Abstract In recent years, a new variant of the GTAW process, commercially named TopTIG, has attracted interest in the industrial sector due to the possibility of increasing productivity and facilitating automated operation. In this technology, the main component is a special welding torch that allows the insertion of a wire tangentially, in a region closer to the tungsten electrode when compared to traditional torches in the GTAW process. In addition, the wire guide is incorporated into the nozzle, making the torch more compact, facilitating operation using an anthropomorphic robot. In a context where automation is desirable to increase productivity even in the most complex manufacturing processes, the use of this new variant as an alternative to facilitate the development of pipeline orbital welding procedures was investigated. The research was conducted to develop procedures for the root and fill passes using 304L stainless steel tubes, with a diameter of 305 mm and thickness of 12.7 mm. In the root pass welding the Keyhole technique of welding was used. The results showed that this technology allows an increase in welding speed and melt rate of wire up to twice in the welding of the root pass compared to other studies found in the literature which use GTAW techniques with larger insertion angles. Therefore, wire feed speeds of approximately 4 m min−1 and welding speeds of up to 0.5 m min−1 were used. The study highlighted the challenges inherent to the robotic application of the GTAW process for orbital welding, especially in relation to the root pass. However, for the envisaged field application of the technology, further robustness oriented welding procedure development must be undertaken, since the process is still sensitive to geometric variations typically found in joint connecting pipes.

中文翻译：

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toptig技术应用于304L管道机器人轨道焊接的评价

摘要 近年来，商业上命名为 TopTIG 的 GTAW 工艺的新变体由于提高生产率和促进自动化操作的可能性而引起了工业部门的兴趣。在这项技术中，主要部件是一个特殊的焊枪，与 GTAW 工艺中的传统焊枪相比，它允许在更靠近钨电极的区域切向插入焊丝。此外，喷嘴内装有导丝器，使割炬更加紧凑，便于使用拟人机器人进行操作。在即使在最复杂的制造过程中也需要自动化来提高生产率的背景下，研究了使用这种新变体作为促进管道轨道焊接程序开发的替代方法。该研究旨在开发使用直径为 305 毫米、厚度为 12.7 毫米的 304L 不锈钢管进行根部和填充通道的程序。在根部焊道焊接中，使用了 Keyhole 焊接技术。结果表明，与文献中使用具有更大插入角的 GTAW 技术的其他研究相比，该技术允许在根部焊道的焊接中将焊丝的焊接速度和熔化速率提高两倍。因此，使用了大约 4 m min-1 的送丝速度和高达 0.5 m min-1 的焊接速度。该研究强调了机器人应用 GTAW 工艺进行轨道焊接所固有的挑战，尤其是与根部焊道相关的挑战。然而，对于该技术的预期现场应用，