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Tip of the Month

GSS Improves Weld Start Quality
While Saving Half The Gas Used ( That's Wasted)

Download Tech Paper PDF : See 7 Customers With Start Quality Improvements

The first 15 years of my career were in welding R&D with the leading Industrial Gas/Welding  company at the time (Linde renamed Praxair, now German Linde.)  While managing the company’s filler metals and shielding gases R&D Lab, we understood the shielding gas surge at a weld start was excessive, caused turbulent flow and inferior weld starts.  But, we never took the time to quantify the extent of the problem or methods to improve.  Since forming WA Technology in 2000, from fabricator visits and our research, we have found the starting gas surge not only causes inferior weld start quality it is also a major cause of shielding gas waste

Fabricator Testimonial.

When testing our patented Gas Saver System (GSS) at American SpiralWeld Pipe  with the objective of reducing costs, the welding engineer and I were surprised when the welder immediately said he could see the difference!  Not the gas savings but the improved weld starts.  The tests showed a 40+% gas savings but more important to the welder, the improved weld starts!  When his repair welds were completed they required Ultrasonic Testing before the repaired part could continue in production.  They were finding a significant amount of subsurface weld start porosity.  They used flux cored wire and CO2 shielding for the repair welds.  The welder said he knew the starting gas surge was the cause. He would cut the wire back to the tip and hold the torch well above the work when he triggered the MIG gun to minimize the peak surge effect. 
(Our LAB tests showed that was no help as the turbulent surge was a 3+  second problem!)  With the GSS  he immediately saw the gas surge was significantly reduced!
The following is a graph showing the starting flow test data from the welding station making repair welds with and without the GSS.asw

With a standard gas delivery system, the surge flow rate is very turbulent and mixes air into the shielding gas stream causing excess spatter and internal porosity.  Note with their standard gas delivery system the flow exceeded 100 CFH for 2 ½ seconds.  With the GSS peak flow was under 100 CFH and quickly returned to the preset 35 CFH.  After using the GSS for 6 months, the welder said he had very few rejects compared to previously a common occurrence!

With a standard gas delivery system, the surge flow rate is very turbulent and mixes air into the shielding gas stream causing excess spatter and internal porosity.  Note with their standard gas delivery system the flow exceeded 100 CFH for 2 ½ seconds.  With the GSS peak flow was under 100 CFH and quickly returned to the preset 35 CFH.  After using the GSS for 6 months, the welder said he had very few rejects compared to previously a common occurrence!


2nd Testimonial (Large Fabricator) :
Recently discussed weld quality with the Maintenance Manager of one of our largest customers, Chart Industries at a plant in Louisiana.  He has worked there for over 20 years and had an interesting perspective on all the benefits of our GSS
They manufacture liquid natural gas production equipment and storage tanks. Their welds are all nondestructive tested. We discussed shielding gas savings as they have well over 500 GSS systems.  I mentioned some folks have difficulty understanding how we save gas.  His comment was: “It’s so obvious when you look at the small ID versus the typical hose.”  Then I remembered they deal with pressurized gases and understood the excess pressure in the gas delivery hose at each weld start causes the gas blast, high initial flow rate and waste. 
He said additionally a major cost benefit is the reduced weld start defects and they observed using our GSS.
This facility also found that our heavy wall GSS hose, with its unique construction, significantly reduced hose moisture permeation, eliminating  hydrogen weld defects.

Small Fab Shop Testimonial

Brad Fenley, an Argyle TX fabricator, called requesting a 6 foot long (FB6) GSS shipped overnight.  He had a job to complete for a customer and was getting weld start porosity on most parts.  He had adjusted all welding parameters including gas flow rate without improvement.  He could hear the shielding gas surge at the weld start and found our web site that discusses how porosity can be caused by the turbulent “Blast of Gas” pulling in air.  He uses a good MIG Spray Arc gas mix, 98% Argon/2% Oxygen, welding a carbon steel tube to a base.
We sent the Gas Saver System by Express Mail, and it arrived the next day.  He sent this email, “After putting the GSS hose on I have some of the best looking welds I've seen.  I think out of 50 parts, I only had 2 or 3 to clean up. Thanks for the help.”

 

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What do you think of the Tip Of the Month?

Received this positive feedback regarding a Tip of the Month discussing the effects of leaks in a gas delivery system:

"I have been in Metal Manufacturing for over 25 years. Recently I have been assigned to a department manufacturing centrifugal compressor impellers where a cover is TIG and MIG welded to the top of blades. Your Tip of the Month is the first plausible explanation (for occasional defects) I have come across that can explain this phenomenon and why it may be more prevalent in the springtime and in high humidity periods."