low voltages with short are lengths: It is ideal for out-of position weld- ing because of the fast-freezing puddle and low spatter at all voltages resulting from dynamic software contral of the weld process” states Martin Weit of Panasonic Factory Automation, Franklin Perk, Il Solid wire has been a second-best choice for out-of-position pipe welding, without a flux to control the puddle, but recent research has made solid wire a viable option, According to Darryl! Dodson of Lin- coln Electric, Cleveland, Ohio, “A new technology for short circuiting transfer welding precisely controls the electrode current during the entire GMAW cycle and reduces or climinetes the common disadvantages of conventional ‘short arc? Since the process is not CC oF CV, itis rogarded as a new generation of inverter based power sources. “Byen though the design has the same basic power platform as other inverter ower sources it uses electronics to more closely monitor and control the current waveform. Therofore, the power source must be able to change the electrode cur- rent in a few millionths of a second. It operates in a mode in which the elec trode current is based on the instantane- ‘ous requirements of the are. The idea be- hind itis independent control of wire feed speed and current Flux-Core Electrodes The development of smaller-diame- ter (.052- and .045-inch) flux-core wires extended all-position capabilities, with smaller weld puddles required when weld- ing overhead, “The first flux-core wires used an acidic rutile ux that sacrificed toughness to ob- tain high strength. In the 1990s, low-hy drogen, gxs-shielded, ell position fux-core electrodes were developed that could pro- duce welds with both high tensile strength and good low-temperature impact strength Today's electrodes also exhibit lower spat \o|