On Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:57:04 -0500, Jon Elson wrote:

wrote:

So, after looking at tubular reviews I decided the TIG 200 was a
good buy.
Tried it out last night for the first time. Just on 120 volts. I
was able to weld .125 thick 6061 using 3/32 filler rod with no
problems.


That's very impressive! It took me a while to get the feel of doing
Aluminum. First problem is nobody told me the work NEVER got hot enough
to glow. Once I realized that bit of info from steel welding would not
be available, things went a bit better. I have a square wave TIG 300,
which is a fantastic machine, but large and heavy.

Gas lenses help reduce gas consumption, and Argon is getting pretty
pricey.

Jon

If I'm not mistaken, it's not that the work won't get hot enough to glow,
it's that aluminum is never emissive enough in the visible wavelengths
for it to glow. If you watch aluminum casting, you'll see that the
crucible is glowing a dull red, even though the aluminum inside is
shiny. If the aluminum were "black" (meaning, if it were emissive), it'd
be glowing that same dull red.

--
Tim Wescott
Control systems, embedded software and circuit design
I'm looking for work! See my website if you're interested
http://www.wescottdesign.com