Steve Purnell

Figure 1Orbital gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) has been used in many industries since its introduction in the 1950s. Developed by the aerospace industry for welding small fittings to tubes, the process was limited by its large power supplies and cumbersome fixtures suited only to workshop...

Orbital welding first was developed in the late 1960s by a group of engineers from McDonnell Douglas to join aerospace tubes. These engineers were aware of the problems associated with producing repeatable welds for their critical applications.

Orbital welding's advantages in productivity, quality, consistency, tracability, and skill level required are the driving factors behind its growth. Advances such as oxygen analyzers that prevent the weld cycle from starting until oxygen is properly purged, combined with its ability to generate a written report of each weld, form the basis for orbital welding's improved quality and tracability.