Welding Basics

The Orion is a true micro pulse arc welder. It is also a capacitive discharge resistance welder. This
combination of abilities allows for infinite creative possibilities. The Orion can be used as a tack welder
to temporarily position parts before welding or soldering. By increasing the power output it can also be
used as a permanent fusion welder (resistance welder, spot welder). In its pulse arc setting the Orion
can be used to perform permanent welds, add metal, and do a variety of other amazing and time saving
applications.

What is a Pulse Arc Welder?

A pulse(d) arc welder is a special case of a Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welder. In TIG
welding a sharpened tungsten electrode is used in combination with electrical
power to start and sustain an high temperature plasma stream - an arc. This
plasma arc is used as a heat source to melt the work piece metal. Filler metal
can also be added to build up joints and create strong and reliable weld “bead”
or weld seams.

TIG welders can use AC or DC energy to initiate the plasma arc. Sunstone Engineering has chosen to
build on our extensive experience with DC welding technology. The Orion uses industrial capacitive
discharge technology to produce both the pulse arc weld. AC wall voltage can vary up to 20% during the
day. Capacitive welders have the advantage over AC technologies of precisely storing energy before the
welding process. This means that the Orion will produce a repeatable weld independent of AC power
fluctuations.

The Orion pulse arc welder is a micro TIG welder and allows extremely fine control over all welding
parameters. This control allows everything from ring re-tipping to seam welds in moderately sizes steel
work pieces. Combine the Orion’s simple and user friendly LCD interface with its advanced features
make ideas come to life.

What is resistance welding (also called tack, fusion and spot welding)

Resistance welding, often called tack or fusion welding in the jewelry industry,
takes place using a very different process from that of TIG welding. In resistance
welding a large electrical current is passed through two work pieces to join them.
At the contact point between the two materials there is a resistance to the flow of
the electrical current. As electrical current is passed through this contact point resistive heating takes
place. When enough current passes through the work pieces the temperature (especially at the
interface between the two pieces) can become hot enough to melt the metal in a spot. The terms
resistance welder and spot welder are descriptive of this process.

If you limit the amount of power and electrical current going into the weld you can create a temporary
or weak weld called a “tack” weld. Tack welding is very useful in jewelry making. It provides the ability
to temporarily position a part before permanent welding. This ability opens a multitude of creative
possibilities. It also helps eliminate the need for complicated binding or clamping of parts before
permanent welding or soldering.

Permanent resistance welding is also useful in jewelry making. The Orion can weld ear posts and wires,
tie tacks, catches, domed parts, joints pins, bolo backs and much more. Because the heart of the Orion
is also an industrial capacitive resistance welder numerous everything from one time pieces to
production welding is possible.

Why is protective welding gas necessary?

During the pulse arc welding process high temperature plasma quickly melts metal
into a molten pool at the weld location. If room air is allowed to come into contact
with the molten metal, oxygen from the air will quickly react with the hot metal.
The result is an metal oxide that is brittle, porous and burnt looking.

If we use a protective weld gas, such as pure Argon (99.9% pure, Argon 4.6) we can
prevent these effects. The argon is used to displace any oxygen at the weld
location. As the arc performed the protective gas acts as a barrier to prevent oxygen from entering the
weld zone. After the weld has cooled the protective gas is turned off.

Using the Orion pulse arc welding stylus

The Orion pulse arc welding stylus has been designed for ease of use. Touch the
stylus electrode gently and lightly to the weld surface. In automatic trigger mode
the Orion will then start the welding process for the user by pre-flowing protective
gas (argon). Just before the Orion is about to make a weld it will sound an audible
beep alert. Removing the electrode from the work piece before or during this beep will abort the
welding process. If the weld is allowed to continue the arc will be initiated. During the welding process
the stylus electrode is automatically retracted to prevent electrode contamination of the work piece.

Most users can become proficient on the Orion pulse arc welding stylus after a few minutes of practice.
We recommend performing a series of practice welds on some stainless steel or titanium material (or
what ever is available). These welds will help the new user learn the tip pressure requirements, the use
of gas flow, and a range of power settings available. In the Orion Master Jeweler Plus the user can select
a tip retract preference to better match contact pressure preference.

During welding your hands should be kept steady. Shaky hands may distort the finish of your weld. Rest
your hands on a surface to We highly recommend a pulse arc welding stylus stand or the use of the
stereo-microscope to help overcome shaky hands.

Practical considerations before welding

To help make your welding project successful we recommend that you consider and follow these steps:

1. Consider the physical properties of the materials to be welded

2. Practice welding on a parts with similar size and composition (until you feel comfortable)

3. Consider the joint and part to be welded

4. Use the Metal Information Table as a guide

Consider physical properties

Different metals and alloys can respond quite differently during the welding process. To help determine
the correct starting parameters it is helpful to understand some physical properties associated with the
metal. For example does this material conduct heat away quickly (high thermal conductivity). If so you
may need to start with more energy to get the same spot size as a less conductive material. Does the
material have a low melting temperature? If so you may need to turn down the power but extend the
time of the weld. Adding to much weld current (directly related to the power setting) to a low melting
temperature metal may cause it to vaporize.

After a short time welding on a variety of metals the user will gain an intuition about selecting a weld
setting. It is always advisable when welding a new material to start with very low power and work
upward as needed.

Practice on similar sized material

Work piece volume can play a large role on weld properties. Practice on a test piece of similar size and
geometry to help find the exact settings desired. During your practice welds phase hold the work piece
with a welding attachment and not directly with your fingers. This will help you get a feel for the final
temperature of the part. The temperature of the work piece will depend of material properties -
especially the volume of the work piece vs. the amount of weld energy. If the piece is large its overall
temperature will likely stay low, regardless of the weld energy. If the work piece is small and the energy
input is small (e.g. micro mode) its temperature will also stay low.
Consider the joint and part to be welded

Remember that some materials, such as solder, perform poorly when welded with the pulse arc setting.
If your joint contains solder you should remove it prior to welding. If your joint has cracked you may
consider adding filler material out past the cracked area to restore metal strength. Consider the type of
joint (I, X, V, Y etc.) and plan to use an appropriately sized filler wire if needed.

Metal Information Table

Power vs. time adjustment

The Orion Master Jeweler and Master Jeweler Plus allow the user a great deal of
flexibility to control the penetration and size of the pulse arc weld spot. The power
adjustment control can be generally through of as a control of spot size while the time
adjustment can be through of as weld penetration. In addition power can also be
considered a measure of welding current and heat. The time can be considered the
time that welding current or heat is applied.

Because the Orion is based on a capacitive discharge resistance welder the welding
output pulse will have a smooth welding current decay. The pulse will start with a peek
current which will decay to a final weld current value. The curve will look very similar
to a triangle. If the weld pulse is allowed to decay fully to its low state the actual weld
will look smooth. This decay behavior allows the weld pool to solidify more slowly and
provides an extremely fine, smooth finish. If the weld pulse (and time) are short the
pulse will approximate a square shape. The weld current will rise quickly and stay
relatively constant and then stop. This type of square pulse behavior is an excellent
choice when the weld electrode must be placed at a shallow angle. The square pulse (short weld time)
provides a stable arc as the weld electrode is retracted.

The welding electrode

The Orion pulse arc welding stylus can accept two electrode diameters, 0.5mm
and 1.0 mm. Weld current is related to the diameter of the welding electrode.
For small, low power welds, especially in micro-mode, use 0.5mm electrodes.
For welds all the way from the low to high power the 1.0mm electrode is preferred.