Paper No. 26 THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF PULSED FN-GMA WELDING Arthur Ditschun B. Zajaczkowski E. Lassaline P. Koornneef Welding Institute of Canada 391 Burnhamthorpe Road East Oakville, Ontario, Canada L6J 6C9 (416) 845-9881THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF PULSED FM-GMA WELDING A. Ditschun, B. Zajaczkowski, E. Lassaline, P. Koornneef Welding Institute of Canada ABSTRACT Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is a versatile process which lends itself easily to mechanization and automation and permits high productivity even as a semi-automatic process. For positional welding, however, the process has limited application. The introduction, in the early 1960's of pulsed current technology to gas metal are welding expanded the potential use of this process. A significant contribution to the advancement of pulsed GMAW technology is believed to be available through a system developed at the Welding Institute of Canada. Conventional equipment produces a pulsed current by using SCR circuitry to switch two constant potential sources between high and low current levels with the pulse frequency being a multiple of the line frequency (typically 60 Hz or 120 Hz). More recent approaches using transistor technology to obtain a pulsed GMAW process employ a method in which a wire feed speed measurement provides the necessary in- put to control the transistor switching frequency and consequently, the pulse frequen- cy of the welding current output. The Welding Institute of Canada has recently developed a method whereby a transistor regulator converts a conventional DC con- stant potential output characteristic to a constant current characteristic which oper- ates in a pulsed mode and has a variable frequency and does not require wire speed monitoring. This technique is seen to have advantages over currently available machines in its simplicity and flexibility of operation and in its precision in induc- ing a consistent metal transfer mode over a wide range of wire feed rates. These characteristics of the system, along with other perceived advantages over conventional equipment, could permit development of new process applications as well as quality improvement in existing application METAL TRANSFER IN GMAW Gas metal arc welding of steels is ideally performed at a sufficiently high current to produce a mode of metal transfer known es spray or free flight transfer. A characteristic of this condition is that the transferred droplets of molten metal have ‘@ diameter equal to or less than the wire diameter. Welding at currents below the spray transfer threshold level produces metal transfer by gravitational detachment of globular droplets or by @ short circuiting condition during which metal transfer from the electrode tip to the base metal is achieved by intermittent physical contact of the molten tip with the weld pool. In contrast, the spray transfer mode 1s a direct result of strong current-induced magnetic forces which "pinch" smell droplets of molten metal from the electrode tip and propel them across the arc. Figure 1 typifies a transfer mode transition curve for a steel electrode operating in an argon shielding atmosphere. Above the transi- tion current the number of droplet transfers increases sharply with a corresponding decrease in the droplet volume. In addition to detaching small droplets of metal, the axial magnetic forces act to propel the molten metal towards the workpiece. These characteristics make spray transfer desirable for out-of-position welding because of the ease with which the operator can direct the deposition of the metal. The comparatively high currents required to establish spray transfer in DC welding, however, contribute to the2 fluidity of the weld pool and hence give overall poor control of the weld pool in positional work. Consequently, positional welding (with DC) is usually done at lower current levels where metal transfer occurs in short-circuiting or dip transfer mode, This improves the control over the weld pool but introduces a greater potential fol incomplete fusion and porosity. Increased spatter is also an undesirable effect of short circuiting. Furthermore, the suitable gases which promote are stability for short circuiting transfer may place severe limitations on the mechanical properties which can be realized. PULSED GMAW SYSTEMS ‘echniques whereby the welding current is pulsed between a low and high ampli- tudes impart the desirable characteristics of both the spray and dip transfer mechan- isms. Specifically, the process lends itself to welding out of position with good weld pool control by virtue of the fact that spray transfer is achieved at average current levels which would normally only be suitable for short circuiting DC transfer. ‘The only major criteria for achieving stable transfer are that the peak amplitude is greater than the spray transition current, the pulse duration is long enough to detach a droplet of material, and finally that the background current amplitude is sufficient to maintain stable arcing conditions. Figure 2 illustrates the metal transfer sequence in pulsed welding. Typically, an inverse relationship exists ‘between the peak amplitude and the pulse duration to maintain stable conditions. The first generation of pulsed current welding machines used two DC rectifiers and operated on the principle of switching the output power between two constant potential sources. One source delivered the high current pulse and the other source delivered the lower background current. The switching frequency was fixed but eould be selected to operate at either 60 Hz or 120 Hz with the pulse duration being controlled by changing the firing angle of silicon controlled rectifiers. This fixed frequency mode of operation limits the equipment to narrower ranges of wire feed rate because low average currents require that the pulse amplitude and duration be changed and this in turn ean change the transfer mode or lead to instability of thq are as will be discussed later. Recent advancements have been made in commercially available pulsed gas metal are systems which are based on the synergic welding concept developed by The Welding Institute (1). These are transistorized power sources which provide @ vari- able pulse frequency proportional to the wire feed speed. Because these systems utilize a tachogenerator to measure the wire speed, the equipment hardware (i.e. wire feeder and power source) must be fully integrated. Problems could result in this system as a result of slippage of the wire. In addition, variations in electrode com- Position different from those for which the system was designed could present welding difficulties because the machine characteristics are typically optimized for either mild steel or stainless steel. Furthermore, experience with some systems has shown that optimum performance is possible only for a narrow range of shielding gas compos- itions around which the system was originally designed. ‘A system has been developed at the Welding Institute of Canada (2, 3) in which a transistorized power regulator is used in conjunction with conventional constant potential power sources to generate a pulsed current output. This method eliminates the need to interface directly with a wire feed unit because the frequency of current pulses is determined by real-time monitoring of the arc behaviour. In essence, an are voltage feedback signal controls the pulse frequency to maintain a stable are condition. Changes in are length caused by some perturbation are detected through the arc voltage measurement and the pulse frequency reacts in such a way as to counteract the disturbance and re-establish a preset reference voltage and a constant arc length. Because of this design principle, the peak pulse current, the pulse dur- ation and the background current can be selected independently to suit the particular Tequirements of an application. This feature of the pulsed welding system allows Breater flexibility of the process in its capacity to accommodate any material compo- sition (ferrous as well as non-ferrous) and any shielding gas composition conducive to Spray transfer. Figure 3 illustrates a comparison of the tachogenerator based control system and the Welding Institute of Canada's approach for arc length control by fre-3 quency modulation through voltage monitoring. Figure 4 shows a design schematic for the FM system along with a front panel view of the regulator. __ This frequency modulated method of pulsing the current is perceived to have (( istinct advantages over other systems because the parameters of the pulseremain con- stant and so produce regular and consistent transfer of metal. In contrast, @ conven- tional fixed frequency power supply can only respond to changes in conditions by changing the peak current amplitude, the pulse duration or the background current which could also change the metal transfer characteristics. Figure 5 illustrates, for example, the changes in the pulse wave forms for two different wire feed rates when using a fixed frequency and a frequency modulated system. The fixed frequency system accomodates the higher wire speed by increasing the pulse duration which may require operator intervention depending on the magnitude of change) and this in turn causes an increase in the pulse amplitude due to the nature of the machine. The net effect, however, is to increase the average current to accommoaate the higher wire feed rate. In the WIC frequency modulated system, the pulse dimensions remain fixed and the higher wire feed rate is accommodated by an increase in the frequency of pulses. ‘The increase in frequency is automatic without any input from the operator. More importantly, however, is the fact that the pulse amplitude and duration remain fixed so that the metal transfer mode is unchanged. Therefore, if it is possible to identify pulse parameters (peak amplitude, background amplitude and pulse duration) which give optimum conditions of metal - transfer and base metal fusion, then these pulse conditions can be maintained over a wide range of wire feed rates which is not possible with fixed frequency pulsed are welding system. Furthermore, a very stable are can be obtained over a larger range of wire feed rates than is possible with fixed frequency machines. Commercial machines which claim variable frequency differ from the WIC design in that selecting a given wire speed effectively fixes the frequency for any given wire diameter and composition. In order to accommodate perturbations in stick-out, the frequency or pulse amplitude may vary slightly in these machines. Figure 6 \ dustrates some of the different approaches used in pulsed GMA systems to ‘accommodate minor perturbations in arc length. The current and pulse width modulation approsches may lead to instability in metal transfer whereas the frequency modulation delivers a consistent pulse of energy during the course of any perturbations. For the most part however, the pulse parameters remain fixed in the commercial "variable frequency” systems and only changes in wire feed rate produce a change in frequency. The design of these machines utilize melting rate data and this in turn provides the criteria for establishing what unit-pulse conditions would be built into the machine for a particular wire composition and diameter. These designs may be too restrictive in some cases since small deviations in wire composition may invalidate the criteria used in establishing the preprogrammed unit pulse. In other words, composition changes which alter the burn-off rate may not allow the same degree of control as when welding with the composition assumed when designing the machine. ‘The tendency to are instability with anything other than a frequency modulated approach can be appreciated with reference to Fig. 7. This diagram shows the operating envelope for stable transfer is a function of pulse duration and pulse _ amplitude. ‘The size and placement of the operating region will ve different for different alloys and electrode sizes, however the general shape will be the same. If the system is operating in a stable region and some disturbance occurs which causes an increase in either current or a pulse duration, then this diagram suggests that the new conditions may approach instability. In a frequency modulated system, however, the pulse amplitude and duration are constant and therefore, once the stability region has been established, there can be no excursions from it, since only the frequency of |. pulses is allowed to change in response to perturbations. C4 PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF FM-PULSED GMAW ‘Although the FM-GMAW system is not at present available on a commercial scale, applications development is being studied by NOVA for pipeline fabrication, by Ontario Hydro for automated repair welding and by AMCA International and DND for ( positional welding of structural steel. Most of these applications are on thick steel sections where the principal advantage of pulsed GMA is due to its capability to produce welds out of position in a spray transfer mode as opposed to a short circuiting metal transfer mode which is typical with low current D.C. positional GMAW. "The inherent problems with the latter method being the potential for incomplete fusion defects and spatter generation. Application of the FM-pulsed GMAW process therefore has the capability for high quality weld production in all positions due to the controlled transfer of metal deposition. A secondary benefit which has also been reported (4,5) is an improvement in material toughness properties. This effect is attriouted to the lower oxygen potential gases which must be used to achieve spray transfer with the pulsed GMA system. In contrast, weld metal oxygen pick-up occurs more readily from the high CO, content gases used’ during short-cireuiting. ‘The pulsed GMA process is also very well suited for applications on sheet steel. The main benefit being improved control over the deposition of weld metal because spray transfer is made possible at the low current ranges required to prevent burn-through. In fact the FM system of pulsed GMA welding has been demonstrated to operate with a stable spray arc at current levels substantially lower than that typically used with short circuiting transfer. Figure 8 illustrates the surface appearance of two butt welds performed with identical average current (90A) and travel speed (20 ipm) conditions on 0.062" sheet steels. One, however, was deposited using a short circuit transfer with a COg shielding gas and the other was deposited with the FM-pulsed GMA system with an argon-10% CO» gas shielding. Figure 9 shows the cross sectional views of these two welds. Clearly the pulsed deposit has obvious advantages in the absence of spatter and uniformity of the bead surface and penetration profiles. In applications where cosmetic appearance is ot ( importance, the pulsed GMA process is undoubtedly preferred. In other applications, the weld appearance and spatter deposits may not be critical, but even here the pulsed process may offer advantages which deserve consideration. For example, the generation of airborne spatter during short circuiting transfer has the potential for damaging exposed gear drive systems which may be present in robotic welding cells. Flying sparks and spatter can harm sensitive equipment if it is used in the vicinity or pose a potential fire hazard and increase operator discomfort particularly when welding overhead. Figure 10 contrasts the level of airborne spatter particles Produced during short circuiting and pulsed spray transfer in a vertical welding operation. Figure 11 illustrates another typical joint configuration produced on 0.062" steel with a conventional D.C. and a FM-pulsed GMAW process. In this comparison, the conventional deposit was produced using a globular type metal transfer mode which might be inferred from the more regular surface profile. The point of interest in this comparison is that the pulsed deposit produced a better degree of root fusion and Penetration into the sheet material. This has implications for improved weld integrity and possibly better tolerance to such factors as gap between the sheet members. Although the afurementioned benefits are generic to pulsed welding systems the FM-GMAW system may offer additional advantages. For example, the concept of a device which can be retro-fitted to existing constant potential power sources could offer @ relatively inexpensive alternative to purchasing equipment which consists of a fully integrated power source and wire feeder combination. The fact that the FM pulse current regulator can be accommodated to any combination of D.C. power source and wire feeder may provide added maintenance flexibility in the event, for example, that a feeder malfunctioned. Because the operation of the EM’ regulator is independent of the wire feed system it may also provide greater reliability if wire ( slippage occurs. Finally, the FM regulator system has the capability to accommodate ferrous and non-ferrous consumables more easily due to the nature of the control System in that the wire feed speed measurement is not part of the control loop. |5 CONCLUSIONS 1) The principle of controlling pulsed current GMA welding through an arc voltage feedback device which provides pulse frequency modulation gives a wider flexibility in potential applications than either fixed frequency or wire feed controlled (synergic type) welding systems. 2) FM-pulsed GMAW technology offers benefits similar to conventional pulsed systems in that spatter-free welds and improved fusion characteristics are evident. 3) The FM-pulsed GMAW current regulator can be retro-fitted to existing constant potential power sources and wire feed systems. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge the initial funding of an IRAP research grant and the continuing support of a group sponsored program by NOVA, An Alberta Corporation, Union Carbide Canada Limited, AMCA International Ltd., Ontario Hydro and TransCanada PipeLines Limited. REFERENCES 1, Amin, M.: ‘Synergic pulse MIG welding’. Metal Construction, 1981, 13 (6), 349-353. 2. Graville, B.A., Shmakov, E.: ‘Welding Method and Apparatus'. Canadian Patent #1187562. 3. Ditschun, A: ‘Application of pulsed current techniques to welding HY80 steel’. Unpublished Welding Institute of Canada Research Report. 4. Ditschun, A., Zajaczkowski, B., Dorling, D., "Pulsed FM-GMA Welding", Conference proceedings "Welding for Challenging Environments", ‘Toronto, Canada, Oct 15-17, 1985, Pub. Pergamon Press. 5. Ditschun, A., Dorling, D., Glover, A., Graville, B. and Zajaczkowski, B., "The Development and Application of Pulsed FM-GMAW Welding", ‘Conference proceedings "Advanced Welding Systems", London, U.K. Nov. 19-21, 1985, Pub. The Welding Institute, Abington Hall, Cambridge 1985. Phillips, A.L. (ed): ‘Welding processes'. Welding Handbook, Section Two, Sixth Edition. Publ by American Welding Society, New York, 1969.{TRANSFER RATE. COROPS/SECD PEAK CURRENT -4--d--- de AVERAGE ‘CURRENT ‘CURRENT TRANSITION CURRENT — | 1 Nl BACKGROUND CURRENT uRRENT 0 Fig. 1: Effect of current on the metal transfer characteristic of 1.6 mm steel electrode in Ar-180z gas (6) TIME Fig. 2: Idealized sketch of droplet transfer in pulsed GMAW. CONTROL PRINCIPLES OF TRANSISTOR PULSED POWER SOURCES wire speeo Lh SIGNAL ‘OUTPUT CURRENT ‘ARC VOLTAGE, SIGNAL c aATEO SIN a. 388 FREQUENCY CONTROLLER PULSE CONTROL & POWER SOURCE FREQUENCY corrouter [* | Host POWER P——{ PULSE CONTROL ‘SOURCE REGULATOR OUTPUT CURRENT ante Fig. 3: Comparison of pulse current control principles using wire feed rate data (synergic approach, top) and are voltage (WIC approach, bottom).FH CURRENT REGULATOR SYSTEM EGMPONENTS Fig. 4: A schematic of the frequency modulated (FM) pulse current system (top) along with a front panel view of the (FM) regulator.FIXED FREQUENCY SYSTEM FREDUENCY MODULATED SYSTEM (OF PULSED GMAW OF PULSED GMAW EL: WR=A k= TRANSITION CURRENT Fig. 5: Comparison of a fixed frequency and the FM pulsed system operating at two wire feed rates (B>A). Te PULSE CURRENT MODULATION news OF THE ARC coemeye The PULSE WIDTH MODULATION JUUULAN AU, THe Puse eT cuneent, ncorrraLLeD ETAL TRASFER i PULSE FREGUENCY NODULATION SILT maa Tae THe Fig. 6: Different modes of accommodating —“Fig. 7: Stability region for pulsed transient disturbances in pulsed GMAW as functions of pulse GMAW. amplitude and pulse time. Fig. 8: Surface appearance of @ short circuiting weld (left) and an FM-pulsed GMA weld (right) on a butt weld in 0.062" (1.6 mm) sheet steel.Fig. 9. Cross sectional view of the short circuiting and FM-pulsed welds shown tn Figure 8 (Mag. 7X) Figure 10. Comparison of spatter generation with conventional short-circuiting metal transfer (left) and spray transfer mode achieved with the FM-pulsed system operating at equivalent current levels. Fig. 11. Typical lap joint quelity produced with conventional (left) and FM-pulsed L right) GMA welding methods. (Mag 9X)