What is High-Speed Pulse Welding? Using the New AHP AlphaTIG 200 - Kevin Caron

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• published: 04 Nov 2015
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From http://www.kevincaron.com - Artist Kevin Caron gives a sneak peek at the latest innovation on the AHP AlphaTIG 200 TIG welder and shows why you'd want to use pulse when welding. He gets the help of professional welder Jake, who is using pulse for the first time .... Caron shows off the brand new AHP AlphaTIG 200 TIG welder, which hasn't even been released yet. AHP has made a cool upgrade. The machine doesn't look much different - except for the two rings around the pulse frequency knob. The pulse control switch also now has three positions: pulse off; the normal pulse setting, which is a pulse every half second to 5 pulses a second; and now you have a middle setting, which is 10 pulses a second up to 200 pulses a second. So now there's a low and a high speed on pulse function! To try out the new pulse function, Jake, who is visiting from Indio, California, is going to run some beads on some aluminum. He starts at 155 amps on AC using the foot pedal, no pulse, 2T and a 3/32 tungsten. When he's finished, Jake and Kevin think the weld looks pretty good. Next, Jake welds with the same settings but with the machine set on 5 pulses a second. The pulse base is the bottom of the pulse amperage that is controlled by the knob on the machine. However far the foot pedal is depressed is the welding amperage up to the maximum set on the welder. The pulse base amperage is a percentage of that. Kevin sets it at about half and the pulse time at about half. This time Jake says the weld is "so-so." "It looks better than mine!" says Kevin. Next they turn the pulse up to 100 per second, but stayed at half the amperage and still half of the pulse width - all of the other setting are the same. Jake welds the rest of the joint at the higher pulse setting. Jake says, "It's a little bit smoother but a hot start." The hot start reflects where Jake started the arc and it burned through the aluminum a little. Just for fun, he runs one more bead with the pulse maxed out at 200 pulses a second just to see what it will do. Jake has been TIG welding for about four years now in a high-end commercial welding shop making items including residential and commercial ventilation hoods. At work he uses a 180 amp Miller. Kevin shows the four examples: no pulse, low pulse, high pulse and maxed out pulse. After using pulse for the first time, Jakes says it's really nice, and he definitely likes the highest pulse rate - it makes the weld look a whole lot cleaner. He likes the machine and the pulsing action. Jake was surprised at the welder's cost - "That's quite a lot of bang for your buck!" Kevin and Jake are going to go back to playing with the machine, so you have time to subscribe to see more how-to videos and to visit http://www.kevincaron.com to see Kevin's wild sculptures and sign up for his newsletter. Well, if you have one more moment, you can hear the Voice speechless .... "Inspired sculpture for public & private places." Artist Kevin Caron has been sculpting full time since 2006. You can see his more than 45 commissions in public and private places coast-to-coast and online at http://www.kevincaron.com. Please follow me! Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevincaronart Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevincaronstudios