Aluminum and Its Alloys

History
Hall Heoult

Unlike steel, bronze. Al only recently used

First shown at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855 as "silver
from clay by Deville
Sainte-Claire Deville's sponsored by Napoleon III
Hopes for military use faded (well until the metal airplane!)
Used for jewelry (by 1860 price had fallen to that of silver)
1886. Charles Martin Hall (1863-1914), US and Paul T. Heoult
(1863-1914), France, independently discover electrolytic method for
making aluminum.
Teakettles, furniture (cast Al), building facades...
 Production

Hall, a chemist, graduated in 1885 from Oberlin, set out to find a

non-aqueous solvent in his garage and found cryolite in Feb 23.
1886. Died,very rich , in Daytona Beach, 1914 at age 51.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys
Al and its alloys are characterized by
relatively low density (2.7 g/cm3 as compared
to 7.9 g/cm3 for steel),
high electrical and thermal conductivities,
resistant to corrosion in some common
environments, including the ambient
atmosphere.
Many of these alloys are easily formed due
to high ductility;
thin aluminum foil sheet (of relatively pure
material) may be rolled.
Aluminum alloy products:
Bars, rods of all profiles
Sheets (cars, building facades..)
Extruded parts
Cast parts
Heat exchangers (e.g. car radiators)
Aircraft's..

..Too numerous to mention all

 Aluminum and Its Alloys

Aluminum has an FCC crystal structure,

its ductility is retained even at very low
temperatures.
The main limitation:
low melting temperature [660C],
restricts the maximum temperature at which it
can be used.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys

The mechanical strength of aluminum may

be enhanced by cold work and by alloying;
however, both processes tend to diminish
resistance to corrosion.
Principal alloying elements include copper,
magnesium, silicon, manganese, and zinc.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys
Non heat-treatable alloys consist of a single
phase,
for which an increase in strength is achieved by solid-
solution strengthening.
Rendered heat treatable
capable of being precipitation hardened as a result of
alloying.
In several of these alloys precipitation hardening is due
to the precipitation of two elements other than
aluminum, to form an intermetallic compound such as
MgZn2.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys
Designation of alloys

The numerical system consists of four digits

and corresponds to the registered designation
by the Aluminum Association, U.S.A.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys
Grouped into Wrought and Cast Alloys
Wrought Alloys mechanically worked to final shape
4 digits based on major alloying elements.
First digit: major group of alloying elements
Second digit: impurity limits
Last two digits: identify specific alloy
Cast Alloys cast to final shape
4 digits with a period between the third and fourth digit
Compositions optimized for casting and mechanical properties
Alloy designations sometimes preceded with A or AA
Also classified into heat-treatable and non-heat treatable
alloys
Heat treatable alloys are strengthened by precipitation hardening
Non-heat treatable alloys are used in the as-cast condition or can
be work hardened
 PURITIES OF ALUMINUM
Aluminum % Designation
>99.9990 Ultra purity

99.9960 99.9990 Extreme purity

99.950 99.9959 Supper purity

99.80 99.949 High purity

99.00 99.79 Commercial purity

 Chemical composition and applications of
commercially pure aluminum alloys
Alloy %Purity %Si %Fe %Cu Applications
1050 99.50 0.25 0.40 0.05 Coiled tubing,extruded
1060 99.60 0.25 0.35 0.05 Chemical
equipment;railroad tank
cars
1100 99.00 1.0 Si+Fe - 0.12nom. Sheet metal work;spun
hollow ware;fin stock
1145 99.45 0.55 Si+Fe - 0.05 Foil for capacitors;fin stock
1175 99.75 0.15 Si+Fe - 0.10 Reflector sheet
1200 99.00 1.0 Si+Fi - 0.05 Coiled tubing,
extruded;sheet metal work
1230 99.30 0.7 Si+Fe - 0.10 Cladding for sheets and
plates
1235 99.35 0.65 Si+Fe - 0.05 Foil for capacitors;tubing
1345 99.45 0.30 0.40 0.10 -
1350 99.50 0.10 0.40 0.05 Electrical conductors
 Pure Al is used in:
Electrical and electronics (overhead power lines are either Al or
Al reinforced with a steel or high tensile strength Al-alloy core)
Cook ware
Aluminum foil

Al wires

Steel core

Power line
 DESIGNATION OF ALUMINUM
CASTING ALLOYS

A000.A000
Temper Sup-designation

Temper designation
Hyphen delimeter
Decimal point delimeter
Alloy designation
Alloy group
Modification Prefix
 Wrought aluminum alloy groups
Aluminum, 99.00% Al and greater 1xxx
Aluminum alloys grouped by
major alloying elements Copper 2xxx
Si,with added Cu and or Mg 3xxx
Si 4xxx
Mg 5xxx
Zn 7xxx
Sn 8xxx
Other element 9xxx
Unused series 6xxx
 Cast aluminum alloy groups
Aluminum, 99.00% Al and greater 1xxx
Aluminum alloys grouped by
major alloying elements Copper
Cu 2xxx
Mn 3xxx
Si 4xxx
Mg 5xxx
Mg and Si 6xxx
Zn 7xxx
Other element 8xxx
Unused series 9xxx
 Non-heat treatable aluminum alloys
1xxx alloys : 99% Al + Fe + Si + 0.12% Cu
Tensile strength = 90 MPa
Used for sheet metals
3xxx alloys : Mn principle alloying element
AA3003 = AA1100 + 1.25% Mn
Tensile strength = 110 MPa
General purpose alloy
5xxx alloys: Al + up to 5% Mg
AA5052 = Al + 2.5%Mg + 0.2% Cr
Tensile strength = 193 MPa
Used in bus, truck and marine sheet metals.
 Heat treatable aluminum alloys
2xxx alloys : Al + Cu + Mg
AA2024 = Al + 4.5% Cu + 1.5% Mg +0.6%Mn
Strength = 442 MPa
Used for aircraft structures.
6xxx alloys: Al + Mg + Si
AA6061 = Al + 1% Mg + 0.6%Si + 0.3% Cu + 0.2%
Cr
Strength = 290 MPa
Used for general purpose structures.
7xxx alloys: Al + Zn + Mg + Cu
AA7075 = Al + 5.6% Zn + 2.5% Mg + 1.6% Cu +
0.25% Cr
Strength = 504 MPa
Used for aircraft structures.
Additional Designation of the state of the
Aluminium Alloy
Al alloys can be precipitation hardened
and work-hardened to different extents.

xxxx-F As fabricated, no special control

xxxx-W Solution heat-treated (used only on alloys that

naturally age harden)
xxxx-O Annealed (Wrought alloys only)

xxxx-H Strain hardened (cold worked to increase

strength), wrought alloys only
xxxx-T Thermally treated to produce effects other
than F, O, or H
Types of Strain Hardening and thermal
treatment
xxxx-H1 Strain hardened only

xxxx-H2 Strain hardened and partially

annealed

xxxx-H2 Strain hardened and stabilized

by low-temperature thermal
treatment
xxxx-H4 Strain hardened and lacquered
or painted
 Degree of Strain Hardening
The second digit indicate the degree of strain hardening
1 indicates smallest amount of cold-work and 8 indicates
maximum of cold work

xxxx-H_2 Quarter-hard

xxxx-H_4 Half-hard

xxxx-H_6 Three-quarters hard

xxxx-H_8 Full-hard
 Temper Designations

xxxx-T1 Cooled from a hot working temperature

and naturally aged
xxxx-T2 Cooled from an elevated temperature,
cold worked, and naturalled aged (means
annealed for cast products)
xxxx-T3 Furnace solution heat treated, quenched
and cold worked
xxxx-T4 Furnace solution heat treated, quenched,
and naturally aged
xxxx-T5 Quenched from a hot-work temperature
and furnace aged
 Temper Designations

xxxx-T6 Furnace solution heat treated quenched

and furnace aged
xxxx-T7 Furnace solution heat treated and
stabilized
xxxx-T8 Furnace solution heat treated, quenched,
cold worked, and furnace aged
xxxx-T9 Furnace solution heat treated, quenched,
furnace aged and cold-worked
xxxx-T10 Quenched from an elevated temperature
shaping process, cold worked, and
furnace aged

Other variations can be denoted by adding more digits after

these designations
 Examples

3003-H38: 3003 alloy cold finished to full

hard temper and stress relieved by a low
temperature treatment
6061-T6: 6061 alloy, solution heat treated
and furnace aged hardened.
Cast Aluminum Alloys
UNS A9 used to identify wrought aluminum alloys
UNS A0 used to identify cast aluminum alloys
 Aluminum and Its Alloys

For cast alloys,

a decimal point is located between the last two
digits.
After these digits is a hyphen and the basic
temper designation
a letter and possibly a one- to three-digit number,
which indicates the mechanical and/or heat
treatment to which the alloy has been subjected.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys
For example,
F, H, and O represent, respectively, the as-
fabricated, strain hardened, and annealed states;
T3 means that the alloy was solution heat treated,
cold worked, and then naturally aged (age
hardened).
T6 indicates a solution heat treatment followed by
artificial aging.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys

Some common applications of aluminum

alloys:
aircraft structural parts, beverage cans, bus
bodies, and automotive parts (engine blocks,
pistons, and manifolds).
 Aluminum and Its Alloys
Recent attention has been given to alloys of
aluminum and other low-density metals (e.g., Mg
and Ti)
as engineering materials for transportation, to effect
reductions in fuel consumption.
An important characteristic of these materials is
specific strength,
which is quantified by the tensile strengthspecific
gravity ratio.
Even though an alloy of one of these metals may have a
tensile strength that is inferior to a more dense material
(such as steel), on a weight basis it will be able to
sustain a larger load.
 Aluminum and Its Alloys
A generation of new aluminumlithium alloys have been
developed recently for use by the aircraft and aerospace
industries.
These materials have
relatively low densities (between about 2.5 and 2.6 g/cm3),
high specific moduli (elastic modulus specific gravity ratios),
and excellent fatigue and low-temperature toughness properties.
some of them may be precipitation hardened.
However, these materials are
more costly to manufacture than the conventional aluminum alloys
because special processing techniques are required as a result of
lithiums chemical reactivity.
 Classification of Aluminum Alloys
Heat-Treatable Alloys Non-Heat-Treatable Alloys
Can obtain increased Strengthened by work-
strength levels through hardening and solid solution
precipitation hardening strengthening
Typical hardening additions Elements such as manganese,
include copper, magnesium, silicon, iron and magnesium
zinc and silicon are typical solid-solution
These additions show hardening agents
increasing solid solubility Alloys of this type include the
with increasing temperature 1000, 3000, 4000 and 5000
Alloys of this type include the series
2000, 6000 and 7000 series
 Some Applications of Aluminum Alloys
Heat-Treatable Alloys Non-Heat-Treatable Alloys
2014 Hydraulic fittings for 1060 Chem Processing Tanks
aircraft and automotive 1100 Architectural
2036 6009 Automotive Body 3003 General Purpose, Tanks
2219 tanks 5052 Sheet Applications
6061 Structural
6101 Electrical Conductors
7075 High Strength Aircraft
 Non-Heat Treatable Alloys
Temper Designations
Designation Description Application
O Annealed, Lowest Strength, High ductility
Recrystalized
F As Fabricated Fabrication with no special control over thermal or strain
hardening
H1 Strain Hardened Strain hardened without subsequent anneal
H2 Strain Hardened Strain hardened more than the desired amount and then
& Annealed partially annealed to strength
H3 Strain Hardened Strain hardened and low temp stabilization treatment to prevent
& Stabilized age softening
 Heat Treatable Alloys
Temper Designations
Designation Description Application
O Annealed, Lowest Strength, High ductility
Recrystalized
F As Fabricated Fabrication with no special control over thermal or strain
hardening
W Solution Heat Unstable temper application with subsequent period of natural
Treatment age
T1 Cooled and naturally aged
T2 Cooled, cold worked & Naturally aged
T3 Solution heat treated, cold worked & naturally aged
T4 Solution heat treated & naturally aged
T5 Cooled and artificially aged
T6 Solution heat treated and Stabilized
T7 Solution heat treated, stabilized to provide special property
T8 Solution heat treated, cold worked, artificially aged
T9 Solution heat treated, artificially aged, then cold worked
T10 Cooled, cold worked, then artificially aged

Note: Employing These Various Treatments Can Produce Aluminum Alloys

With A Wide Range of Mechanical Properties
Mechanical and Physical Properties of
Some Automotive Alloys

[Reference: Guidelines to Resistance Spot Welding Aluminum

Automotive Sheet, p.4, The Aluminum Association]
 Influence of Precipitation Heat Treatment on
Tensile Strength (TS), %EL
2014 Al Alloy:
TS peak with precipitation time. %EL reaches minimum
Increasing T accelerates with precipitation time.
process.
tensile strength (MPa)

30

%EL (2 in sample)
400
20
300
149C 10
200 204C 149C
204C
100 0
1min 1h 1day 1mo 1yr 1min 1h 1day 1mo 1yr
precipitation heat treat time precipitation heat treat time
 Alloys that experience significant
precipitation hardening at room temp,
after short periods must be quenched
to and stored under refrigerated
conditions.
Several aluminum alloys that are
used for rivets exhibit this behavior.
They are driven while still soft, then
allowed to age harden at the normal
room temperature.
Several stages in the formation of the equilibrium
PPT (q) phase.
(a) supersaturated a solid solution;
(b) transition (q) PPT phase;
(c) equilibrium q phase within the a matrix phase.
 Precipitation Hardening
Particles impede dislocation motion.
Ex: Al-Cu system 700
T(C) L CuAl2
Procedure:
-- Pt A: solution heat treat
600 a+L a q+L
A
(get a solid solution) 500 q
-- Pt B: quench to room temp. C a+q
400
(retain a solid solution)
-- Pt C: reheat to nucleate 300
small q particles within 0 B 10 20 30 40 50
(Al) wt% Cu
a phase. composition range
available for precipitation hardening

Temp. At room temperature the stable state

Pt A (solution heat treat) of an aluminum-copper alloy is an
aluminum-rich solid solution () and
an intermetallic phase with a
tetragonal crystal structure having
Pt C (precipitate q) nominal composition CuAl2 ().

Time
Pt B
 PRECIPITATION STRENGTHENING

Hard precipitates are difficult to shear.

Ex: Ceramics in metals (SiC in Iron or Aluminum).

1
Result: y ~
S
24
 Aging
Aging either at room or elevated temperature after the quenching
process is used to produce the desired final product property
combinations.
The underlying metallurgical phenomenon in the aging process is
precipitation hardening. Due to the small size of the precipitate
particles, early understanding was hampered by the lack of
sufficiently powerful microscopes to actually see them.
The difference between age hardening and heat ageing is here very
clear. Due to improved diffusion conditions is the strength increase
in the case of heat ageing much faster than in the case of age
hardening. The strength maximum is also reached considerably
earlier. The lower the ageing temperature, the higher the resulting
values of yield stress and tensile strength. If a low ageing
temperature is selected, the ageing time as well as the incubation
time become extremely long.
Effects of Temperature

Characteristics of a 2014 aluminum

alloy (0.9 wt% Si, 4.4 wt% Cu, 0.8
wt% Mn, 0.5 wt% Mg) at 4 different
aging temperatures.
 Aluminum
Aluminum is light weight,
but engineers want to
improve the strength for
high performance
applications in automobiles
and aerospace.
To improve strength, they
use precipitation
hardening.

Age-hardening heat treatment phase diagram

 Quenching
Quenching is the second step in
the process.
Its purpose is to retain the
dissolved alloying elements in
solution for subsequent
precipitation hardening.
Generally the more rapid the
quench the better, from a
properties standpoint, but this
must be balanced against the
concerns of part distortion and
residual stress if the quench is
non-uniform.
Changes in Microstructure due to quenching
 CUTTING OF ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
Aluminium cannot be cut using oxy fuel processes because of the formation of
aluminium oxide but the plasma cutting process is widely used, primarily because of its
high-speed capability. Since extremely high temperatures are generated in plasma cutting
care must be taken to keep the heat input as low as practically possible to minimise the
heat damage to the alloy. The non heat treatable alloys cut quite cleanly without cracking
but the heat treatable alloys can develop intergranular shrinkage cracks. These cracks can
be 2 3 mm deep and must be removed by a mechanical trimming cut. The plasma
cutting process uses ionised air to make the cut so a layer of oxide is left on the cut
surface and must be removed prior to welding.
Thicker sections can be sawn and a wood cutting band saw is a very suitable tool for this.
High-speed circular saws and portable jig saws can also be used successfully for cutting
aluminium but in all cases lubrication in the form of mineral oil is needed, especially for
thick work. These methods give a sufficiently clean edge for welding after final cleaning.
High-speed routers, planers and edge millers are useful tools for profiling and edge
preparation.
Grinding disks should not be used for final cleaning of aluminium as they are made from
corundum which is aluminium oxide ~ exactly the contamination which the cleaning
process is intended to remove. Grinding disks may be used in the early stages of
cleaning, for example to remove sand contamination from a casting prior to cosmetic
repair but the final clean should use a tungsten carbide burr on a high speed electric or air
powered tool.
 Aluminum Welding Techniques
The following differences are important for aluminium welding:
- considerably lower melting point compared with steel
- three times higher heat conductivity
- considerably lower electrical resistance
- double expansion coefficient
-melting point of Al203 considerably higher than that of Al; metal
and iron oxide melt approximately at the same temperature.

If a comparison should be based on an identical stiffness, then the

aluminium supporting beam has a 1.44 times larger cross-section
than the steel beam, however only about 50% of its weight.
 Isothermal Curves of Steel and Al
With aluminium, the temperature gradient around the welding point
is considerably smaller than with steel. Although the peak
temperature during Al welding is about 900C below steel, the
isothermal curves around the welding point have a clearly larger
extension. This is due to the considerably higher heat conductivity of
aluminium compared with steel.
This special characteristic of Al requires a input heat volume during
welding equivalent to steel.
 Aluminum preheating
Preheating of aluminium and its alloys is necessary, if no
sufficient penetration can be obtained, due to the high thermal
conductivity of the material.
It has to be pointed that the oxide layers at the joint edges shall
not become too thick due of too long preheating times or O2-
excess in the heating gas.
Standard values for preheating temperature and preheating time for
welding of aluminium wrought alloys are presented in the table
bellow:
In order to ensure penetration of the weld start a temperature of
100 C is often adequate for the thinner materials up to
approximately 8 mm thick. Large or intricate castings should
be heated to 350 400 C to ensure that the welding
temperature is attained and then slow cooled to minimize the
danger of stress cracking. Care must, however be taken to
ensure that the preheat temperature and heat input are not too
high otherwise the weld puddle will be difficult to control.
Stress cracking can be minimized by lowering the heat input,
using small (1,6 mm) filler rod and tungsten electrode and by
using pulsed welding.
Typically heat input values of 0,8 1,6 kJ / mm are adequate
with the lower end of the range being used on the thinner
materials.
The weldability of aluminium alloys is defined as the resistance to
hot cracking. We distinguish between two types of cracks depending
on the mechanism responsible for cracking and the crack location,
namely:
-solidification cracking
and
-liquation cracking.
-The first ones occur within the fusion zone and depend on the
solidification characteristic (chemical composition of the material
etc.).
Liquation cracking predominantly occurs in the heat affected zone
(HAZ) and is caused by melting, or liquation of eutectic phases or
constituents having low melting points (melting points below the
melting point of the bulk material) with the simultaneous occurrence
of thermal stresses.
Influencing parameters: composition and microstructure of base
material.
To avoid hot cracking, partly very different preheat temperatures are
recommended for the alloys.
Another major problem during Al welding is the strong porosity of the
welded joint. Porosity is based on the interplay of several characteristics
and hard to suppress. Pores in Al are mostly formed by hydrogen, which
is driven out of the weld pool during solidification.
Solubility of hydrogen in aluminium changes abruptly on the phase
transition melt-crystal, i.e. the melt dissolves many times more
of the hydrogen than the just forming crystal at the same temperature.
This leads to a surplus of hydrogen in the melt due to the crystallisation
during solidification. This surplus precipitates in form of a gas bubble at
the solidifying front. As the melting point of Al is very low and Al has a
very high heat conductivity, the solidification speed of Al is relatively
high. As a result, in the melt ousted gas bubbles have often nochance to
rise all the way to the surface. Instead,they are passed by the solidifying
front and remain inthe weld metal as pores. To suppress such pore
formation it is therefore necessary to minimise the hydrogen content in
the melt.
Aluminum alloys are highly susceptible to hydrogen porosity
during fusion welding. Sources of hydrogen include water, die and
rolling lubricants, and air. Hydrogen dissolves readily into the Al
molten weld pool and produces gas pores upon solidification as
shown in the next figure.
Hydrogen porosity can be avoided by using proper gas shielding during welding,
keeping the aluminum clean and dry, and avoiding temperature fluctuations that lead
to condensation. All aluminium alloys have a thin but tenacious surface oxide. This
oxide layer can be removed mechanically or chemically, but it immediately reforms.
The essentially instantaneous thickness is about 15, but the subsequent growth rate
decreases so that on normal metal the oxide thickness may be 25-50A. (1 angstrom
[] = 1.0 10-10 meters)
While the oxide layer is extremely thin, it is sufficient to protect the metal against
further oxidation as well as most corrosive attacks. For extra protection or for certain
other benefits, such as decorative coatings, the surface may be anodized to produce
much greater thicknesses (1000 times or more). Thermally treated metal also has a
thicker oxide.
The oxide is very hard, being the hardest material after diamond. For this reason
aluminum oxide is often used for the grit in grinding wheels. The melting point of
the oxide is 2500C), which is about 4 times that of aluminum. The oxide is
relatively stable and chemically inert; fluxes to remove it normally contain chloride
and fluoride compounds and consequently pose a continuing corrosion hazard to the
metal if not completely removed after joining.
The oxide is an electrical insulator. Normal oxide thicknesses are
not sufficient to prevent initiation of an electric welding arc, but
anodizing may produce a film thickness that prohibits arc welding
The surface of aluminium oxide is quite porous, and it can retain
moisture or contaminants that may result in weld porosity. This is
especially true of alloys containing magnesium because
magnesium oxide or magnesium-aluminium oxide readily
hydrates. Thus, it is good practice to keep aluminum clean and dry
and to avoid temperature fluctuations that lead to condensation.
Metal stored in the presence of high humidity and fluctuating
temperatures may grow a thick oxide called a "water stain." This
thick, contaminated oxide should be removed prior to welding
since it can introduce hydrogen and other contaminants into the
weld pool.
 Aluminum Welding Techniques
Aluminium alloys are often welded with consumable of
the same type, however, quite often over-alloyed
consumables are used to compensate burn-off losses
(especially with Mg and Zn because of their low boiling
point) and to improve the mechanical properties of the
seam.
Main welding processes:
MIG Welding (Metal Inert Gas)- supplies power to wire
fed through the center of gas cone, heat and filler are the
same.
TIG Welding (Tungsten Inert Gas) separates the heat
source from the filler material.
 For joining of aluminium cast parts there are generally
pressure welding processes as friction welding, friction
stir welding or spot welding as well as fusion welding
processes such as MIG, TIG, plasma or laser and
electron beam welding.
The main problem in particular during fusion welding of
cast pieces is the high gas content and therefore the high
porosity of the material.
The hydrogen included in the die cast part expands
during welding so that pores with a with high volume are
generated.
EN ISO 9692-3 gives details regarding joint preparation
and recommended welding processes.
 MIG Welding
Shield gas is 100% Argon
Faster than regular steel MIG welding, due
to the higher thermal conductivity
Material must be very clean for effective
weld
Good for long runs and heavy material
Possible sources of hydrogen during MIG welding of Al.
 MIG welding is preferred for thicker sections [over 75 mm] and where high
productivity is needed for economic reasons. MIG welding can deposit up to
about 4,5 kg per hour with weld travel speeds of 500 1000 mm per minute.
A disadvantage of the MIG welding process are that control of penetration is
difficult and edge welds are not possible. Butt, fillet and lap joints are the most
common configurations for MIG welding.
MIG advantages over TIG are greater penetration depths, narrower HAZs and
one-handed semi-automatic welding. MIG weld joint quality compared to TIG
welding gives better strength, penetration (especially into the root of fillet
welds), corrosion resistance, durability and finish appearance and less
distortion. MIG welding is easier to learn than TIG.
MIG welding speeds are about twice that of TIG, and higher for thick section
welding. High speeds result in fast cooling of the weld area, which minimizes
distortion. High speeds and fast cooling of the weld area prevent mechanical
properties of the joint from being reduced as much as they are by slower
welding. Speed means corrosion resistance of the base metal in the HAZ is not
reduced as much by MIG as by TIG.
 TIG Welding
Shield Gas mostly Argon, Helium or Ar-He mixtures
Electrode usually tungsten
Similar Brazing or soldering
Cleans surface while welding, less preparation than for
MIG
Slower than MIG
Good for thin metal, seals better than MIG, and usually
more attractive depending on the welder
 TIG welding is generally preferred for light gauge work up to
6 mm and for pipe work and intricate assemblies where
excellent control over weld appearance and penetration is
possible.
Thicker material can be welded using TIG, but the very high
currents needed, together with the very slow welding speeds
required, render the process uneconomic for thick materials
(> 12,5 mm). Butt, fillet, lap and edge welds can be carried
out using TIG welding.
TIG welding is preferred for repair welding of castings, but
MIG is preferred when welding castings to sheet and plate
and extrusions.
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