Welder World Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Aluminum’

Some Aluminum Properties: thermally conductive, tendency for porosity, aluminum oxide on surface, somewhat corrosion resistant.
Things made from aluminum: aircraft structures, electrical connectors, marine hardware and boat props, bicycles, boats, aircraft parts, transmission housings, handrails, truck tool boxes.

Walking the cup technique for tig welding works good on pipe but not much else.
For welding aluminum, or thin sheet metal of any type, walking the cup is not the best technique.

Wanna learn how to TIG weld aluminum?

First you need a decent TIG welding machine. Not a great one, just a decent one. Already got one? You might have an old Synrowave 300 or a DialArc, an old Hobart CyberTIG or you might have a brand new Miller Dynasty 200DX.

Know what? It doesn’t really matter. The same principles apply. If you have an old as dirt TIG welding machine, you can still make good aluminum TIG welds. Weld beads that look like a stack of dimes.

First lets look at machine settings:

Set the polarity to A/c (alternating currrent)

- Make sure to set the high frequency to continuous

- Set the amperage to about one and one half amps per one thousandths of inch of thickness (up to about 250 amps then things change quite a bit)

- Set both the contactor and amperage switches to the remote positon

- Set the argon or argon/helium torch shielding gas to around 15 cfh. (if you are using a #7 cup) less if the cup is smaller

- Notice I said argon or argon/helium? Argon is not the only game in town. In fact, if you TIG weld any aluminum over about .063″ thick, adding helium to the mix makes a huge difference.

Now lets talk tungsten electrodes:

- 2% thoriated have received a lot of bad press for the radioactivity issue but they do work

- 2% lanthanated electrodes are a really good all purpose electrode…good for TIG welding aluminum as well as steel

- Use the smallest electrode that will get the job done without quivering at max amperage.

Remote amperage control…you need a foot pedal. Period.

- Once all the settings are ok, and assuming you are welding on 1/8″ thick aluminum, grab a piece of 4043 filler rod in 3/32 diameter (rarely will you use a rod as thick or thicker than the metal you are welding)

- Extend the electrode tip about 1/4″ past the tip of the TIG welding torch cup and pre purge the gas by tapping the foot pedal.

- Hold the torch like a big first grade pencil. Touch the tip of the tungsten to the metal and then pull it back about 1/8 inch. Flip your helmet down and press the pedal to initiate the arc.

- Don’t melt the aluminum right away though, watch the black stuff cook away from the arcs cleaning action before you melt the metal. Then press the pedal far enough to create a puddle that is about 3-4 times the thickness of the metal you are welding.

Now comes the part on how to achieve the “stack of dimes” look. You get that by adding the same amount of rod and by moving the torch the same distance each time you add rod. Add rod, Step ahead 1/8 inch,Add rod, Step ahead 1/8 inch,Add rod, Step ahead 1/8 inch, lather rinse repeat. If you do this consistently, you will get evenly spaced ripples that look like a stack of dimes.

Of course it looks different from underneath the welding helmet and it is harder than it sounds, but this is really how you do it. All that is left is the doing. It takes practice and lots of quality seat time.

In the expansion of the aluminum industry, aluminum castings have played a vital role. Anyone who is into the business of metal castings must be willing to learn some tips of welding aluminum castings with less amperage. There are few Tig welding inverters that can help you to meet your objective of power saving why you try to weld your castings in aluminum. These inverters use power as low as 115v only. These machines are first-class power sources but their output is limited to 200 amps only. At 200 amps, it’s not hot enough enabling you to weld with more comfort.

Another proven method to reduce amperage during welding is the preheating of the aluminum parts at a temperature of 200 degree. For preheating aluminum castings, you may use either a furnace or an oxy-fuel torch. But if you won’t have these two tools in place, still you have options to lower your amperage. Now in such a case, you need a gas grill. You may spare a gas grill just for preheating of aluminum parts but not for cooking anything on it. When you are ready with your gas grill, use aluminum foil to wrap the part to be preheated. Then put it on the oven. Keep the flame at medium and allow the heat to conduct through the part. Using a small propane torch won’t be a bad idea to make the part hot enough by moving the torch over it.

If you didn’t like the idea of using gas grill, here is another tip for you to reduce the amperage. When you try to Tig welding aluminum castings with less amperage, prefer using a 50-50 helium/argon mix as a substitute of straight argon. This mix does the magic, as helium provides more energy. Especially, for thick aluminum, use of helium is generally recommended. Helium adds more voltage to aluminum arc and supply of extra current is not needed. For aluminum with a thickness less than ? inch, use of straight argon can be a sensible choice.

Still, there is one great tip for Tig welding aluminum castings with low amperage. Now, you can think using a small Tig cup. Sometimes it is also called as Tig welding nozzle. This is actually a ceramic tip that is fixed at the end of the Tig torch. This Tig cup allows release of less shielding gas and prevents the oxidation of the tungsten electrode. The idea is not to use too much torch gas. The less amount of gas projected on the aluminum parts demands for less mount of amperage. Moreover, the degenerated arc energy adds to the gas shielding. Thus, welding parts get an extra amount of energy. In fact, allowing too much gas to flow will make it difficult to work with it.

Today, aluminum industry is a well-developed industry and hundreds of compositions of aluminum alloy castings are available keeping in mind their commercial usage. In most types of commercial casting processes, these tips for Tig welding aluminum castings will be greatly beneficial to reduce amperage.

More Propane Torch Welding Articles

It is an undeniable fact that welding aluminum items calls for some professional expertise and special skills. Even welding enthusiasts who have past experience in successfully welding steel will find aluminum welding challenging. The reason is simple – it is difficult to feed aluminum wire which is soft. Furthermore, wire diameters and machine settings generally used for steel may not be appropriate for aluminum.

The truth is with some practice, you will be able to tackle aluminum welding jobs such as grills, railings, backyard furniture, boat docks and even decorative elements – using a compact MIG welder. Depending upon your needs, you can buy the right type of MIG welder.

A 115 volt wire feeder welder can handle jobs that range from 22 to 12 gauge and with moderate pre-heating, you can probably weld even up to 1/8″ thickness. The only precaution is the preheating should not exceed 250 degrees F maximum. You can also opt for a 230 volt machine which can weld from 22 gauge up to 3/16″. If proper preheating is done you can go up to 1/4″. If your application is broader range of aluminum thicknesses, then it is worth investing in the 230v machine.

However, it needs to be stated that a compact MIG welder of 115 volt and 230 volt models are in order only for occasional aluminum jobs. As regards heavy duty aluminum, you must buy a welder that has greater than 200 amps output.

The next question you need to address when selecting a welder is whether you want a continuous or tapped voltage control model. Please understand that a continuous voltage control model lets you set an infinite range of voltage within the rating of the machine. This facilitates your adapting the voltage to your particular applications and skill level. If you want to spend less, opt for the tapped control unit. This machine has a rotary switch with four or five fixed voltage choices. This model will be adequate for most applications.

As already stated earlier, MIG welding aluminum is different from welding steel and this also applies to shielding gas requirements. For aluminum, 100 percent argon is the preferred choice, whereas steel welding calls for a mixed gas or 100 percent CO2 gas. Of course, for this reason no special equipment is needed – your existing regulators and gas hoses can be used for both pure blends and mixed gases.

The oxide layer needs to be removed from the aluminum immediately before welding. The edges of the aluminum should be cleaned with a file. It is best to use a new wire brush that hasn’t been used on steel, and to brush in a single direction so the oxide is not rubbed into the aluminum.

Please know that all MIG welding on aluminum materials requires electrode positive polarity. If you are switching your wire feed welder between processes, do not forget to switch your polarity. You will certainly not succeed in obtaining good results attempting to weld on aluminum with a steel wire electrode.

There is a trick to properly loading aluminum wire into a wire feed welder and this comes with regular practice. As you are welding aluminum, keep the gun cable as straight as possible to minimize feeding restrictions on the soft aluminum wire. Ensure that there are no bends in the gun cable that may make the wire kink and feed poorly.

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The Hobart Handler 210 is the portable (weighing only 76.5 lb or 34.8 kg, so you can take it easily from jobsite to jobsite) MIG welder that has maximum of 210 amps of welding power for handling 3/8 inch thick mild steel and enough control for 24 Gauge material. It is designed to handle a variety of materials including mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. The ease of connecting an optional direct plug-in spool gun expands the capability of the Handler 210 for aluminum welding.

It has enhanced magnetics and infinite wire feed speed control offers easier fine control of the output parameters for improved arc performance with less spatter, resulting in a better bead appearance and less cleanup.

If you have to do aluminum works, you have probably heard that TIG is the right choice for that. Not this time – Handler 210 welds aluminum as well as steel. You do get a bit of black but that easily wipes off as the magnesium in the aluminum oxidizes.

Ergonomics & Safety. Built-in contactor for easy use is also an excellent safety feature which makes wire electrically “cold” when not welding. You will have easy access to polarity changeover includes storage holes for spare tips. Dual groove drive rolls make it easy to switch between .023/.025-Inch (0.6 mm) and .030 to .035-Inch (0.8 – 0.9 mm) wire. And self-resetting thermal overload and motor protection prevents overheating.

Comparison. The Hobart 210 and similar Millermatic equivalents (Millermatic 180, 210, 211)  have pretty much the same output, duty cycle and they use the same drive mechanisms. The feel and weld quality should be virtually identical. So what are the differences?
The Millermatic is a dual voltage machine that can operate on 230 or 115 volts. That means it would be easy to take it to a buddy’s house and weld lighter materials by plugging into a standard 115 volt circuit (20 amp service). However in order to take it with you, it should to be light. Millermatic does not fall into that category and also costs up to two times as much.
Millermatic offers adjustable voltage up to 7 positions, which might seem as a big plus, however experts sometimes consider infinitely adjustable voltage control not to be an advantage over the tapped voltage units. Tapped voltage units are easier to setup and get the arc dialed in.

The Millermatic will be of a slightly better build quality since Miller now owns Hobart and sells the Hobart as a lower cost alternative to the Millermatic line. They don’t usually skimp where it really counts though. Things like the drive mechanism will most likely be identical.

Hobart also offers more current for welding aluminum, so if you are uncertain so far but are planning to work mostly with aluminum go for Handler 210. Spool gun coming with Hobart is the Miller Spoolmate 3035 equivalent.

More Millermatic 211 Articles

Aluminum Welding is by far the best practice for Tig Welding. Get better at tig welding by practicing stacking beads on 11 ga aluminum sheet metal

Compared to welding other metals, welding aluminum is easier because of various factors, among them the propensity of aluminum to thaw out at a comparatively lower temperature and not breaking when it turns rock-solid. Depending on the type of alloy of aluminum you are using, you will weld the metal differently. With a little effort you can learn how to weld aluminum in all its different forms.

The various types of alloys include non-heat-treatable alloys like the ones containing manganese (Mn) and Magnesium (Mg) and heat-treatable alloys containing magnesium zinc and silicon copper.

Work pieces made from these types of aluminum are easier to weld whereas the ones containing copper and lead are harder to work with. Copper and lead alloys usually have a tendency to crack when they are weld, which makes it harder to work with them.

Different Welding Methods – MIG and TIG Welding

Apart from gas and plasma welding, the two most often used welding methods are TIG welding and MIG welding. Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, also known as Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) uses non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The power is a constant current welding power supply.

MIG welding process is a subtype of gas metal arc welding. Among the two, MIG welding is the more advanced and can handle thicker aluminum work pieces, at a much faster speed.

Safety, Precautions and First Aid

Safety for yourself and your environment should always be your primary concern when welding aluminum, or any other metal. Welding is unlike many other hobbies or jobs because of the high temperature and stress that are involved in it. Apart from the high temperature, flames, the arc and molten metal are constant risk. Keeping this in mind, wearing your helmet and glasses while you work cannot be compromised with. It must be a habit with you to flick the glass down when you start welding.

Aluminum also requires special care because aluminum jobs produce imperfections in the weld area that have to be brushed away with a steel brush from time to time. You have to be careful while you use the brush.

It is also advisable to learn how to aluminum weld properly as well as know basic first aid in case you or any of your coworkers are injured while welding. Without adequate safety and precaution, your aluminum welding job is an endeavor fraught with risk. You must take steps outlined here to reduce that risk.

I have a project where I need to weld an achor ( an aluminum made mushroom shallow water anchor) to an iron made leg…..I am planning on Explosion welding……please tell me if any source is avialble to know the life of the weld if the weld goes successful

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