TIG Finger Display Project

I am going to a trade show soon.

I have wanted to get my TIG fingers into local welding supplies for a while now but didn’t really know how to do that so I an hoping that attending a certain trade show will give me some insights on doing that.

So what I am doing in this video is making a prototype of a Point of purchase display for that show.

i used .090" thick 5052 aluminum and welded it using 3/32" 5356 filler rod.

I tacked it with 1/16" diameter 5356 so that the tack welds would be small enough to consume when I welded it out with 3/32".

I welded it with a primeweld TIG325x tig welder with AC frequency set at 200hz. I used a #7 furick pro clear cup with 20-25 cfh argon along with 3/32" diameter 2% lanthanated tungsten.

Amperage was set to 100 and at times I was full pedal.

I like to experiment with different AC frequency settings and even though I prefer to weld at 70-120 hz due to the high pitched noise that higher frequency makes, I notice that the bead seems to be more controllable at the higher frequency settings.

For example, in the short video below I compared 60hz to 300 hz and the 300hz weld was definitely more uniform and seemed to actually weld faster.

The thing you have to consider when you set higher frequencies is that you generally need more amperage than you would use at 60hz settings.

My plan is to take this prototype into my local welding supply and get their feedback on it..

Is it too big? Too small? Would they put this display on their counter? Etc.

I would probably get some props like wood blocks for a job like this but since its a point of purchase display for TIG fingers, I will use a tig finger to prop for all the welds.