TIG Welding

Any parts of this product which have required joining (particularly the stainless steel frame of the steam shower trays) have been expertly TIG welded to ensure long lasting and top quality welds leading to a top spec product.

What is TIG Welding?

Tungsten Inert Gas welding (also known as ‘Gas Tungsten Arc Welding’) is a welding technique which uses gases such as Argon and Helium, or a mixture of the two, to join two pieces of metal together. These particular gasses, with this technique, ensure a faster and deeper weld which penetrates the metal further leading to a more solid weld.

The TIG welding method became popular and useful in the early 1940s and, as a result, has greatly propelled the use of aluminium for welding and structural processes. TIG welding is commonly used for both high quality and manual welding.

During the process of TIG welding, an arc is formed between a pointed tungsten electrode and the area to be welded. As a result of the gas shield, a clean weld is formed. This prevents oxidization from occurring.

There are a number of welding joins including:

• Butt Joint -
  Two pieces of metal are welded together along the seems
• Lap Joint -
  Two pieces of metal overlap are joined on top of one another
• Corner Joint –
  Two pieces of metal are held at a 90 degree angle and joined along the seem
• T-Joint -
  Required a filler rod, on piece of metal is placed on top of another with a 90 degree angle at either side (forming a T shape)

Why Stainless Steel?

Steel is well known for its strength and durability however, there are a number of different types of steel including crucible steel, carbon steel and of course stainless steel.

Stainless steel, also known as 'inox steel' and 'corrosion resistant steel' (CRES), consists of between 10.5% and 11% chromium by mass. Carbon steel rusts when exposed to air and moisture. This iron oxide film (the rust) is active and accelerates corrosion by forming more iron oxide. Stainless steels contain sufficient chromium to form a passive film of chromium oxide, which prevents further surface corrosion and blocks corrosion from spreading into the metal's internal structure.

This makes stainless steel perfect for the construction of many of our bathroom appliances frames as it is just as strong as standard steel but it never corrodes, so it wont rust or oxidise meaning it will last (almost)  forever.

Further Reading

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-tig-welding.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_tungsten_arc_welding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel