Here are several tricks on MIG welders and how to make the best purchase choices. MIG Welding Increases Welding Speed: In addition to welding aluminum and other softer metals, MIG-welding works faster, provides cleaner welds, and handles many different types of metals. The downside is its complexity. MIG Welders need direct currents, a steady stream of inert gas, and precise control of their torches. The amount of heat generated from MIG welding provides the deep penetration required for a strong weld, while also melting the feed wire rapidly enough to maintain a higher welding speed than other techniques. Given the inert gas required for MIG welding, keep in mind that this technique cannot be conducted in windy areas. The Right Stick Electrode Increases Welding Speed: There are three kinds of electrodes used for stick welding: fast-fill, fill-freeze, and fast-follow. While each electrode has its advantages, the fast-fill electrodes melt quickly and allow welders to work faster.
TIG welding is similar to to a MIG welder as it uses an electric arc in the same was as MIG welding does but differs in a few ways. Instead of a continuous spool of consumable wire, a TIG welder uses long tungsten welding rods that are manually slowly fed into the weld puddle to join the metal. TIG welding requires gas, usually argon, to protect and cool the weld puddle from external contamination. TIG welding is more suited to welding thinner materials such as stainless steel and aluminium as you can get the power down lower to reduce the risk of blow through and can even weld two dissimilar metals. Suitable for tricky welds such as S curves but TIG welders are still capable of welding heavier materials depending on the machine. TIG welding takes more practice that MIG welding as the process is much more manual with controlling the torch, welding rod and gas by hand (and foot for the gas) but once mastered will produce the highest quality welds making it the better choice where perfect, precise welds are required but due to the manual process is the least productive.
In many shops, the operator has to go to a tool room or supply area for a new contact tip, coil of wire or other welding accessory. This takes valuable time away from the welding cell and slows down overall productivity. To improve the operating efficiency and minimize wasted time, companies should stock at least a limited supply of all necessary items near the welding station – this includes shielding gas, flux and wire. Another helpful productivity enhancing tip is to switch to larger spools of wire such as from 25 lb. spools to 44 or 60 lb. spools to even larger packages of 1,000 lb. reels or 1,000 lb. drums. A simple switch like this means less changeover time, which adds up over the weeks, months and years. Shops should also be on the lookout for shielding gas waste. A simple device called a surge turbine can be placed at the end of the gun to provide a digital readout of the gas surge and flow rate. If the surge rate is high, investing in a surge guard can reduce the pressure, eliminating gas surges and waste. Leaks in the gas delivery system can also create a potential loss of money. By looking at the amount of consumables purchased each year and then examining the total gas purchased, a company can determine if there is a significant loss. Welding manufacturers and distributors should be able to provide average utilization figures so that loss can be detected. If there is a loss suspected, one of the easiest ways to check for leaks is to shut off the gas delivery system over the weekend. Check the level on Friday evening and then again on Monday morning to determine if gas was used while the system was in shut down mode. Searching for the best MIG Welders? 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.
Extend your Tungsten Electrode out Far enough but not too: Too short of a tungsten stickout from the cup will not let you hold a close enough arc length and will not let you see the tip of your electrode. You need to be able to see the tip of the electrode without getting a kink in your neck in order to keep your arc length right. Some textbooks are just plain wack when they only recommend extending your electrode one tungsten diameter past the end of the TIG cup. Holding too long an arc will not pinpoint the heat well enough and will let your rod ball up and blob into the weld.. but we already covered that didn’t we? I remember a consulting gig once where the welder at the aluminum body truck repair shop could not get the aluminum socket weld to puddle. The only thing wrong was that the electrode was recessed back in the cup. Once I extended it out about 3/8″, Everything was fine. ( I also talked them into getting some helium argon mix.)
Several welding equipment tricks: how to become a more skilled welder and how to pick the best welding equipment. Use the smallest tungsten that will get the job done. Use the smallest tungsten to get the job done. …within reason. Another way of saying this is don’t just use a 1/8” electrode for everything. There are jobs where a 1/8” electrode is great like for welding 3/16” thick aluminum. But what if you are welding on the edge of a .030” turbine blade? A .040” electrode will be plenty to handle the 15 amps and will give much better starts than even a 1/16” electrode. Too large an electrode can cause an erratic arc and contamination…and A bad start where the high frequency tries to arc up inside the cup and off the side of the tungsten can easily melt off a thin edge and scrap an expensive part. 2% thoriated or lanthanated tungsten electrodes hold up at high amperage better than most all other electrodes. When welding at higher amperages, often times you can use one size smaller electrode by using 2% thoriated or lanthanated. And that is a good thing.
Before you get started, conduct online research to see what the best practices are for the specific wire you have or contact a trusted filler metal manufacturer. Doing so not only tells you what the manufacturer’s recommended parameters are for your diameter wire, but also what the proper wire feed speed, amperage and voltage is, along with the most compatible shielding gas. The manufacturer will even tell you what electrode extension or contact-to-work distance (CTWD) is best suited for the particular wire. Keep in mind that if you get too long of a stickout, your weld will be cold, which will drop your amperage and with it the joint penetration. As a general rule of thumb, since less wire stickout typically results in a more stable arc and better low-voltage penetration, the best wire stickout length is generally the shortest one allowable for the application.
Just about everyone who tries TIG welding feels challenged at first. This is understandable, given all the things you have to watch for and think about, while simultaneously coordinating the motion of both hands. In most cases, a foot pedal or torch-mounted amperage control will be used — for starting, modulating and stopping the flow of current. I have coached many people as they learn these skills, and I have received my share of questions over the years. Here are a few frequently asked questions — and answers — that should be helpful, particularly for beginning and intermediate welders. Source: https://www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/.