The TIP TIG
Welding Process

TIP TIG is a hot wire TIG welding process. A separate low-voltage power source heats the filler wire close to its melting point before it enters the weld pool, while a four-drive-roll system mechanically oscillates the wire. The result is peak deposition rates around 4 kg/hr (8.8 lbs/hr) — roughly 12× the deposition rate of conventional cold-wire TIG — while keeping heat input the lowest of any wire-fed welding process. It runs on 100 % argon, works on all weldable metals, and welds in all positions.

Conventional TIG feeds a cold filler wire that chills the weld pool and forces slow travel. TIP TIG's hot wire arrives near its melting temperature, so it flows immediately into the pool and improves wetting instead of cooling it. Peak deposition jumps from about 0.3 kg/hr (0.7 lbs/hr) to about 4 kg/hr (8.8 lbs/hr), and travel speeds increase 100–300 % depending on material. No secondary arc forms, so the tungsten still controls the primary arc.

MIG deposits fast but at high heat input, with real risks of lack of fusion, spatter, porosity, and distortion — especially on sluggish alloys like duplex or super-duplex. TIP TIG matches typical MIG deposition rates while keeping TIG-grade fusion quality: no spatter, no cold laps, no CO₂ shielding. Distortion stays low, and welds are radiographic-quality on the first pass on stainless steel, duplex, Inconel, titanium, and clad joints.

All metals TIG can weld: carbon and low-alloy steels, stainless steel (including duplex and super-duplex), nickel alloys (Inconel, Hastelloy, Monel), titanium, Invar 36, aluminum, copper, and specialty overlays. TIP TIG is deployed in nuclear (thin-wall stainless), aerospace (titanium, Invar), LNG (9 % Ni steel), hydrogen (austenitic and duplex), petrochemical, orbital pipe welding, and weld overlay cladding.

Heat input drives distortion, residual stress, and — in corrosion-resistant alloys — sensitization and loss of chemistry. Lower heat means tighter dimensional tolerance (less rework), preserved corrosion resistance in duplex and stainless steel, narrower heat-affected zones, and reduced risk of hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength steels. TIP TIG delivers the lowest heat input of any wire-fed welding process — a critical advantage for code-driven work.

No. TIP TIG feeds the wire mechanically, so the operator manages torch angle and travel — not manual wire dip. Existing TIG welders learn TIP TIG in hours. Operators without deep TIG experience can produce X-ray-quality welds after basic training. This directly reduces the skilled-labor bottleneck that limits manual TIG capacity in the pipeline, LNG, and clad-overlay sectors.