Know the Different Types of Tungsten Electrodes and Their Color Codes

One of the popular types of welding is Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding that uses the tungsten electrodes for joining different kinds of metals. In the overall process, the primary component is the tungsten electrode because it offers the current required to form the arc. Among all the materials of electrodes, the tungsten is preferred due to its resistance to high temperatures and its hardness.

Today, welders have a variety of choices for selecting tungsten electrode. For making this decision easier, a welder needs to consider the thickness of the base material, the type of current used, whether AC or DC and how the electrodes are prepared. It is easy to pick the right one for the welders as tungsten electrodes are available in color codes. So, let’s see some common choices and their color codes:

Pure, Green

For beginners, pure tungsten is ideal to use with AC current and not with DC. These electrodes are 99.5% tungsten and that makes the welders able to ball easily. Due to its ball tip shade, this electrode is good with arc stability.

Thoriated, Red

This electrode has 97.3% pure tungsten and 1.7-2.2% thorium oxide. One of the reasons that make it suitable for arc welding is its increased current carrying ability. The key advantages of using this electrode are:

• Easy to use
• Lasts a long time
• Low consumption rate
• Results in less contamination during the process

These electrodes are best for nickel alloys, non-corroding steels, copper alloys and titanium alloys.

Rare-earth, Grey

Rare-earth tungsten material is available with several additives like hybrid combinations of oxides or rare-earth. The performance of electrodes is based on these additives. It’s the best alternative to thoriated type as it boasts the same level of performance properties and these are best suited for DC welding applications. These are perfect for welding magnesium alloys, copper alloys, non-corrosive steels, aluminum alloys, low-alloyed steels and nickel alloys.

Zirconiated, Brown

Zirconiated tungsten electrode contains 99.1% pure tungsten and 0.15-0.4% Zirconium. This electrode has the ability to maintain balled tips and therefore, it is ideal for AC welding. The high-current carrying ability of this electrode establishes an extremely stable arc. High amperages will also be handled by this electrode in an effective manner.

Lanthanated, Gold

These electrodes comprise 97.8% tungsten and 1.3-1.7% lanthanum and the best to use with DC or constant current power sources that are transformer based. Some features that make this electrode a good choice are:

• Impressive re-ignition properties
• Great arc starting and stability
• Low burn-off rate

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Created on Dec 11th 2018 23:14. Viewed 620 times.

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