Weld box project

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Hi fellow weldersI'm working on making a closed-environment welding glovebox for TIG welding, to house virtually all-argon to make the welding as clean as possible.I am just designing one right now, but I'm trying to make it efficient as possible. I plan to have it with two chambers, one for placing in pieces to be welded and purge out the air, then one main chamber to do the welding in, which will always contain only (99%+) argon.It was suggested to me that for the main weld chamber, I will need some type of purge or vent, so that there some place for displacing Argon from inside the chamber, once a welder's arms are placed in the gloves. I can make it out of steel, will have one viewing glass to see into it, all doors will be lined to prevent leakages, and I have unlimited argon on tap.Can anyone give me suggestions on some necessities for this welding glove box to make it safe and efficient (not leaky or slow to purge), or any experiences making/using welding gloveboxes? I'm trying not to make it too difficult, but it just needs to be safer and it needs to be an improvement from the current weldboxes, which are just a little bit bigger than shoeboxes which have argon leaking all over the place, making it unsafe/uncomfortable for anyone who welds with them. ThanksJust chillin.
Reply:Wow unlimited argon on tap that must be nice, wish i could say that.  Sorry no suggestions on the glovebox, but it sounds like you got almost all worked out.  Sounds like an awsome project.
Reply:yeah. well, with the unlimited (well, pretty much) supply of argon, thats because the current weld boxes are like a shoebox with a rectangular opening on top, and argon flows in from argon lines in the bottom of the box. so everytime the box opens, argon escapes, and air gets in, so tons of argon is wasted over the course of the day from just one welder.terrrrrribly inefficient. thats what i'm partially trying to solve. partly for safety and ergonomical reasons, but more for making clean welds in a purely inert environment, I thinkany suggestions?Just chillin.
Reply:Any thoughts about just converting an old media blast cabinet?  You are 90% there and just need to increase the seals around the doors and gloves.Lots of toys.
Reply:Originally Posted by brandon75173Any thoughts about just converting an old media blast cabinet?  You are 90% there and just need to increase the seals around the doors and gloves.
Reply:Just an off thought, check into a medical/lab equipment company. They have glove boxes with air/gas setups for controlled atmosphere and some with airlock chambers for putting items in. Slide a pair of tig gloves over the rubber ones and your set to go. Cost might be out in left field for what you want though.Latest Toys Miller 180 Mig and Elite Mask!!Wright Welder 225ACShop OutFitters 20/20 Bending SystemHypertherm 380 Plasma30 Years of Sparking (Electrical & Welding)
Reply:Something to consider is feeding the Argon into the box at the bottom, and venting the Air out from the top, this way the heavier Argon won't tend to mix with the air as much.Consider bringing the Argon in through a diffuser material to reduce turbulence and mixing with the air, like a gas lens or trailing shield concept except bigger, you can buy sintered metal piping ($) made to diffuse gasses.Have a ball valve to adjust incoming and vent gas flows.  A pressure relief valve should be used on the "intro-chamber" so you don't blow it up.  The welding chamber doesn't really need one since the gloves will blow if over pressurized.A bubbler can be put on the outlet vent, like a "fermentation air lock" used in home brewing, this alows the air/argon to vent and prevents back flow.  I would try running a hose from the vent on top of the chamber down to a small bucket of oil on the floor, this is the way microbrewer's do it on their fermenters, except you will want oil instead of sanitizer water, water would work but vapors could get into the chamber, where as the oil has a higher vapor pressure.  You adjust the depth of oil and how far the tube is submerged to adjust back pressure.If you are really cleaver, the "intro chamber", sometimes called a "anti-chamber", will be connected to a vacuum pump so you can close both the outside and welding chamber doors, evacuated and backfill the intro chamber a couple of times to speed the process, and bring items into your welding chamber without dumping air into it.A dri-train (see Vac-Atmoshperes) can be used to remove oxygen and moisture from the chamber ($$$).  http://www.vac-atm.com/
Reply:I'm working on making a closed-environment welding glovebox for TIG welding, to house virtually all-argon to make the welding as clean as possible.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterJust curious..What's so important that would you need one for in the first place.. Just asking..There's no reason for  ...zap!
Reply:OK I like your drive..Heck..We spent mucho hrs once and built an intake manifold just for laffsIt worked great the one time it was used and now its just a paperweight.. Carry on.. ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Zap, I was doing titanium. Try tigging titanium someday if you haven't already. A proper weld in my experience needs a chamber for purging 360* of the material. But there are vacuum bags that you can buy where you pull vacuum and then fill with argon. There is an exhaust on it too. Not sure you guys have seen or tried those yet.Why not build a cabinet large enough to load all the days welding into, then only evacuate and purge once, then you only need a small volume of argon to continue purging while welding as opposed to open, vacuum, purge, weld, empty...start all over.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Make a big-a*s room that is gas-tight - you enter, don scuba gear, then room is filled with argon and you weld away for hours on end.Sure it isn't practical, but it's an idea. Sometimes ideas out in left field can spark another, useful idea. I doubt this is one of those times  - John
Reply:Originally Posted by runchmanMake a big-a*s room that is gas-tight - you enter, don scuba gear, then room is filled with argon and you weld away for hours on end.Sure it isn't practical, but it's an idea. Sometimes ideas out in left field can spark another, useful idea. I doubt this is one of those times  - John
Reply:i was thinking about having two ante/purge chambers that are sealed off from a main chamber, so that while stuff is being welded on from the first purge chamber, the second chamber can be done purging by the time the stuff is done being welded from the first chamber. but i will definitely take into consideration having a larger purge chamber for putting more stuff in all at once.Just chillin.
Reply:Any way you look at it, the purge on part insertion/removal is where the gas use is.Have you considered a carousel for insertion/removal? Maybe four segments, one open out, one open in, two sealed on the sides? One of the side compartments is for the initial purge. This would only work in a production situation where the parts go in and out continuously.Another option is make a large holding area in the purged volume, batch in as many parts as you can to work on, loading and unloading maybe once a day. Small load would get filler inserted with it to take up space and reduce the purge gas needs.You DEFINATELY want to go with a purge chamber for insertion and removal to control gas use.
Reply:Have you considered a carousel for insertion/removal? Maybe four segments, one open out, one open in, two sealed on the sides? One of the side compartments is for the initial purge. This would only work in a production situation where the parts go in and out continuously.