Education for the Home Improvement Guy
Plasma cutters and tig welders operate on opposite ends of the spectrum, one being used to cut metal while the other produces a high quality weld that will bind metal together under the strongest conditions. Yet they are both tools that make some of the strongest metals adaptable to the talents of the welder. But they are not for beginners. Tig welding creates stronger high quality welds, offering the welder greater control over other welds like gas metal arc welding and shielded metal arc welding, but it’s also a process the requires more technical skill.
Tig welding is considered to be the most difficult in the industry. The welder must employ a short arc length, and it requires great skill and experience to prevent contact between the electrode and the work piece. But if used correctly, the process can result in a high quality weld. Because the weld material is not transferred directly over the electric arc, a great deal of welding material is available to the welder, which can be used to create multiple high quality welds for maximum strength. It allows the welder to segue materials in a variety of configurations, more in fact than any other weld.
When manipulating metals, a plasma cutter is just as important. Construction involves not only building, but removing and taking away in order to adapt the metal to fit the needs of the structure. Using a high grade plasma torch, a plasma cutter can cut through the strongest metals like they were liquid. A plasma cutter sends gases through a small channel with a negatively charged electrode. As power is applied to the negative electrode, a powerful spark surges between the electrode and the metal, heating the gas into plasma. At extremely high temperatures, the plasma reduces the metal to vapor and molten slag. It cuts metal like butter, making the strongest materials adaptable and changeable.
Plasma cutters and tig welder are ideal in an industrial setting and should be used only by qualified and experienced welders. While tig welding offers greater control, there are considerable safety risks to heed, as the process produces intense ultraviolet radiation that can lead to skin cancer. It also requires high skill to control and create a suitable weld. The strength and quality of the weld, however, can’t be matched by any other process, as welding material can be applied to the weld in a variety of configurations.