Analysis and optimization of the automated TIG welding process parameters on SS304 incorporating Taguchi optimization technique

Abstract

The present research work focused on optimizing the input parameters of the automated TIG welding process of SS304 metal. Since SS304 possesses high inter‐granular toughness and corrosion resistance with increased lifespan in the pressure vessel and automobile sector, SS304 is mainly referred for gas arc welding compared with SS 202. The SS304 workpieces of 60 mm × 40 mm × 4 mm with dimension are utilized in the experiment and the same metal has been used as the filler material. The TIG welding experimental lab‐scale setup utilizes a 2‐axis servo workbench programmed with PLC to perform an automatic trajectory path using Taguchi design of optimization to obtain the optimal welding parameters for the SS304 welding process. To analyze the influence of welding current, welding speed, gas flow rate, and welding arc length on the tensile strength and hardness based on predicted R‐squared, p‐value and co‐efficient of the sum of squares from are verified. From the regression analysis, the predicted model R‐squared value holds 95.78% and 94.83% for the hardness and tensile strength respectively associating with the actual coefficient confirming the model which has maximum precision. Further, it is inferred that on increasing welding current and welding speed, the hardness of the welded joints seems to increase whereas when the minimum gas flow rate is maintained, the tensile strength of the SS304 decreases drastically. Overall, among the four input factors, the welding current is a major influencing parameter on the SS304 which is directly proportional to tensile strength and hardness.