The process of fabricating two or more portions of a material by applying heat, pressure, or both are known as welding. It is a necessity in many industries. With the advancement of technology, the welding processes also advanced a lot.
Nowadays, Tig welding and Plasma welding are becoming increasingly popular. This popularity also brings in the debate: Which is better? Plasma welding or Tig welding?
To put it simply, both of these processes are quite compelling. One process may be more beneficial to the industry compared to another. Depending on numerous factors like cost, skilled workers, and workflow, the choices may vary.
Let us explain this matter in further detail.
Plasma Welding vs Tig Welding
Plasma welding and Tig welding are two types of arc welding. As both of them are part of the arc welding process, they bear numerous similarities. On the contrary, they also bear some differences as well. We shall provide a detailed explanation of those in the passages that follow.
Read More: Gas Welding Vs Arc Welding: A Complete Comparison, Difference
What is Plasma Welding
When plasma welding was first employed as a method of joining materials in the early 1960s, it was applied in particular low-current (microplasma) applications with currents as low as 0.5 amp or as high as 500 amps for heavy industry.
A gas that has been heated to an incredibly high temperature and ionized to make it electrically conductive is referred to as plasma. This plasma is used in the plasma arc welding procedure to transport an electric arc to a workpiece.
The tremendous heat of the arc melts the metal to be welded, causing it to fuse together. For the system, a welding torch and power source are necessary.
Advantages and disadvantages of Plasma Welding
Compared to other procedures, plasma welding has a fast welding speed. Furthermore, welding is possible with great energy. It is simple to use to weld thick and brittle workpieces.
In contrast to many others, the distance between the tool and the workpiece does not affect the arc formation. Additionally, it uses less power to create a weld of the same size. Furthermore, using the plasma welding technique will result in a more steady arc.
The high-intensity arc also contributes to the high penetration rate.
On the other hand, The welding process can be quite a noisy operation. The types of equipment for this welding process also cost a lot.
Read More: 10 Ways To Reduce Your Welding Cost
There is also a considerable amount of radiation in this process. Moreover, you’ll need highly skilled people for this job. It is very hard for beginners to learn plasma welding. The equipment has to be maintained from time to time. As a result, the maintenance cost becomes high.
What is Tig Welding
Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding, alternatively referred to as Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), is a type of arc welding that uses an inert tungsten electrode to create the weld.
In the TIG welding technique, an arc is created between the workpiece and a pointed tungsten electrode in an inert argon or helium atmosphere. For precise and high-quality welding, the pointed electrode’s narrow, powerful arc is excellent.
The TIG welder does not need to balance the heat input from the arc as the metal is deposited from the melting electrode because the electrode is not consumed during welding. When filler metal is necessary, it must be put into the weld pool separately.
Advantages and disadvantages of Tig Welding
Non-consumable tungsten is required as the electrode for the Tig welding procedure. This saves the cost by a large margin when you compare other welding processes. Additionally, you can manually add filler metals when necessary.
Moreover, the tungsten and the weld are both shielded by the shielding gas utilized in this method. In addition to that, this welding technique yields precise, clean welds. Tig welding has the capacity to join practically all metals together.
However, compared to other techniques, the deposition rates, and travel speeds are somewhat lower, which raises the price of the weld. This procedure is in no way user-friendly for beginners. To get welds of excellent quality, you will need skilled workers. Also, the procedure is not entirely automated.
Plasma Welding vs Tig Welding: Difference
A tungsten electrode initiates the arc in tig welding, which is then sustained by a shielding gas layer. Additionally, it is applied in deft operations with thin materials.
In the case of Plasma welding, things are slightly different. The electrode is placed within the flame and gas is injected into the arc in the Plasma welding process.
Plasma also divides atoms into electrons by carrying the electrical arc and ionizing the gas as a result. Another difference between them is that a Tig welder is mainly made for welding, whereas a plasma arc welder is primarily made for cutting.
Plasma Welding vs Tig Welding: Similarities
Firstly, both of these processes are quite clean and precise. Moreover, tungsten rod is used in both Tig and Plasma welding. Although they have differences in their construction process, the welding process is almost the same.
Difference Between Plasma Arc Welding and Tig Welding
Plasma arc welding is basically another name for plasma welding. The differences between Plasma welding and Tig welding are the same in this case.
Plasma Welding vs Tig Welding: Which One To Choose
You have to look at your priorities if you want to choose between Plasma welding or Tig welding. In both cases, you’ll need highly skilled people.
If you need quicker welding, Plasma welding is the way to go. But, in case you have to keep the budget lower, you are better off choosing Tig welding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answer: Yes, Tig welding is expensive enough. But compared to Plasma welding, it is cheaper.
Answer: Tig welding is one of the best welding processes out there. If you have no problems with its slower deposition rate, this process should be quite beneficial for you.
Answer: Both keyhole and non-keyhole welds are made using plasma welding. You can weld numerous metals using this process.
Verdict
In this article, we have pointed out almost everything there is to know about plasma welding and tig welding.
To summarize, both of these processes bear significant similarities to each other. However, it depends on what type of welding you are doing. As mentioned before both have their fair share of advantages over one another.
Reading this article should help you understand all the similarities and differences between these two processes. We’d be very glad if this article was helpful for you.