Here are a few tricks about welding equipment and how to make the best buying choices. The welding setup, welder settings, and electrode selection will impact how fast welders can work. Industrial welders invest time in planning the size and shape of their welding areas, how parts are laid out, and how they supply their shielding gas. Testing settings or an electrode on a piece of scrap metal, especially for a beginners, will save time in the long run. Learn more about setting up an efficient shop here. Welding Downhill Increases Welding Speed: While welding downhill is a faster way to weld, it’s not as strong as welding uphill. On most projects it’s not worth sacrificing strength and durability for the sake of welding speed. However, if the metal is thin enough, then welding downhill won’t make the weld weaker and may even be the correct technique for the job. Learn about uphill and downhill welding and see these diagrams of vertical and downhill welding.
ARC Welding : ARC welding is one of the oldest welding processes around. It uses either an AC or DC power supply to create an electric arc between the welding rod and the workpiece metal to melt the metals and join them together. This style of welding is relatively inexpensive and very portable but it does require some practice to get good consistent welds and the welds will probably require some arc weldercleaning up afterwards. ARC welding is less suited to welding thinner materials but there is a large range of specialist electrodes (welding rods) available for ARC welders depending on what materials you are welding. ARC welding is versatile but more suited to heavier applications.
One of the “cardinal sins” that almost every shop commits is over-welding. This means that if the drawing calls for a 1/4″ fillet weld, most shops will put down a 5/16″ weld. The reasons? Either they don’t have a fillet gauge and are not exactly sure of the size of the weld they are producing or they put in some extra to “cover” themselves and make sure there is enough weld metal in place. But, over-welding leads to tremendous consumable waste. Let’s look again at our example. For a 1/4″ fillet weld, the typical operator will use .129 lbs. per foot of weld metal. The 5/16″ weld requires .201 lbs. per foot of weld metal – a 56 percent increase in weld volume compared to what is really needed. Plus, you must take into account the additional labor necessary to put down a larger weld. Not only is the company paying for extra, wasted consumable material, a weld with more weld metal is more likely to have warpage and distortion because of the added heat input. It is recommended that every operator be given a fillet gauge to accurately produce the weld specified – and nothing more. In addition, changes in wire diameter may be used to eliminate over-welding. Searching for the best Welding Equipment? We recommend Welding Supplies Direct & associated company TWS Direct Ltd is an online distributor of a wide variety of welding supplies, welding equipment and welding machine. We supply plasma cutters, MIG, TIG, ARC welding machines and support consumables to the UK, Europe and North America.
Don’t use too much torch gas when welding aluminum on A/C. Don’t use too much torch gas when welding aluminum on A/C. Aluminum takes a lot of amperage to weld. Even though the melting temperature of aluminum is less than half that for steel, it takes about twice as much amperage to weld. Why? Because aluminum conducts heat away from the weld puddle faster than you can put it in. this brings me to an important point. Do not use more argon than necessary on your torch gas. If you do, it will be like blowing cool air on something you are trying to heat up with a torch. All that argon blowing on the part makes for a loud erratic arc because the arc force is so great. Have you ever lit up on a thick aluminum casting and listened to how loud the arc is? I bet your torch gas was up around 20 like the books recommend. That’s too much for aluminum (unless you are using an argon helium mix).
TIG welders tips: how to become a more skilled welder and how to pick the best welding equipment. If a ball forms on the end of your rod when welding you are doing something wrong. It is usually one or more of these things: Too long an arc… • Too much torch angle • Not enough amperage for the rod size • Bad filler rod angle • Or some combination of all of these things. The 2 things I see most often with noobs are too long an arc AND too much torch angle. A long arc sets TIG welding back a few decades because it’s more like gas welding with an oxyfuel torch. The heat is not concentrated and you get this big heated arc plume like you get with a gas welding torch. Why would you want that? Your arc length should not be much more than the diameter of your tungsten electrode. I know that’s pretty close and if you get too close you will be grinding electrodes more than you are welding. But if you want really good welds, you need to use a tight arc.
Keep in mind that heavy-duty MIG welding often produces a lot of heat, sparks and spatter, and requires a lower degree of dexterity than some other forms of welding. Therefore, using thick, stiff leather gloves that provide a higher level of protection is smart. Similarly, choose leather footwear that covers your entire foot and leaves as little room as possible for spatter to fall along your ankle line. High-top leather shoes and work boots often provide the best protection. Finally, always be sure you have adequate ventilation per OSHA recommendations and check material safety data sheets (MSDS) for each metal being welded and filler metal being used. Use a respirator whenever required by the MSDS.
All welding requires the application of heat, which melts the metal being welded. With the TIG process, the heat comes from an electric arc that streams between the electrode in a hand-held torch and the metal being welded. The arc and molten metal are shielded by an inert gas, which protects the electrode and base metal from oxidizing. Filler rod is usually added to the puddle of molten metal as the weld progresses. The essence of making a good weld is heat control, which is governed by how you modulate the arc as it streams from the torch. Let’s look at this in detail. Source: https://www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/.