Remote welding equipment for TPX

Remote welding equipment and techniques are necessary for maintenance of the Tokamak Physics Experiment (TPX) Plasma Facing Components (PFCs). The processes identified for this application includes inside diameter (i.d.) and outside diameter (o.d.) Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) welding of titanium and stainless steel alloys. Welding equipment developed for this application includes some unique features due to the specialized environment of the TPX vessel. Remote features of this equipment must include the ability to acquire and align the parts being welded, perform all welding operations and visually inspect the weld area. Designs for weld heads require the integration of industry proven hardware with the special features necessary to accomplish remote operations. Such features include compact size, remote manipulation, remote clamping and alignment, remote vision, full inert gas coverage, arc voltage control, wire feed, programmable weld schedules and failure recovery.