Orion 100C, User Manual

Page 1: ...Orion Pulse Arc Welders User Manual Orion 100c ...

Page 2: ...Shutter System Setup p 13 Become Familiar with the Microscope p 13 Electrode Setup p 14 Shielding Gas Setup p 16 Chapter 2 Welder Overview p 18 Chapter 3 Pulse Arc Welding p 24 Chapter 4 Tack Resistance Welding p 28 Chapter 5 Tungsten Electrodes p 32 Chapter 6 Orion Techniques Tips and Tricks p 37 Chapter 7 Metals p 43 Chapter 8 Maintenance p 51 Chapter 9 Updating Welder Software p 53 Chapter 10 T...

Page 3: ...yson UT 84651 Email sales orionwelders com Voice 801 658 0015 Fax 866 701 1209 Welding Safety Precautions READ BEFORE WELDING The following safety advice is generalized advice for the arc welding industry These safety precautions are not all inclusive All users should exercise reasonable caution while using this device The following group of symbols are warning symbols CAUTION ELECTRIC SHOCK HAZAR...

Page 4: ...y installed or improperly grounded equipment is a hazard This device was designed to operate indoors only Do not operate welder in a wet damp environment Holding the hand pieces connected to the front of the welder is okay and will not generate an electrical shock Remove personal jewelry before welding i e rings watches bracelets etc Do not touch live electrical parts Wear dry hole free insulating...

Page 5: ...e the area and or use local forced ventilation at the arc to remove welding fumes and gases If ventilation is poor wear an approved air supplied respirator Read and understand the Material Safety Data Sheets MSDS and the manufacturer s instructions for metals consumables coatings cleaners and degreasers Welding in confined spaces requires good ventilation or an air supplied respirator Always have ...

Page 6: ...ng and Allied Processes ANSI Standard Z49 1 from Global Engineering Documents phone 1 877 413 5184 website www global ihs com OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations CFR Part 1910 Subpart Q and Part 1926 Subpart J from U S Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents P O Box 371954 Pittsburgh PA 5250 7954 phone 1 866 512 180...

Page 7: ...trode Vile 5 0 5mm and 5 1 0mm Electrodes 1 Fiberglass Brush BOX 2 IF YOU PURCHASED THE BASE MICROSCOPE SYSTEM 1 Base Microscope 1 Base Microscope Power Cord 2 Microscope Eye Piece Shields 1 Green System Cover BOX 2 IF YOU PURCHASED THE MICROSCOPE ARM SYSTEM 1 Orion 100c Microscope Arm 1 Microscope Arm Table Mount 1 Microscope Arm Support Bar 1 Set of Allen Wrenches 2 Microscope Eye Piece Shields ...

Page 8: ...lding stylus to the power supply can be found at http www orionwelders com resources orion c series resources The welding stylus requires the most attention during setup Since argon gas will flow through the stylus a tight fit between the power supply and the stylus is critical This will insure that no oxygen is entrained into the weld To accomplish this follow the steps below 1 Position the end o...

Page 9: ...gh the bottom of the Base Plate into the Base Plate Stand The Phillips screw will be attached to the bottom of the Base Plate Stand Unscrew it then follow this step 3 Slide the Darkening Lens Arm onto the Base Plate Stand Adjust it to your desired height then tighten the Darkening Lens Arm knob 4 Place the Base Plate Stand Cap on top of the Base Plate Stand 5 Adjust the Darkening Lens Position by ...

Page 10: ...able into the Microscope port on the back of the power supply CONFIGURE THE BASE MICROSCOPE The microscope can be configured in many different ways to suit your individual preference Orion highly recommends configuration 3 as the simplest to use and implement In this configuration the user has an unobstructed space for hand and work piece placement This configuration also allows the welding stylus...

Page 11: ...nt mounting options can be found at http www orionwelders com resources orion c series resources Mounting Option 1 Clamp to table 1 Determine the height of the tabletop If it is thicker than 2 3 4 7cm follow arm base mounting options 2 or 3 2 Position the microscope arm clamp under the tabletop 3 Turn the clamp knob clockwise until the clamp is very snug Mounting Option 2 Bolt through table 1 Usin...

Page 12: ...se if the arm does not allow the microscope to come down 6 Ensure the microscope cable is plugged into the microscope shutter light ring this is an RJ45 port at the bottom of the microscope head 7 Plug the other end of the microscope cable into the Microscope port on the back of the power supply ADJUST WELDING STYLUS POSITION A video explanation of the steps below can be found at http www orionwel...

Page 13: ...ld to take place if the shutter does not completely shut Shutter Troubleshooting 1 Turn off the unit and then turn it back on This will reset the shutter 2 If step 1 does not correct the issue the shutter switches can be moved manually To do this remove the lens cap under the shutter and manually move the shutter switches This should be an easy movement If it is not call in for additional troubles...

Page 14: ...e while the 0 5mm electrode is excellent for very small projects less than 5ws of energy Stylus components 1 Stylus Shaft 2 Collet 3 Collet Cap 4 Electrode 5 Stylus Hull INSTALL THE TUNGSTEN ELECTRODE ONTO THE WELDING STYLUS Follow these steps to properly install the tungsten electrode A video explanation of the steps below can be found at http www orionwelders com resources orion c series resourc...

Page 15: ...e included diamond disk The diamond disk can be attached to a flex shaft or Dremel tool Follow these steps for sharpening the electrode A video explanation of the steps below can be found at http www orionwelders com resources orion c series resources 1 Completely remove the electrode from the stylus 2 Pinch the electrode between the thumb and middle finger with the point facing inward 3 Power on ...

Page 16: ...e dremel in order to place a flat blunt tip on the electrode 6 Once the electrode has a flat blunt tip turn the Dremel off and insert the electrode back into the stylus as explained above See the Orion Workbook for additional details about the Tungsten Electrodes Shielding Gas Setup During the pulse arc welding process high temperature plasma quickly melts metal into a molten pool As the weld is p...

Page 17: ...welding area 2 Turn the regulator dial COUNTER CLOCKWISE closed until it is fully backed out to prevent over pressurization of the line 3 Screw the gas regulator onto the shielding gas tank 4 Connect one end of the gas tubing to the gas regulator 5 Insert the other end of the gas tubing into the gas port on the back of the power supply It will stop when it is fully connected Tug gently on the tube...

Page 18: ... bottom right and work our way up PLAY PAUSE BUTTONS Play In order to weld the play pause button must show the green triangle play symbol Pause If the welder is not going to be in used for a period of time users can push the play pause button a grey pause symbol will appear This will keep the unit powered on but welding functions will be disabled RESET BUTTON The reset button will place all settin...

Page 19: ... control over spot size formation This is the recommended setting when working with silver Agitation On Agitation offers additional energy during the weld for additional penetration and enhanced weld strength The agitation energy can affect the spot size It is recommended to lower the overall weld energy slightly to compensate for the additional agitation energy Note Agitation can produce loud hig...

Page 20: ...ed options will appear on the right 3 Select the type of metal being welded or previously saved User Created option 4 Touch the Load button at the top right of the screen and the system is calibrated to that setting Save Button This feature will save the users current Weld Energy Agitation Trigger Type and all the current settings in the settings tab ie Pre Flow Delay Post Flow Delay Accelerator P...

Page 21: ...using the tip of your finger or the tip of your alligator clip on your touchscreen before deciding to calibration the touchscreen If the screen is still not responding very well then touch the Calibrate Touchscreen button and follow the steps on the screen Language Button Touch the Language button on the right side of the screen to open a list of language options Select the desired language then t...

Page 22: ...a shot of shielding gas through the gas flow system This is used to test if gas is flowing through the system properly to check the pressure and to clear the gas line of any oxygen that may have entered between welds TIMING TAB The Timing Tab allows users to control the amount of time used on different weld parameters Pre Weld This is the time from the moment the weld is initiated either by compre...

Page 23: ...an see system information They re also able to restore their system back to its factory default settings and clear their saved settings Restore All Defaults This will reset all welder settings back to their factory default settings ie Weld Energy Agitation Trigger Type Pre Flow Delay Post Flow Delay Accelerator Pre Weld Retract Delay and Weld Time Duration This will not affect saved settings Clear...

Page 24: ... AC alternating current or DC direct current energy to initiate the pulse arc weld The Orion uses industrial capacitive discharge technology to produce the pulse arc weld Because AC wall voltage can vary up to 20 during the day capacitive welders have the advantage over AC technologies of precisely storing energy before the welding process This means that the Orion will produce a repeatable weld i...

Page 25: ...ve this limitation because electrons are electrically attracted to the surface of silver The Orion also has the advantage of only welding on metal Lasers can strike precious stones or other nonmetals and can even crack or evaporate the target Because the Orion is electrically driven it requires a conductor such as a metal to allow the welding process to take place The Orion welder uses the same hi...

Page 26: ...r keep the weld time at max time for most applications The top image was welded at 25 Ws with 0 2 4 8ms weld time The bottom image was welded at 75 Ws with 10 20 50ms weld length The two weld parameters energy and time can be understood with the following analogies Consider the Orion welder to be like a water tower The amount of water in the tower is like the energy stored in the welder Firing the...

Page 27: ... off suddenly by shortening the time setting the liquid metal freezes in place This rapid freezing can cause micro stresses in the weld spot and may make the metal more prone to cracks under additional stress like hammering In most cases it is recommended to leave the weld time at max length with one important exception If welding a very small part at less than 5 Ws of energy it is very helpful to...

Page 28: ...before initiating the weld THINGS TO REMEMBER It may be helpful to shape the tool for the application Tools that clamp the parts e g brass lined pliers should have as much surface as possible in contact with the part to allow more energy to transfer to the weld location Remember that the area between the work pieces should be small to focus the energy if a strong weld is desired A weldment or bump...

Page 29: ... a cross sectional view of the work piece parts we can identify the electrical resistance locations where heat is generated For fine spot or small scale resistance welding most of the heat is generated at the contact point between the two work pieces This has been identified on the figure as the largest resistance point During the weld a large pulse of electrical current is dumped quickly through ...

Page 30: ...ce welding even the amount of energy being used for the weld plays to a degree a lesser role 2 High pressure will create a cool weld 3 Light pressure will create a hot weld 4 No pressure will produce an arc 5 Placing a small bump or weldment between difficult to weld parts can simplify the welding process If using tools to hold the work pieces remember that firm pressure between the tool and the w...

Page 31: ...weld location as possible The Orion is capable of transferring over 3000 amperes to the weld location To enable this full energy transfer 1 The welding attachment should use 3 5ft 1m of 10AWG cable 2 IMPORTANT the cable should be no larger than 10 AWG or damage to the welder may occur e g 8AWG is a larger cable Not all tack welds require this amount of energy Smaller cabled pulse arc attachments c...

Page 32: ...he larger electrode is recommended for metals such as silver due to higher welding energy requirements of such metals Note The 0 5mm small electrode will burn or oxidize at higher energy settings As a general suggestion the 1mm electrode is a good choice for most applications even very small ones Left Using too much energy with the 0 5mm electrode will cause it to overheat and reduce its life Righ...

Page 33: ... uniformly and smoothly from the electrode Grinding the electrode such that circular rings or marks show up will lead to a poor plasma arc affecting weld quality The plasma will discharge inconsistently from the electrode ridges and may become unstable oscillating in time The weld spot will not be repeatable As a rule of thumb the electrode should be ground so that the taper is approximately 2 5x ...

Page 34: ... the left was formed with a blunt electrode while the spot on the right was made using a sharp electrode The shape of the electrode will influence the shape and penetration of the weld spot There are advantages and disadvantages to each electrode shape As shown in the illustration above the electrode shape greatly influences the weld spot s shape and penetration By looking at the figure one might ...

Page 35: ... be completely blunt Remember the smaller the flat the easier the weld ignition A blunt electrode tip can be helpful when making more powerful welds in silver to help overcome silver s high liquid mobility by un focusing the plasma over the entire flattened area A sharp electrode will help place the weld into tight geometries left a blunt electrode can spread the energy and prevent weld formation ...

Page 36: ...this may lead to the vaporization of the liquid metal bridge as it is necked down during the electrode retraction process This vaporization process can be explosive on a very small scale and leaves a crater in the metal s surface The result will be a small pock mark in the metal s surface The electrode must be reground before reliable welding can continue at this setting At lower energies this res...

Page 37: ...f using small laser wire the Orion can weld a much larger wire or rod to fill in more metal in a single weld There are several methods to aid in the addition of fill wire which are mentioned below The placement of the electrode relative to the wire is very important and will influence how the material behaves during the addition process SIDE PLACEMENT Placing the electrode on the side of the wire ...

Page 38: ...sed above For a small wire welded with high weld energy relative to the wire size the weld plasma powers through the wire This technique melts the base metal and joins the melted wire to the base plane However if the wire is larger or the energy is set to produce only a small spot size the wire will typically fail to be added to the base material Instead the wire will ball and some melting of the ...

Page 39: ...he correct wire gauge for your application is very important For example micro scale applications it is important to select the smallest fill wire available If a wire is selected that is similar in size to the base metal there is a good chance that the energy setting required to melt the wire will also melt the base metal Alternatively if the wire is small relative to the base metal the wire can b...

Page 40: ... process will try and flatten the two taking material from the high area and moving it toward the low area Placing the weld electrode on the edge of a bump will smooth away the bump as surface tension spreads the metal over the molten base material HANDS ON Use your electrode with several different materials to push metal around or to use surface tension to smooth a metal mound out Please note tha...

Page 41: ...kage create high stresses in the work piece Hot cracking is very geometry dependent and can be avoided by carefully considering the weld joint before welding Ideas to overcome hot cracking 1 Keep joint gaps as small as possible 2 Keep the Weld Time Duration at Long to help ramp down the heat more gradually Improper joint preparation or geometry can lead to uneven weld puddle cooling If the puddle ...

Page 42: ...d and fixed but overlapping welds will crack Pulse Arc Welding Joint Preparation The Orion 100c can be adjusted to a weld penetration of up to approximately 0 66 mm in depth depending on the material However deeper penetration usually also means large spot size around 1 5 to 2 mm When deep penetration is desired but the weld spot size needs to remain small or the work piece thickness is very thick...

Page 43: ...part is too hot some metals will readily react with oxygen to form oxide layers If gas flow is insufficient the weld spot may be poorly covered and oxygen may be present during the weld On the other hand if the protective gas flow is too high the gas may exit the stylus nozzle in a turbulent state When the gas flow is turbulent it will grab oxygen and other atmospheric gases and bring them inside ...

Page 44: ...y melting point also is important A larger specific heat means more energy is required to melt the metal Electrical Resistivity This number represents the resistance to the flow of electrons in a metal This property is especially important during a resistance or tack weld The more resistive the metal is the more easily it will resistance weld e g stainless steels the smaller this number is the mor...

Page 45: ...nclude slight discoloration However a heavy reaction will cause absorption of gas and will cause a dark gray and porous result If the reaction is too heavy the weld location will become very weak and porous Niobium Nb reacts with both oxygen O2 and nitrogen N2 gas Niobium will oxidize react with oxygen at 200deg C The reaction with N2 starts at 400deg C As you can see niobium is even more reactive...

Page 46: ...hen welding Ti to other materials remember to test the weld strength with scrap pieces before welding the final work piece One important consideration when welding Nb is it s high boiling temperature 4742 deg C relative to tungsten s melting temperature 3410 deg C What this means if the tungsten electrode is contaminated with Nb metal the Nb metal may superheat and start to boil right on the elect...

Page 47: ...old will look black surrounding the weld location This black layer is easily removed with steam cleaning clean rag or a small glass brush 4 Gold can easily be added to almost any other metal 5 Very interesting welding combinations are possible Platinum Pt Platinum Pt has a melting temperature that is similar to stainless steel but a density that is 3 times higher In addition the specific heat of P...

Page 48: ...content white gold Pd alloy laser wire Silver Ag Silver is an interesting metal with several properties that must be considered during the welding process First silver is highly reflective over a large range of light wavelengths This metal characteristic makes welding silver difficult for a laser but poses no problems for a Pulse Arc welder Second silver is a very mobile metal when in a liquid sta...

Page 49: ...ystal structure in the weld joint The addition of the ferritic crystal structure will help suppress cracking For example when welding 304 stainless a 308 stainless fill wire can be used Not all situations will require crack suppression techniques Smaller parts like those typically welded using the Orion do not require these procedures 201 202 205 216 301 302 303 304 305 308 309 310 312 314 316 317...

Page 50: ...sed previously zinc is a hard metal to pulse arc weld or resistance weld because of its low melting and boiling temperature 420 deg C 907 deg C During the melting process the low temperature zinc evaporates boils out of the brass alloy For low energies this simply coats the surrounding material in a black zinc film that can easily be removed with a glass brush For larger pulse arc weld energies th...

Page 51: ...ghtening electrodes into the wrong collet can damage the stylus When swapping electrodes use caution when touching any part internal to the stylus With extensive use the internal parts and especially the electrode WILL BE HOT Allow them to cool before attempting to change electrodes As an added safety precaution it is recommended to put the Orion in Stop Mode To change the electrode first remove t...

Page 52: ...are extended and retracted by twisting the top General Cleaning Guidelines Be sure to only perform cleaning on the Orion when it is switched off and unplugged Never use abrasive cleaning implements on any part of the Orion Do not blow compressed air into any part of the Orion as this may damage the internal components Never use any chemicals besides mild detergents on any part of the Orion Always ...

Page 53: ...pdate 4 Turn welder off then plug the USB thumb drive into the USB port on the back of the welder 5 Turn the welder on Update will run automatically 6 Once the update process is complete and reaches 100 the system may reboot itself into the main home screen Depending on the update it may also no automatically reboot but wait at the 100 mark for the operator to manually reboot Either way it is impo...

Page 54: ...NG ATTACHMENTS Yes the Orion welder is very versatile You are welcome to make your own pulse arc and tack fusion welding attachments NOTE 10 AWG is the largest cable that should be used with your Orion welder The 10 AWG cable should not be shorter than 3 5 feet 1m CAN I MAKE PERMANENT WELDS IN TACK MODE Yes the Orion has been designed with Sunstone Engineering s industrial spot welding resistance ...

Page 55: ...ctivity and melting point For example a metal with lower thermal conductivity e g stainless steel titanium cobalt alloys will weld easily because the weld heat stays concentrated in the spot Therefore less energy is required to weld one of these metals than other metals of the same thickness that have a higher thermal conductivity Metals with higher thermal conductivity e g copper silver gold will...

Page 56: ...d depth HOW MUCH HEAT IS ADDED TO MY WORKPIECE The Orion is capable of extremely fine welds In low energy settings small amounts of energy are added and cause virtually no heat to be added to the workpiece During small welds involving little energy it is possible to hold the work piece in hand For applications that require higher energy the Orion is capable of adding up to 100 Joules Ws of energy ...

Page 57: ...will abort Verify that the attachment plugged into the terminal is making constant contact with the work piece Clean the surface of the work piece at the weld site Oil carbon deposits and other residue can cause continuity to be lost Verify that the electrode is sharp and not deformed at its tip Replace or sharpen the electrode as necessary My electrode keeps sticking when I weld Verify that the c...

Page 58: ... Welding uses a welding power supply to create an electric arc between an electrode and the base material to melt the metals at the welding point Pulse refers to the intermittent nature of the weld arc produced Resistance Welding A process that uses the electrical resistance properties of a metal as a method of welding Shielding Gas Argon or other inert gas is used while welding to displace the re...

Page 59: ...ty period are performed at cost typically costing 50 100 USD Orion Jewelry Welders offers a 30 day money back guarantee on all of our products Before sending a product back please contact Orion Jewelry Welders to receive an RMA number The RMA number should appear clearly on the outside of the package Customer refunds are accomplished via check Please note that a 3 restocking fee will apply to all ...

Page 60: ...100c User Manual Go to http www orionwelders com resources orion c series resources for full video tutorials Orion Jewelry Welders 1693 American Way Unit 5 Payson UT 84651 USA 1 801 658 0015 OrionWelders com ...