Welder World Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Metal’

harbor freight welder over a year later. This is a requested video for stevo928, he wanted to see it weld thicker metal. I made the metal thicker as well as cold, dirty rusty, wet and painted.

Hello,

MIG Welding is the other main type of welding done today.  Today we
explore it in depth.

MIG(GMAW) or Wire Feed Welding Process Overview
This process is called by many names and it basically is a welding
process that uses an arc to heat metal that needs to be joined. The
welder uses a continuous feed filler metal (a consumable) electrode
and this is used on the work-piece. This type of welding also must
use a shielding that is provided by a gas or a mixture of gasses.

This type of welding is also called short circuit transfer. In the
MIG process, when the wire actually touches the metal to be
connected, it lets go of the metal that does the welding. This
makes sure that metal doesn’t transfer across an arc so there is no
puddling.

Also known as gas metal arc welding, the MIG(GMAW) process uses a
metal gun to provide this service instead of a torch so that you
get a direct current going to the metal. You can use both constant
current and alternating current systems to also produce this method
of welding.

GMAW uses four ways to transfer metal. These are:

Globular — this method is difficult and used the least because it
has a tendency to spatter because the gun will move to a high heat
without warning. This makes the welding surface come out with
flaws.  This method uses carbon dioxide so the electrode tends to
produce a ball of melted metal that cases irregular shapes that are
bigger than the electrode. They then drop and falls onto the piece
you are working on which causes a spatter. This is difficult to
control as you would imagine.

Short circuiting — this uses a smaller current than the globular
method but it still uses carbon dioxide. Because of the lower
current you can actually weld thinner metals together with this
method. This method is similar to the globular method because drops
of melted metal from the electrode still forms, but it causes the
electrode to short circuit instead of the drops falling on the
work. This closes off the arc but comes back again because the
surface tension pulls the metal goblet from the tip.

Spray — this was the first method for transfer used with GMAW and
used to weld aluminium and stainless steel. The difference with
this process is that the electrode metal passes through an electric
arc that is stable and goes all the way to the workplace. This
stops spattering and you get a weld finish that is higher quality
than in other methods. You also will watch as the current and
voltage increases so you get small, vaporized steam droplets
instead of large globules.

Pulse spray — this last one is a newer way of doing this type of
welding that uses a continuous current that pulses and melts the
filler wire. In each pulse a small droplet of metal will fall.

This also allows the welder to use a lower current. The welder gets
a more stable arc and this stops spatter and the short circuiting
process. Because this process is slower, argon gas is used instead
of carbon dioxide as the shielding gas.

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this project is an instructable by stasterisk.what I have done is taken the modified transformers.and hooked them up in series.then taking jumper cables one going to the piece of metal the other going to a metal coat hanger. www.instructables.com

Are you a Canadian Welder? Welder testing is a fact of life for Individuals and Companies working with the structural steel standard: CSA W47.1, Certification of Companies for the Fusion Welding of Steel in Canada today. Whether youre a local welder or a company recruiting welders from outside of Canada, sooner or later you will face the unnecessary stresses related to the world of recruitment, welder training & testing. Here are some reasons why you would want to watch these videos: • No more wasted time and materials • Test Coupons made correctly every time • See and hear the instructions given on test day, well in advance • Welders are mentally and emotionally prepared for test day • Knowledge of the most common failures • Develop fast and cost effective practice techniques • Practicing the Tips and Techniques in this video may help improve overall welding quality. For more information on the videos and test day training visit www.canadianwelder.ca/sales

next few weeks at work i’m planning on turning a bunch of steel and aluminum bars (from the scrap heap) into different sized metal shelves using a TIG welder. i haven’t used the welder in awhile but i planned to be supervised by an expert. So my question is really asking for tips/pointers into putting a metal shelf together.

I understand that steel and aluminum will not combine.

The shelves will be used to hold computers and monitors and other necessary equipment for a combustion experiment.

Is there a systematic process (for a shelf specifically) into assembling the bars? How will i be able to clamp it down if the bars are going to be different widths and at right angles? Once the frame is built, there may be an option to weld metal boards, how can that be done? When will a tack weld be more useful than a line weld?

This is the first time that I will be making metal shelves, so any extra tips beyond the questions posted will benefit me greatly.

Working with sheet metal, especially the thin ones, is such a daunting task for amateur and inexperienced builders or welders. Nowadays, there are many different ways for assembling sheet metal, but the principle behind it remains the same. Sheet metal assembly, regardless of its method, refers to the process of fastening or combining two or more metal components to come up with a single output.

Any sheet metal assembly is always dependent on the components that are being used and assembled. For instance, the approach in melting or joining pieces of metal such as steel and copper is different from thin aluminum and other plated components.

Welding is the most popular way of fabricating or assembling sheet metal. Over the years, the advancement in the metals industry has paved the way to a number of welding methods and equipment. Depending on what you want to achieve on your project, welders can now carry out various sheet metal assembly techniques such as arc welding, gas welding and many others. Each of these welding techniques has its own features and uses in particular industrial applications.

Arc welding, for example, makes use of an electric arc. It utilizes heat of an electric arc to combine metal. Direct or alternating current can either be used depending on the components to be welded. In gas welding technique, meanwhile, burning gas is used to create heat. Gas welders may use propane, oxyacetylene and oxy-propane torches.

Aside from welding, there are other ways to combine sheet metal components. If you don’t know how to solder, you can undertake simple assembly routes such as riveting, bolting and screwing to assemble sheet metal. In bolting and screwing, stainless steel screws, either oval head or pan head, are often used to join metal sheets.

For this assembly task, you will need tools such as drill, twist-drill bits, scratch awl, center punch, and measuring equipment. Snips for cutting the sheet metal, as well as a pop-rivet tool and pop rivets, are required to join the pieces of sheet metal together.

The real trick to welding thin metal is to use a wire feed. Just kidding, this tip is to explain how to do it with a stick welder. A wire feed or tig welder is ideal for sheet metal, but we will assume that you don’t have one. We need to establish what is considered thin metal. There is no absolute “according to Hoyle” answer, but I always considered anything less than 3/16″ to be thin. So from this point on we are talking about less than 3/16″ material.

The first thing to figure out is what kind of welding rods and what size of welding rods to use. If you have nice new 1/8″ material, I would go with 3/32″ 7018 rods. If you have old rusty painted up 14 gauge, I might be inclined to use 1/8″ or 3/32″ 6011 rods. You might ask me, why don’t you just grind the rust off? Well if it’s just surface rust go ahead, but if it’s pitted out you will grind all the material away before you get it clean. Not only that, but if you are just doing a quick repair job on something, just weld it. Chances are, if the material is that bad the weld will far out last the rest of the material anyway. Back to my point, 6011 is the rod I will pick anytime. It allows you to move a lot faster than 7018’s will.

As far as the actual welding goes, I like to use a whipping motion with the welding rod following the same direction as I am welding. Basically just a back and forth motion. The reason for this is to keep from building up too much heat all in one spot. If you were to drag the rod slowly you will have a pretty good chance of burning through. If you are welding vertically, don’t be afraid to run the 6011’s downhill. If the material is really thin, I will use the whipping motion downhill as well. I know it goes against some principles of burying slag but, when the material is thin it really doesn’t matter as much.

Most anything that is made from thin material is over welded. Say for instance you are patching an air compressor tank that has a hole rusted in it. You will weld the patch 100% because it needs to be air tight, not for strength. If you are making a section of air duct, you will weld it solid for air and not for strength, you get the point.

I guess the moral of the story is you can do just about anything with a stick welder in a pinch. It only takes a little bit of practice to make it happen. Just grab a piece of sheet metal to get the heat set correctly and go to town. A good heat setting for 1/8″ 6011 rods on thin material is about 80-90 amps. For 3/32″ 7018’s it’s about the same. Everyone is different but, those settings will get you in the ballpark.

Welding sheet metal is a complicated job that necessitates precision, accuracy and safety procedures. One of the common problems often encountered by welders working with sheet metal is that they can easily make huge holes instead of welds. Without the proper skills and techniques, the heat can immediately melt the metal and the liquid metal will fall out of the part that is being fabricated.

When welding thin sheet of metal, the primary goal is to prevent distortion, burn-through and extreme heat-affected zones while making sure the weld has enough strength for the application. Contrary to popular belief, welding is not as simple and easy as heating the metal then fabricating it to the desired shape or size.

Specific types of sheet metal need specific control over heat. There are numerous welding processes that can be done to weld sheet metal such as short circuit transfer gas metal arc welding (GMAW), pulsed GMAW, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and pulsed GTAW. Dissimilar components cannot be welded due to their varying melt properties and thermal conductivities. Nickel and chrome plated metals, for example, are easy to spot weld. On the other hand, sheet metals such as aluminum and tin need special preparation inherent to the coating metals.

The task of welding sheet metal starts from preparation and cleaning. Clean the metals, particularly aluminum, prior to welding. Use a solvent or degreaser to eradicate oil and dirt. Aluminum accumulates oxide layers when it is exposed to air. Before even welding it, remove the oxide using a stainless steel wire brush or chemical oxide removal solutions. Make sure the degreaser does not have any hydrocarbons.

Take note that aluminum oxide on the exterior of the material melts at 3,700 fahrenheit while the base-material aluminum will melt at 1,200 fahrenheit. Leaving any tinge of oxide on the surface of the base will hamper diffusion of the filler metal into the workpiece. Inefficiency in preparation degrades the quality of output, so be meticulous when cleaning it.

To ensure safety while welding sheet metal, you should work in a ventilated area to prevent build-up of harmful gas emission. Proper welding clothes, eyewear and leather gloves are also necessary. Sheet metal has sharp edges. Aluminum, in particular, is very springy and it can accidentally jump at you. Wearing the proper welding gloves can save you from a painful cut.

There are many types of welding that are available to learn today and MIG is one of those types. This type of welding dates back to 1940s when it was discovered to weld aluminum and other types of non-ferrous metals.

Many people refer to MIG welding as GMAW or gas metal arc welding. Often these two terms are used interchangeably. This type of welding is considered to be automatic or semi-automatic because it happens quickly. The process works to join two pieces of metal by continuously passing a wire through a welding gun. The wire is connected to a direct current and then passed through the gun with an inert gas like Argon.

The wire acts as an electrode and the inert gas acts as a shield as the welding is performed. This means that contaminates are air borne instead of being put into the weld zone.

An MIG welder will use this method to meld metal quicker than regular stick welding especially when they want to weld soft metals like aluminum. When this method was first started the inert gas was too expensive to do the process all the time. Today, carbon dioxide can be used instead of the more expensive gases and makes this method more cost effective.

Advantages of MIG Welding

There are several advantages of MIG welders:

* It is faster than traditional methods of welding and it produces longer, continuous welds.
* It produces a cleaner weld with less splatter.
* It can be used with a wide variety of alloys and metals which makes it a versatile elder process.

Disadvantages of MIG Welding:

Although this is a very specialized process that works efficiently for many projects there are a few disadvantages that include:

* The welding equipment is complex and bulky to use.
* The equipment needs a source of continuous current and a constant feeding of the wire through the gun.
* It is a very different process than traditional welding so there is a learning curve for all welders who use this technique.
* Because of the inert gas, MIG welding cannot be used an open area because the wind would cause the gas to cause more problems for the MIG welder.

MIG welding has become very important in many industries because of its ability to weld metals quickly. You will see this type of welding done in many industries that include automobile industry and nuclear industries.

Learn the basics of shielded arc welding from an arc welding expert in this free DIY video.

Expert: Malcolm MacDonald
Bio: Malcolm MacDonald graduated from Connestoga College in 1968 from the Fitt…