What do you know about the types of tungsten electrodes

Adding rare earth oxide to tungsten metal to stimulate its electron work, the welding performance of tungsten electrode can be improved: the arc starting performance of electrode is better, the stability of arc column is higher, and the electrode burning rate is smaller. Common rare earth additives include cerium oxide, lanthanum oxide, zirconia, yttrium oxide and thorium oxide.

The tungsten electrode is made of materials with high melting point, corrosion resistance, high density, good thermal conductivity and conductivity. Tungsten electrodes are widely used for welding in their properties. Because of the characteristics of tungsten, it is very suitable for TIG welding and other electrode materials similar to this kind of work.

1.Cerium tungsten electrode

Cerium oxide is added into tungsten to produce cerium tungsten electrode

Non radiation,low melting rate,long welding life,good arcing performance. Therefore, Ce-W is the best substitute for Th-W in low current welding environment.

Ce-W electrode is mainly used in low current DC welding.

Cerium tungsten has excellent arc starting performance at low current, so it has become the standard of most rail pipe welding equipment manufacturers. In addition, it is also used in other low current applications, such as small parts welding.

Cerium tungsten is not suitable for high current applications, because in this condition, the oxide will quickly move to the high heat zone, that is, the top of the electrode welding, which will damage the uniformity of the oxide. Therefore, the above benefits due to the uniform distribution of the oxide will no longer exist.

2.La-w electrode

Lanthanum oxide is added into tungsten to produce lanthanum tungsten electrode

Better mechanical cutting performance,better creep resistance ,higher recrystallization temperature . better ductility.

La-w electrode is the most popular electrode material in the world, especially the la-w electrode with 1.5% content (different from 2.0%).

3.Thorium tungsten electrode

Thorium oxide was doped into tungsten to produce thorium tungsten electrode

Lower electronic function.higher crystallization temperature,better conductivity,better mechanical cutting performance.

Thorium tungsten electrode is a kind of widely used tungsten electrode material. It has better welding performance than pure tungsten, so it is widely used in the field of DC welding.

The thorium tungsten electrode is easy to operate and can work well even under overload current.