insulation to keep the heat in.
are you trying to make a 3/8" deep weld? may be hard to do with only 200A and rather large heat sink. you should be able to get enough puddle to join the tube though... i'm no expert, but from the AL i've done thus far with my ESAB 161, you need lots of amps above 1/4" thickness, especially if the piece is large and removes heat quickly.
Hello to the group.
>
> I am trying to TIG weld a machined flange to some aluminum tubing. The
> tubing is 2-1/4" OD with a wall thickness of 3/8" and I am having trouble
> trying to weld it with a 200 Amp machine. It seems I can barely form a weld
> puddle. I have even tried pre-heating with a torch. It is 6061-T6 aluminum.
> I assume that the aluminum is just drawing the heat away too fast. My
> question is do any of you folks have any suggestions to keep the heat from
> transferring down the tube so quick or do I just need more current to
> sucessfully weld it?
>
> Any suggestions are appreciated.
>
>