When you have to purchase a welding machine you have many things to keep in mind and various options to consider. All the different types, brands and models might overwhelm you.
You will find Tig welders for sale all over Australia, but often the problem is that you don’t know whether you should look at Tungsten Inert Gas welders (Tig welders) or Mig welders, and if you choose a Tig welder whether it is one of the best Tig welders available.
Before you make your final choice, it might be a good idea to first have a look at the wide variety of Tig welders in Australia. When you visit a welding supplier, such as Bilba Industries, their professional sales teams will help you to choose the right brand and model Tig welder.
In this article, we’ll look at a few interesting aspects to help you to make the right choice.
What are Tig welders used for?
You can use Tig welders to weld aluminium, nickel alloys, steel, stainless steel, chromoly, magnesium, bronze, copper, and even gold. The infusible electrode makes Tig welding ideal for thin metals of only a few millimetres thick.
You can use Tig welding on many materials and is a useful welding process for door handles, fenders, bike frames and more. Professional welders also use Tig welding in high-tech industries.
Tig welding is ideal to produce strong, quality welds on thin materials because the operator manually controls the filler metal, and therefore the beads can be very small. Tig welding also doesn’t cause a lot of disruption in the surrounding metal.
How do Tig welders work?
The basics of how a Tungsten Inert Gas welder (Tig welder) works are as follows:
- The process needs a consumable tungsten electrode with a shielding gas.
- The electrode then feeds through a supply line.
- A separate, hand-held filler rod is manually fed into the weld pool.
- The welder creates an electric arc with the non-consumable tungsten electrode.
The Tig welding process also requires an inert gas to protect the weld from ambient contamination, while the arc heats and melts the metal you are welding.
Interestingly, a stick welder uses a similar power source to Tig. Therefore, most Tig welders can stick weld as well. However, the welding processes are different.
How much are Tig welders for sale?
Tig welders are for sale at a wide range of prices, but you have to remember that the price depends on what the specific Tig welder offers. You can buy, for instance, the “WiaWeldarc 200i DC Tig Welder”, for $990, but you will only receive a very basic welder.
However, the more you pay the more features are included.
You will have to pay $9,245 for a “Lincoln Aspect 300 AC/DC Tig Welder”, but for more than $9,000 you will also receive the following:
- Advanced inverter technology.
- Adjustable penetration and cleaning to create perfect aluminium welding.
- Variable AC frequency for control of the penetration and travel speed.
- A user-friendly control panel with graph and numeric displays.
What is the difference between Mig and Tig welders?
Let’s now look at some of the most important differences between Mig and Tig welders.
- During Mig welding, you continuously feed electrode wire and shielding gas into the welding area with a hand-held Mig torch. With Tig welding, you feed a consumable tungsten electrode from the torch while a supply line feeds the shielding gas to the weld pool.
- Generally, Mig welding is simpler and easier to learn than Tig welding. Thus, it is easier to master Mig welding than Tig welding.
- The Mig welding process is faster than the Tig process as a result of the Mig’s continuous feed.
- Tig welding offers greater control, neatness and precision than Mig welding
- Many welders consider Tig welded joints stronger than MIG welds. The reason is that Tig welders produce a narrow, but focused arc that penetrates the metal.
- Mig welders offer a better speed than Tig welders. Tig welders cannot move the weld puddle as fast as a Mig welder, or supply enough filler rod as fast as a Mig welder.
- You have to use a non-reactive gas like pure argon for Tig welds. For Mig welds, you don’t need pure argon gas but commonly use a blend of argon and carbon dioxide.
- You create cleaner and more professional weld beads with a Tig welder. They don’t spatter as much as Mig welders. Many professional welders agree that Tig welding is better than Mig welding when it comes to looks.
Last Word
If you need information regarding the best Tig welders available in Australia contact your welding supplier. Established suppliers, such as Bilba Industries will be able to answer all your questions.
