Hi Kix,
1/2" Ti tubing eh? what's the wall thickness of the tubing? What grade are you talking about?
Here's an example application describing the fuse (Autogenous) welding of small diameter Ti tubing for a Chinese-Brazil Earth Resources (CBERS) Satellite Propulsion System:
http://www.arcmachines.com/industries-served/aerospace/orbital-welding-cbers-propulsion-systemAnd here's another less critical yet hi purity orbital autogenous welding application by Cessna Aircraft that was also designed and configured by AMI (Arc Machines Incorporated)
And featured in the June 2002 edition of the Welding Journal of the AWS:
http://www.arcmachines.com/industries-served/aerospace/orbital-welds-take-flight I'm sure there are similar weld heads and weld controller/power sources that can do the job also... Keep in mind that the above mentioned manufacturer only offers integrated complete system packages that don't allow one to replace their power source with a blue or red or any other digital controller and separate welding power source yet if done correctly, with some possible modifications one can rig something up together that may work r not... I wouldn't want to take that chance especially if doing so results in significant amount of time, labor, parts wasted and the uncertainty of whether or not the adhoc adaptation will work or not! You might as well go for an integrated system where the same customer service and technical experts are available and the system is proven to work for your application before you even accept the system for purchase or rental/leasing... It's a no brainer IMHO... The EZ Orbital system can do the job as long as the required weld heads are compatible with the controller for your application...
From what I have seen so far, the system you're talking about is a relatively new option in enabling the end user preferences by now being able to choose the components necessary to go beyond the limitations of the manufacturers supplied integrated power sources output ranges that previously existed with standard integrated orbital welding systems... Of course there have been customized packages as long as they consisted of the same manufacturers components (power sources)of the entire integrated orbital welding systems... In other words, the weld controller that controlled the welding heads and the power sources were previously combined together as one component of the system... this option of "marrying" orbital welding heads and their controllers to interface with welding power sources manufactured by different companies is a new twist that is available because of the advances in processing power and the fact that these components can digitally "talk" to each other enables an orbital systems manufacturer to integrate their controller Input and output signals with any brand of digitally based inverter type power source that's available in the market with fewer restrictions regarding interfacing and communicating with each other...
Does anyone recognize the power source's actual brand name from the design that is shown in the .pdf link below?
Hint: It's a German made power source...
Take a good look for yourselves by comparing the 2 links below:
http://www.magnatechllc.com/power-MPS-4000.phphttp://www.fronius.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-1B01711D-45F8AE55/fronius_international/hs.xsl/79_4644_ENG_HTML.htmUncanny similarity don't you think?
So far I have checked to see if AMI offers similar options of being able to use different digital inverter type power sources with their own equipment, and they don't offer anything like what Magnatech does... Let's see if anyone else has thought of offering a similar product like the EZ Orbital system...
Astro-Arc Polysoude has a controller to use with any standard, or synergic MIG-MAG/GMAW/FCAW power sources, with a remote control enabling the welding operator to adjust the welding parameters in real-time while keeping a watchful eye on the weld puddle... So this one is limited to GMAW/FCAW and not applicable for your project according to Astro Arc supposedly...
http://us.polysoude.com/mig-mag-schweissenLiburdi Diametrics does have available an "LCX Universal weld controller" that enables the end user to "marry" with their own Liburdi welding power sources and other welding power sources such as: Miller, Fronius and Lincoln... I'm not 100% positive but, unless there's some proprietary electronic configuration designed and implemented in these power sources, there shouldn't be any other reason for not being able to "marry" this controller with any other inverter type welding power source out in the market that has compatible architecture and capabilities of the three listed by Liburdi in their brochure/data sheet .pdf... However, for your application, you're limited in the variety of welding heads available to use that come down to i/2" diameter Ti tubing so you may want to look further with other manufacturers...
An "FFIP" weld head is compatible with the aforementioned weld controller like this one but it's designed for pipe and does use filler wire so it's not designed to autogenously weld the thin walled tubing you require for your application because of the open type weld head configuration... Closed weld heads are specifically designed for autogenous welding... All of the compatible weld heads for the LCX Universal weld controller are primarily for larger diameter tubing and piping... take a look below to see for yourself:
http://www.liburdi.com/LiburdiDimetrics/LCX-Controller/default.aspxhttp://www.liburdi.com/LiburdiDimetrics/LCX-Controller/White%20Papers/LCX_datasheet.pdfhttp://www.liburdi.com/LiburdiDimetrics/FFIP-head/White%20Papers/FFIP_datasheet.pdfSo that's one that's somewhat similar... Are there any more available? Well - let's find out later today when I continue posting in this thread!
Respectfully,
Henry