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History of TIG (GTAW) Welding
Invention and
Development |
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Meredith
Invents TIG:
Like MIG
welding, there are a number of references sighting "inventors” of TIG
welding.
 However
Russell Meredith, working for Northrop Aircraft, was the
first to
produce a system that was a true production tool applying for a patent in
January 1941 (US Patent # 2,274,631, Figure 1 left.) He was concerned
about meeting a critical national need -welding light weight aircraft
materials. In the first line of the patent it states; “My invention
relates to welding magnesium and its alloys - - so relatively low
melting point materials may be efficiently
welded by an electric arc.” He goes on to say that airplanes are
being made of lighter materials and a more efficient method of joining these
materials is needed. |
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 Although
Meredith's work was done with Helium shielding gas and a tungsten
electrode his 4 patent
claims
are very broad only mentioning an "inert gas" and “refractory” welding
electrode. Validating that
this was the first workable system and
Meredith was the inventor of TIG; there is no prior art
sited
in his patent.
Similar to
the
1st
MIG Welding Patent emphasizing the need for Laminar shielding gas flow, Meredith states that the shape of the end of his TIG torch
is designed to prevent oxygen (meaning air intrusion) from being drawn into
the arc by the Helium outflow. From a review of other devices shown in
prior patents it is obvious the inventors did not understand the importance
of shielding quality and what was required to produce Laminar flow.
 Note:
I encourage reviewing these patents, which is a reason the numbers are
provided. There is a great deal of useful information available - and
they are Free!
(Unfortunately some of today's welding professionals
do not understand that excess gas flow creates
turbulence that pulls air into the shielding stream. Depending the nozzle
size, the flow rate causing turbulence is only somewhat higher than that
used when welding! ) |
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Linde Buys Patents and Heliarc Name:
 Meredith
and Northrop Aircraft called the welding process HeliarcR and sold the patent rights
to the Linde Division of UCC. Linde, unlike Northrop, had
the
incentive to spend the needed funds and manpower to develop the process
since their business was manufacturing and marketing inert
(and other industrial) gases. They developed a whole series of Heliarc
brand
torches. Frank Pilia who worked in the Linde Labs invented and
patented a water cooled TIG torch (# 2,468,806
filed May, 1946; figure left.)
Pete Scheller also worked for Linde and filed a patent in May 1951, # 2,685,631,
for a torch where the head could be bent as needed for access to difficult
to reach areas such as pipe welding (figure right.) [ I worked with
Frank Pilia and Pete Scheller
on various projects
at the Linde Labs including
a High Speed Electroslag
system for which Pete designed the mechanical tractor device.]
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In
addition to numerous torch patents Linde also
developed systems to improve shielding and allow the tungsten electrode to
protrude further from the gas cup for better visibility while still providing the
needed excellent shielding.
Another colleague, Gene
Gorman, invented the first “gas lens” as it was
referred to in his patent filed April 1960, # 3,053,968. Item # 56
shown in
patent figure upper left
is referred to as a “baffle” with a varying number of holes. As he
notes in the patent teaching, very small holes produced a longer coherent
gas stream substantially without
Turbulence. One material mentioned was a 200 mesh screen.
This produced much better shielding than the porous bronze type materials he
evaluated. Gas leaving the porous materials exited in various directions creating a
more
Turbulent gas stream. |
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 Gorman
shows the resulting gas outflow in one of
the patent figures (above left) and quantifies his finding in a graph.
The graph (above right) shows an improvement in the length of the coherent
gas stream of 6 fold with a device he
called a gas lens.
Another
Linde engineer, Cliff Hill, defined an improved method of making a gas lens
in his patent filed in 1961, # 3,180,967. Cliff’s design (patent
figure left) used multiple size screens stacked to
provide the Laminar flow needed and as defined in the Gorman patent. He found several
very fine screens could be
combined with a coarser, more ridged screen on the outside to improve the
durability of the assembly. This construction did not alter the
ability to produce the desired long coherent gas stream. This design was used in production for many
years. |
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Side Bar
Of
interest, 50 foot long (and sometimes longer) cable
systems are sold for TIG
Torches. The gas hose used for these long cable systems has a small
inside diameter (ID.) It is the same size ID as our much heavier wall
thickness,
custom extruded, hose
utilized for our Gas Saver System (GSS TM.)
Some folks question if our GSS can flow
a sufficient quantity of gas - the
answer is easily! The reason is MIG and TIG gas flows are quite low
compared to the flow rate of oxygen, for example, in oxyacetylene welding and cutting. Also, many companies copy the original Heliarc Torches, Collets, Collet
Bodies and Hose Assemblies and use the original part numbers. They
also continue to copy the somewhat unusual 12 ½ foot length of the shorter
length
torches. I wonder how many of these copiers know why this unusual
12 ½
foot length was selected? Having worked with the developers of Heliarc
TIG products - I do!
It is a similar intriguing reason as why most TIG and MIG gas delivery
hoses from gas supply to power source (or wire feeder)
are a shielding gas "wasteful" 1/4 inch ID!
Email TechSupport@NetWelding.com
if you'd like to know!
See how our patented "Gas Saver System"
can benefit TIG
welding. |
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 The
gas lens allows the tungsten to be placed well outside the gas cup to
increase visibility (the actual gas flow with and without a gas lens is shown left).
TIG Hot Wire
The TIG
welding process saw a major advancement when an engineer at the Linde Labs invented TIG “Hot Wire.” Gus Manz filed patent, 3,122,629 in February 1962. It
provided TIG quality with MIG deposition rates. It was mostly (and still
is) used for automatic installations. |
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Instead
of slowing adding cold wire to the TIG weld puddle, the “Hot Wire” is heated
just below the melting point and reacts just like squirting toothpaste
into the puddle! The wire exits the contact tip cold (T in the above schematic) and is
heated by a power source (H) as it passes from the tip to the weld puddle with just enough power to make it "mushy" as it
enters! MIG
metal deposition rates are achievable. A subtle but important advantage is
the heated wire burns off all volatile wire surface residuals before it
enters the puddle making it an extremely low hydrogen process. |
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 Another
colleague, Fritz Saenger, in patent 3,588,464 filed in April 1969, defined a
potentially very useful product, a manual TIG hot wire torch. This
torch design made it easy for a welder to add the “Hot Wire.” It takes
this integrated approach to achieve a system that will work in production
better than
simple add-on approaches.
Other TIG Innovations:
There
were other innovations such as very high frequency power that constricts the arc
and
multi-electrode systems that increased speeds in production such as
welding on stainless tube mills. Flexible and silicon covered TIG
torches were also introduced. Today’s microprocessor controlled inverter power
systems also make TIG welding easier to use and more controllable.
Note:
Heliarc is a registered trademark of ESAB Welding & Cutting
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 See History of
Other Welding Processes:
MIG (GMAW)
Sub Arc
Electroslag
Friction Stir Welding |
See YouTube Videos
Including Our Patented MIG Shielding
"Gas
Saver System" (GSS)
Science of MIG
Shielding Gas Flow Control
Why MIG Gas Waste
Detailed Review of GSS
Short Overview of GSS-90 Seconds
What User Say About
GSS
Welding Race Cars
Rat Rods-Then and Now
Welding: Go Green
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 New innovations are still occurring in the welding industry. Our
recent inventions optimize MIG (and for some TIG applications) shielding gas flow at the weld start (2003
Patent Number 6,610,957; figure left and 2006 Patent Numbers 7,015,412 and 7,019,248) These devices reduce excess stored gas by over 80%
when welding stops. This significantly reduces gas waste which published
data shows typically exceeds over
70% of what is used! Reducing shielding gas waste can save a
MIG user over 60% of gas use while improving weld start quality. Our
Patent 7,462,709, issued December 2008, defines a
device
that allows most
flowmeters to be locked at the desired settings avoiding excess wasted gas.
Reducing waste
is very important in a competitive world environment. |
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Have a MIG Welder?
Improve Weld Start Quality and
Have Shielding Gas Cylinder Last at Twice as Long!
Note: Our Patented
GSS
is Not Available in "Stores"
We Focus on Saving NOT
Selling Shielding Gas"
A home shop fabricator
in Georgia with a Miller TM 175 amp welder
purchased a 50 foot Gas Saver System (
GSS
TM
) so he could use a larger cylinder
and mount it on the wall of his shop. He wrote:
"The system works great.
Thanks for the professional service and
a great product."
Click To See His Home Shop
A Professional
Street Rod Builder Had This to Say:
With their standard MIG welder gas delivery hose the peak shielding flow at
weld start was measured at 150 CFH. That caused air
to be sucked into the gas stream causing poor weld starts. With the replacing their existing
hose, the peak flow surge at the weld start was about 50 CFH. Total gas use
was cut in half.
Kyle Bond, President, quickly saw the improvement
achieved in weld start quality as a significant advantage! Kyle, an
excellent automotive painter, was well aware of the effects of gas surge
caused by pressure buildup in the delivery hose when stopped. He has to
deal with the visible effects in the air hose lines on the spray gun in his
paint booth! The paint surge is visible and creates defects unless the gun
is triggered off the part being painted! We can’t do that with our MIG gun!
GAS SAVER SYSTEM (GSS TM)
PURCHASE INFORMATION
GSS
Customer Testimonial: PDF Download |
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