HOW IT WORKS

Keyhole TIG (or Keyhole GTAW) is a new, very high performance variant of the trusted and much-used TIG process. But while it has the look and feel of TIG, its performance is in an altogether different league to the more familiar variants. For example, it can easily punch through 12mm (~1/2 inch) stainless steel to give you full penetration, single pass welds at an exceptional 300mm (12 inches) per minute. In many cases, K-TIG welds butt joining squared edge materials, meaning no expensive edge preparations and usually not even any filler material!

If you thought keyhole welding was solely the domain of very high energy density processes – EB, laser and plasma arc – then you will be pleasantly surprised. Keyhole TIG does not achieve the energy densities of these processes; rather it relies on a natural combination of arc pressure and surface tension to produce its keyhole. There is plenty of power, but even when punching through 14 mm titanium with 700 amps or more, the process itself is very quiet and doesn’t even raise ripples in the weld pool.

The best way to understand what all the fuss is about, is to watch the videos below. The first is a close-up of a HCTIG weld through a 10mm stainless steel plate. The second video shows what happens if you try this on the same material using our ‘keyhole’ mode…

The process is dependent on two critical ingredients – a carefully engineered torch and the generation of a very stable surface geometry in the weld pool. This latter effect is enabled by the high surface tension of liquid metals. If surface tension is working against you, your process will be inherently unstable (as in laser, EB, high current TIG etc). On the other hand, when it works for you the process enters an exciting new realm. This is the domain of Keyhole TIG. To understand how this is possible, click here to view our soap bubble analogy.

Keyhole TIG was invented in Australia by the CSIRO working in conjunction with the CRC-WS in the late 1990’s. The process was first used commercially in Australia in 1998, and has since been adopted by many organisations around the globe. It has also been the subject of significant research and development since that time. More recently, it has been appropriate to move the focus of this process from the scientific to the industrial sector, where its practical benefits can be realised. K-TIG is proud to be taking on this role.

For a closer look at K-TIG, click here to view a sample of typical macro / micro sections on a range of material products.

The commercial benefits of the K-TIG system over conventional TIG are potentially massive. With speed increases of 10 to 100 times the conventional technologies, coupled with increases in weld quality and reductions in material and labour costs, the system’s return on investment is realised quickly. For more information on how K-TIG can benefit your manufacturing operation click here to try our cost benefit calculator.