Argon arc welding is a type of electric arc welding. A feature of the process is as follows: an argon-arc welding apparatus creates a protective gas environment. This prevents possible oxidation of the materials being welded.
Argon-arc welding machines create special conditions in the welding zone, in which there are welded parts, electrodes, filler material, the suture zone and a small section of the seam. All these elements are surrounded by a neutral inert gas to the metal called argon. Gas is supplied through a special channel - a nozzle - located on the holder of the electric burner.
The name of the whole technological process came precisely from this distinguishing feature - a special inert gas.
Argon-arc welding machines consist of the following important and indispensable structural elements: a non-consumable electrode of refractory material and a filler material that melts quite easily and allows you to connect several parts together. The material of the electrode often becomes tungsten, since it has all the required qualities and excellent characteristics for a given process.
The filler material, in turn, can be made of a variety of metals, the supply of which to the metal welding zone is made in the form of a tape or the so-called bar. The argon-arc welding apparatus implements timely immersion of filler material in the weld pool in the amount necessary for this process.
As mentioned earlier, next to the burner is a nozzle, inside which a special holder for the electrode is installed, in the same place where the gas is supplied. This ensures that the center of the gas cloud hits the area of the welding in progress. Therefore, the likelihood that the remaining oxygen will contribute to the oxidation of the metal is significantly reduced. In this regard, the argon-arc welding apparatus must be highly resistant to electric current and thermal radiation. This indicator plays a significant role in the selection of equipment for a particular welding process.
Classification of welding devices:
The argon arc welding apparatus can be equipped with two types of electrodes:
- Non-consumable. Traditionally, tungsten is used for electrodes of this type.
- Melting. For these purposes, the most effective is the use of aluminum and stainless steel.
A welding machine of this type can be presented in manual and automatic versions. However, even such a small difference carries some related changes. For example, in an automatic welding machine it is customary to use exclusively electrode wire, which enters the zone where the required parts are welded with the necessary speed.
The advantages of this method are considered to be a sufficiently small thickness of the resulting weld, high efficiency and reliability of the process.