GTAW · Titanium
ERTi-2
An unalloyed titanium rod for chemical and aerospace work, demanding far more shielding discipline than steel because hot titanium absorbs air greedily.
What the designation means
- ER
- Classified as both an electrode and a hand fed filler rod, though titanium is almost always welded with the torch process.
- Ti
- A titanium base composition.
- -2
- The commercially pure grade designation, an unalloyed titanium with a moderate oxygen level that balances strength against formability.
At a glance
| Process | GTAW |
|---|---|
| Family | Titanium |
| Positions | All positions |
| Polarity | DCEN |
| Shielding | High purity argon at the torch, plus a trailing shield over the cooling bead and a full back purge behind the joint |
| Minimum tensile strength | 50 ksi |
Typical uses
- Chemical process piping and heat exchangers in commercially pure titanium
- Aerospace and marine components requiring corrosion resistance at low weight
- Medical and laboratory equipment fabrication
How it runs
- Weld colour is the field inspection: bright silver is good, straw is marginal, blue, grey, or white means the bead was contaminated
- The bead and the heat affected zone must stay shielded until well below red heat
- Absolute cleanliness is required; oil, glove residue, and steel dust all embrittle the weld
- Puddle is bright and reflective, and the metal conducts heat poorly compared with aluminium
Storage and handling
Keep rods in the sealed tube, handle only with clean lint free gloves, and never store them with steel filler that could transfer iron.
Compare with
GTAWERNiCr-3A nickel-chromium rod used for nickel alloy base metals, dissimilar joints, and overlay, where its niobium addition resists cracking through heavy dilution.GTAWER347The stabilised stainless torch rod, used on 321 and 347 base metals and wherever the joint will spend service time in the carbide precipitation range.GMAWER4043The forgiving general purpose aluminium filler, whose silicon content lowers the melting range and makes the puddle fluid enough to resist cracking on extrusions and castings.