The Next Big Thing in TIG Welding

By OEM Update Editorial June 28, 2023 6:29 pm IST

The game-changing solution for TIG welding. With its accelerated and highly efficient process, SWAT (Sigma Weld Accelerated Tig) offers up to 100% faster welding speed, reduced material consumption, and exceptional weld quality. It’s time for industries to embrace this revolutionary technology and unlock significant productivity gains and cost savings.

India is one of the best-placed countries in terms of manufacturing excellence and workforce. It has the best opportunity to serve the increasing international demand in the manufacturing segment, which is poised to grow year over year by at least 7%-12%. GTAW or TIG Welding is one of the cleanest and most preferred welding processes. It can be easily automated and used in all positions, although it is considered slow and expensive.

Can TIG reduce the overall cost of welding for the entire project? 

Manual welding in TIG involves using filler wires of 1-meter cut length. The stub end of approximately 4 inches is unusable as the welder cannot safely reach it to the arc. This accounts for approximately 10% of the total filler wire consumption. Thus, for each Kg of deposition required, you must buy 1.1 Kg of filler wire, making the process expensive.

Manual welding speed is roughly 55mm to 60mm per minute in GTAW, considering an 8mm thick single V joint. This would require four passes to weld. Hypothetically, if the process required welding a long seam of 1.5 meters, the total weld length would be 1.5 meters x 4 passes – 6 long meters! At 60mm per minute, it would take at least 100 minutes of welding time, including waiting for filler wire start stops and inter-pass temperature adjustments, which can easily take 180 to 240 minutes. These facts are concerning.

The answer to all these questions is affirmative, favouring the manufacturer, especially in these segments:

• Defence & Aerospace 
• Tube Mills 
• Cryogenic Vessel 
• Tank & Vessel 
• Food, Pharma & Dairy Equipment 
• Nuclear 

TIG welding now introduces a new, accelerated, highly efficient process called SWAT – Sigma Weld Accelerated Tig.

SWAT is an automated keyhole welding process that increases the welding speed by up to 100% compared to the traditional GTAW process without the need for edge preparation for materials up to 10mm.

How does SWAT work?

This technology and process are easy to learn and adapt to. Put highly concentrated arc punches through the material’s thickness, forming a keyhole, moving and carrying it at almost three times the speed of GTAW.

One of the top features of the SWAT process is its constricted arc. It provides almost three times the arc force compared to GTAW, melting the pool in the same energy parameters while delivering deeper penetration and reducing the effects of heat. Other benefits of SWAT include low energy input, minimal distortion, and the option to use or not use filler wires.

A significant difference is observed When SWAT is compared with the existing GTAW process. SWAT greatly reduces the consumption of materials, gas, and preparation time.

Data calculated for 1 meter of joint
In Tube Mill applications, welding through SWAT is achieved at nearly double the speed compared to plasma & TIG combination with a single torch single process, without additional filler.

Each weld subjected to SWAT in Tube Mill applications underwent gold-standard tests and configurations, including RTR, flaring, bend, and radiography. During these tests, the SWAT process ran for multiple shifts without any stoppage time and achieved consistent results every single time.

SWAT has delivered exceptional results to industries through productivity gains and cost savings. It reduces weld time, lowers energy input, and can weld up to 14mm in a single pass, which translates to savings in labour costs, consumables and post-weld cleaning time. The SWAT application has reached its opportune moment for implementation.