Formula to adjust tig pulse?

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I am wondering if there is a formula to adjust tig pulse settings? Was watching this vid: It made curious if there is a formula to set the peak amps so that one can dial in a setting for a certain thickness of metal.Millermatic 255Dynasty 280 DXReady Welder IHypertherm 30XP
Reply:I do not know But I can tell you the chip used for the most time is a 555. The first machines use 3 pots (variable resistors).  Today they ad bells and whistle.  TIG just was to slow for my work. Dave

Originally Posted by robert-r

I am wondering if there is a formula to adjust tig pulse settings? Was watching this vid: It made curious if there is a formula to set the peak amps so that one can dial in a setting for a certain thickness of metal.
Reply:User preference based on how much you want to limit the heat-input, how quickly you want to puddle, and how much puddle-freezing you want in between pulses.  There is no 1-setting based solely on material thickness.  There are several rules-of-thumb, but it's still mostly an "art" because each situation has that many more variables.

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Reply:Robert-r,regardless of the settings (group) the over riding amperage control (pedal, Tig Button, slider) controls the maximum amperage in a pulsed TIG arc control.  So, you have to judge the 'max' by looking at the puddle. The rate/Hz/timing of the high pulse, the percentage of the interval that is high (compared to that at background or low pulse) also contribute to the puddle resulting from a series of settings.If you go to 6061.com's site and look up his pulse settings- you'd see he has explores a very short time duration, but very high amperage surge.  So this spike in amperage floods the puddle and penetrates pretty dramatically in a very short time... Contrast that to Jody @ Welding Tips and Tricks (dot com) where he uses a much more uniform wave from- uniform in regard timing and percentages of max current.  6061 shows a sort of long duration in background and very high short 'saw tooth' in surge; where if you graph out Jody's method (he like 30% high time & 30% background) you'll see a much more uniform wave.I don't have a formula to offer but I will try to explain what I've done using an older Miller Dynasty DX300.I leave the pulse off, and turn the MAX output down to a setting below what I think is needed for the weld and confirm with a few attempts to start the puddle.  If I can get a puddle going I note the amperage and turn it DOWN.  Then I decide between Aaron's short spiked pulse and Jody's longer and more uniform square wave and set the Max time to suit the weld.  I usually pulse in the .8 to 2.1 pps range.  (IF I use pulses above that I usually move up to 25-30 pps as I find the range in between annoying.) Using 6061's methods you'd have a peak % time of 10 to 15% of the timing interval.  Using Jody's its more like 30-35% peak high pulse.Now, with the puddle too cold to weld at MAX output amperage, I turn up the main output dial and try a few tacks or short beads on scrap 'til the max on my (thumb control) remote amperage is creating a decent puddle.Once I get this max setting - I can just max out the pot on the torch and will be within range of a cold start in what ever material I'm welding.  So as the material warms up I can pull in the max peak (timing is fixed) and keep a reasonable bead using pulsed TIG.  Lots of welders prefer to leave the power supply on MAX output and do the range peak control with the pedal/pot/slider/Tig Button.To refine the bead, I usually move the percentage of peak time and background percentage of max/peak amperage slightly up or down to get both penetration and 'freeze' for any given thickness or joint cross section - by increasing the peak time percentage of the pulse time interval you'll get more high heat w/o increasing the actual amperage- and likewise if the puddle isn't chilling and freezing and you're sagging down into the parent metal too much ?  Decreasing the background percentage of the main peak amperage will increase the chill/freeze as that background amperage drops lower and lower.Essentially this is an exercise in 'averaging' the wattage used for the weld- there are many different approaches to setting the pulse cycle hope these remarks help you to explore your power supply's process more?  I don't know of any formula's; perhaps others will reply with links or explanations of their methods?Cheers,Kevin MorinKenai, AK
Reply:I can't add much to what has already been said, but I can say that AC pulsing is stupid, as the AC arc can be manipulated is so many ways that you basically nullify any benefit of pulse. Going to the DC mode I do use pulse to agitate the puddle to join the seams faster on lap joints and square groove butt welds, not alter the grain structure which I find hard to believe. Also sometimes my autodark hood brain farts and flashes the heck out of me. So I set a light pulse only to excite the sensors in my hood like 100pps, 95% peak, 85% background. The cadence thing. Beginners can't hardly advance the rod through their fingers so I find the cadence argument stupid as well. You make quality welds through practice of cram the rod and jam after getting a good melt of the puddle. Please.Then there is pps. A lot of tranny and cheap inverters only give up to 20pps. Utterly useless and all it seems to do is give me an epileptic seisure, or induce me to vomit like as some old timey laserium show. Any less that 100pps is a waste. Jody's rule of 30 is a pukefest. WTF.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR"

MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:I used pulse once...I think it was a Tuesday...Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Im with MInnesotaDave, might be helpful for production welding.We've done so much, for so long, with so little. Were now qualified to do anything with nothing !
Reply:shovelon, robert-r, I don't agree that pulse in AC isn't worth using.  Penetration combined with top surface appearance are both important with aluminum TIG welds.  If you have a pretty weld that doesn't have good penetration then the weld is lower quality for the standards now current on the internet.  IF you have a good penetration but your uniformity is poor, then again the  weld isn't up to 'par' for the best welds we seen online, including many here at this Forum.It is easier to get a combination of both penetration and uniformity in AC aluminum TIG by using the pulse settings on advanced inverter power supplies in my opinion- regardless if your wider experience allows you to achieve both w/o using a pulsed TIG arc series.IF a weld in, say 1/8" (0.125") 5086, outside corner, is done with a constant amperage (or one slowly modulated by a pedal/T'Button/slider) then penetration is obtained by the average amperage setting.  If you carried 10- or even 30 amps more than the edges of this material will 'carry/sustain/hold up' .... the entire edge of the weld will collapse.   However that higher amperage will sure enough make for GREAT penetration... right up until the residual heat of the parent metal results in a collapse of the entire weld edge.However, if the higher amperage is used for short time (for example in the pulsed method) THEN.... the higher penetration can be obtained while the background or low pulse setting allows that 'too high' amperage to be combined with a 'too low' chill state. Since the material is moving heat by conduction away from the weld area; a combination of higher than sustainable amperage, combined with a lower than needed to keep a puddle amperage - allows a less skilled welder to create a very useful (deep penetration) and very uniform (surface pattern created mainly by the timers and weld amperage swings) weld appearance.I understand that very experienced welders are able to produce welds that are not only deeply penetrated but also very uniformly patterned; however, it remains a fact that less skilled/experienced welders can lay down equally qualified beads by using the high surge of a peak pulse, for a given time interval, combined with a chill time that reduces the exact adjustments of the related rates which are shown by the more experienced and physically gifted welders.As 70 is a passed milestone for me I use all the help I can get, and I also use a cold wire feed TIG gun for 95% of my welds.  My remarks may not be useful to younger welders who are using two handed dip rod techniques, while I'm using a wire feed gun.  However, I remain convinced that pulsed AC is very useful and has all sorts of benefits to both new and older (like me) welders' work.Learning to use pulsed TIG is a bit of a Catch-22.  You're not really experienced enough to make good decisions in most adjustments until you're qualified/experienced enough not to need the help Pulsed TIG offers!  While you're learning to weld - your judgement and skills are less than optimal and he experience to make use of the inverters' great features are often still in the future of your understanding of TIG.cheers,Kevin Morin Kenai, AK
Reply:TIG is great for very thin metal and hobbyist. I have owned TIG in pass but only used for die repair as it would keep heat in just weld. My world was steel and fluxcore and stick work best. TIG is to slow 🐌 for quoted work. Dave

Originally Posted by Kevin Morin

shovelon, robert-r, I don't agree that pulse in AC isn't worth using.  Penetration combined with top surface appearance are both important with aluminum TIG welds.  If you have a pretty weld that doesn't have good penetration then the weld is lower quality for the standards now current on the internet.  IF you have a good penetration but your uniformity is poor, then again the  weld isn't up to 'par' for the best welds we seen online, including many here at this Forum.It is easier to get a combination of both penetration and uniformity in AC aluminum TIG by using the pulse settings on advanced inverter power supplies in my opinion- regardless if your wider experience allows you to achieve both w/o using a pulsed TIG arc series.IF a weld in, say 1/8" (0.125") 5086, outside corner, is done with a constant amperage (or one slowly modulated by a pedal/T'Button/slider) then penetration is obtained by the average amperage setting.  If you carried 10- or even 30 amps more than the edges of this material will 'carry/sustain/hold up' .... the entire edge of the weld will collapse.   However that higher amperage will sure enough make for GREAT penetration... right up until the residual heat of the parent metal results in a collapse of the entire weld edge.However, if the higher amperage is used for short time (for example in the pulsed method) THEN.... the higher penetration can be obtained while the background or low pulse setting allows that 'too high' amperage to be combined with a 'too low' chill state. Since the material is moving heat by conduction away from the weld area; a combination of higher than sustainable amperage, combined with a lower than needed to keep a puddle amperage - allows a less skilled welder to create a very useful (deep penetration) and very uniform (surface pattern created mainly by the timers and weld amperage swings) weld appearance.I understand that very experienced welders are able to produce welds that are not only deeply penetrated but also very uniformly patterned; however, it remains a fact that less skilled/experienced welders can lay down equally qualified beads by using the high surge of a peak pulse, for a given time interval, combined with a chill time that reduces the exact adjustments of the related rates which are shown by the more experienced and physically gifted welders.As 70 is a passed milestone for me I use all the help I can get, and I also use a cold wire feed TIG gun for 95% of my welds.  My remarks may not be useful to younger welders who are using two handed dip rod techniques, while I'm using a wire feed gun.  However, I remain convinced that pulsed AC is very useful and has all sorts of benefits to both new and older (like me) welders' work.Learning to use pulsed TIG is a bit of a Catch-22.  You're not really experienced enough to make good decisions in most adjustments until you're qualified/experienced enough not to need the help Pulsed TIG offers!  While you're learning to weld - your judgement and skills are less than optimal and he experience to make use of the inverters' great features are often still in the future of your understanding of TIG.cheers,Kevin Morin Kenai, AK
Reply:

Originally Posted by Kevin Morin

shovelon, robert-r, I don't agree that pulse in AC isn't worth using.  Penetration combined with top surface appearance are both important with aluminum TIG welds.  If you have a pretty weld that doesn't have good penetration then the weld is lower quality for the standards now current on the internet.  IF you have a good penetration but your uniformity is poor, then again the  weld isn't up to 'par' for the best welds we seen online, including many here at this Forum.It is easier to get a combination of both penetration and uniformity in AC aluminum TIG by using the pulse settings on advanced inverter power supplies in my opinion- regardless if your wider experience allows you to achieve both w/o using a pulsed TIG arc series.IF a weld in, say 1/8" (0.125") 5086, outside corner, is done with a constant amperage (or one slowly modulated by a pedal/T'Button/slider) then penetration is obtained by the average amperage setting.  If you carried 10- or even 30 amps more than the edges of this material will 'carry/sustain/hold up' .... the entire edge of the weld will collapse.   However that higher amperage will sure enough make for GREAT penetration... right up until the residual heat of the parent metal results in a collapse of the entire weld edge.However, if the higher amperage is used for short time (for example in the pulsed method) THEN.... the higher penetration can be obtained while the background or low pulse setting allows that 'too high' amperage to be combined with a 'too low' chill state. Since the material is moving heat by conduction away from the weld area; a combination of higher than sustainable amperage, combined with a lower than needed to keep a puddle amperage - allows a less skilled welder to create a very useful (deep penetration) and very uniform (surface pattern created mainly by the timers and weld amperage swings) weld appearance.I understand that very experienced welders are able to produce welds that are not only deeply penetrated but also very uniformly patterned; however, it remains a fact that less skilled/experienced welders can lay down equally qualified beads by using the high surge of a peak pulse, for a given time interval, combined with a chill time that reduces the exact adjustments of the related rates which are shown by the more experienced and physically gifted welders.As 70 is a passed milestone for me I use all the help I can get, and I also use a cold wire feed TIG gun for 95% of my welds.  My remarks may not be useful to younger welders who are using two handed dip rod techniques, while I'm using a wire feed gun.  However, I remain convinced that pulsed AC is very useful and has all sorts of benefits to both new and older (like me) welders' work.Learning to use pulsed TIG is a bit of a Catch-22.  You're not really experienced enough to make good decisions in most adjustments until you're qualified/experienced enough not to need the help Pulsed TIG offers!  While you're learning to weld - your judgement and skills are less than optimal and he experience to make use of the inverters' great features are often still in the future of your understanding of TIG.cheers,Kevin Morin Kenai, AK
Reply:

Originally Posted by smithdoor

TIG is great for very thin metal and hobbyist. I have owned TIG in pass but only used for die repair as it would keep heat in just weld. My world was steel and fluxcore and stick work best. TIG is to slow