Advantages / Disadvantages of GTAW
Advantages:
• High quality welds for suitable applications
• No spatter because no filler metal through arc
• Little or no post-weld cleaning because no flux
Disadvantages:
• Generally slower and more costly than consumable electrode AW processes
Plasma Arc Welding (PAW)
Special form of GTAW in which a constricted plasma arc is directed at weld area
• Tungsten electrode is contained in a nozzle that focuses a high velocity stream of inert
gas (argon) into arc region to form a high velocity, intensely hot plasma arc stream
• Temperatures in PAW reach 28,000C (50,000F), due to constriction of arc, producing a
plasma jet of small diameter and very high energy density