Titanium is a very reactive and significant metal at the industrial level. However, it is not hard enough for welding purpose as people think. You can weld Titanium in firmly sealed spaces. You can do this job with the help of accurate gas shielding and protective measure.
In this article, we will discuss how to weld Titanium in detail. Let’s take a glance at a brief intro to Titanium Metal.
What is Titanium?
Titanium is the most durable metal on earth. It is unique because its strength greater than aluminum, and its weight lighter than ferrous steel. The position of titanium is in the fourth group of the periodic table. Its atomic number is 22, and its atomic mass is 47.87. Titanium is found in the composite form in nature, such as Titanite and rutile. It’s a lightweight metal with the highest strength ratio to weight, making it the most commonly used metal in manufacturing and fabrication.
Like Iron, Titanium has the property of powerful resistance. The small titanium particles created during shavings can self-ignite in the air. The bright white sparks are much hotter, and thus they are an increase in fire hazards.
Related: How to Weld Cast Iron
Titanium is cut with special cutters for industrial purposes to avoid sparks and reduce fire hazards. Properties of titanium make it very attractive for the manufacturing community. The use of titanium has risen considerably, and it will continue to climb in the upcoming years because of the strong global demand.
Properties of Titanium
Titanium has unique properties that make them the most wanted material giving a perfect combination of the properties of aluminum and steel.
Process to Weld Titanium
If you are also looking for the answer of the question, Can you weld Titanium? Yes, we can weld Titanium in a fine way, just follow the instructions below.
Prepare the Titanium for welding
Eliminate the contaminants from the surface and tools. The next step is consideration of the atmosphere. Atmospheric gases can be a source of contamination to titanium, so a layer of shielding gas is used for welding. Pure argon is the most preferred shielding gas. The purity of argon should be 100% because slight less pure shielding and backing gas could cause yellow discoloration. Helium can be used as backing gas because it gives similar general protection.
Use of argon as the primary ingredient:
After giving a wipe down with acetone to eliminate any residual, use a clean stainless steel wire brush because you do not want to contaminate or cross-contaminate. Clean file dedicated for titanium only because you do not want to embed carbon steel or stainless-steel particles in titanium as it causes cracking later. It is recommended to dedicate your tools, segregate them, use them only for titanium, files, wire brushes etc.
Back Purge the Titanium Section Being Welded
The backside must also be shielded along with the front side. If any side comes in contact with oxygen that is already affected by heat, have an adverse reaction.
Ideal Coverage Level
For achieving the ideal level of coverage following steps should be followed.:
Primary Shielding
By the proper selection of welding torch, the primary shield is provided that is required for protecting the molten weld puddle. Argon gas is used for primary shielding because it has the characteristic of arc stability. For ideal coverage, use a torch with a broader cup.
Secondary Shielding
A trailing shield is used to provide secondary shielding. Because the trailing shield offers protection to the solidified titanium weld metal, the trailing shield is custom built to fit in the required torch and welding operation. The customized trailing shield should be compact, and the distribution of inert gas within the device should be uniform.
Backup shielding
Inert gas shielding to the root side is provided by backup devices. Helium is sometimes used for trailing or backup shielding because of its lower density. After shielding, there are different welding processes like Electron beam welding, gas tungsten arc welding, laser beam welding, friction welding, plasma arc welding, resistance welding, gas metal arc welding etc.
Tungsten welding is the use of tungsten electrodes to join two metals together. The two metal plates melt because of intense heat and fuse together, forming a solid joint.
Finalization
The finalization is equally essential. Let the argon gas flow until titanium cools down below 500 degrees. After the complete welding process, the color of titanium represents a good weld or not.
Key Points
While welding titanium, one should keep in mind the following key points:
Working Environment
Titanium demands excellent attention to cleanliness as titanium reacts readily with dirt, grease, moisture, air and other metals forming brittle compounds. Welding of titanium is mainly done in open fabrication shops. The place should also be free of humidity, and the air draft should be well controlled.
It requires prioritization of observing safety rules and a contaminants free environment. Along with the clean working space, taking proper precautionary measures and wearing gloves, helmet and safety glasses is necessary.
Equipment
For titanium welding, the following equipment can be used:
Wrapping up
Titanium, with its unusual properties, has a wide demand in the world. Welding of titanium requires cleanliness. Contaminants could be a source of lousy welding for eliminating contaminants from the surface of titanium or the tools used with acetone or ethyl ketone.
The second important thing is the ideal level of coverage that comprises primary shielding, secondary shielding and backup shielding. After shielding, tungsten welding is applied to make two metals join together. The final color represents if the welding is acceptable or not. So, this is all about how to weld Titanium step-by-step.
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