heliarc welding

     Russel Meredith of Northrop Aircraft Corperation perfected the TIG welding process in 1941. Northrop merged with Grumman Corperation of Long Island NY and is now called Northrop Grumman. Meredith named the process Heliarc welding hence the name of this site. Orignally the process used a tungsten electrode arc with helium as the shielding gas. Eventually argon replaced helium and now the process is referred to as tungsten inert gas welding (TIG). The official American Welding Society term is gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). TIG welding is used for welding aluminum, stainless steel and titanium primarily in the aircraft and precision metal industries.

TIG Diagram