Wire Feed Speed on MM 250

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Hey Guys,OK--so been watching the Mig welding videos online and I need some guidance. So the welders say that they are welding 1/8" (or plug in whatever thickness you want) steel with welder set at XX (whatever amps) amps and NNN (whatever number) inches per minuet wire speed. My MM 250 has 2 dials on the front. One for VOLTAGE, (and my years as a heavy equipment mechanic reminds me that there is a difference between VOLTAGE and AMPERAGE) and the other dial has numbers starting at, I think, 10 and going up to, again not sure, 90, with a low and high rocker switch. Can somebody explain how I convert the numbers that the video's are quoting to my machine. I have a chart on the inside of my cover with starting settings that I work off of, but some, if not all, of my weld beads look nothing like the video.Now I'm sure a good portion is my lack of ability, but I tried to follow the instructions for welding up hill and my bead looks like it's dripping off the metal. Any help is greatly appreciated.Pat
Reply:Post picts along with your settings and material thickness and we'll try to help. Issues with vertical up almost always come down to the welder having issues seeing the puddle and being able to read it. Picts will tell me what exact issues you are having. "drippy" welds with no undercut would tend to make me think you are going too slow and spending too much time in the center, but without picts and settings it's just a blind guess.Wire speed in inches is easy to calculate if you just have a scale of one to 10. Set the speed at a given number, lets say "5" and then clip the wire flush with the tip and trigger the gun while you time off say 10 seconds. Multiply the length of wire times 6 and you'll have a close estimate of what the inches per minute (IPM) that setting gives you. Note that on many smaller machines, the wire drive is powered by the transformer voltage. On a tapped machine, the wire speed on "5" at tap 1 will be different than the wire speed on "5" on say tap 6. That's because the voltage is higher on tap 6 than it is on tap 1, thus the wire speed is faster. The settings on the door cover usually will get you pretty close to a decent voltage and wire setting for the material listed. You can however often run higher voltages and wire speeds and have the welds work well also. That's because a good welder can read how the puddle is reacting and adjust his travel speed, stickout etc to compensate for the "hotter" weld.Sounds like you already have the actual voltage on that machine as opposed to simply a tapped machine where you also have to guess at voltage. Most settings for mig are given in volts and IPM, since mig is a constant voltage process. Amps on the other hand varies as you weld. Actual amps is based on wire speed at a given voltage and how long the stickout is as you weld. If you leave the settings alone and keep the gun in tighter, the weld will be "hotter" ( more amps) than if you hold the gun farther away and use more stickout. Thus "amps" really isn't a good reference with mig as far as setting up a machine..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWPost picts along with your settings and material thickness and we'll try to help. Issues with vertical up almost always come down to the welder having issues seeing the puddle and being able to read it. Picts will tell me what exact issues you are having. "drippy" welds with no undercut would tend to make me think you are going too slow and spending too much time in the center, but without picts and settings it's just a blind guess.Wire speed in inches is easy to calculate if you just have a scale of one to 10. Set the speed at a given number, lets say "5" and then clip the wire flush with the tip and trigger the gun while you time off say 10 seconds. Multiply the length of wire times 6 and you'll have a close estimate of what the inches per minute (IPM) that setting gives you. Note that on many smaller machines, the wire drive is powered by the transformer voltage. On a tapped machine, the wire speed on "5" at tap 1 will be different than the wire speed on "5" on say tap 6. That's because the voltage is higher on tap 6 than it is on tap 1, thus the wire speed is faster. The settings on the door cover usually will get you pretty close to a decent voltage and wire setting for the material listed. You can however often run higher voltages and wire speeds and have the welds work well also. That's because a good welder can read how the puddle is reacting and adjust his travel speed, stickout etc to compensate for the "hotter" weld.Sounds like you already have the actual voltage on that machine as opposed to simply a tapped machine where you also have to guess at voltage. Most settings for mig are given in volts and IPM, since mig is a constant voltage process. Amps on the other hand varies as you weld. Actual amps is based on wire speed at a given voltage and how long the stickout is as you weld. If you leave the settings alone and keep the gun in tighter, the weld will be "hotter" ( more amps) than if you hold the gun farther away and use more stickout. Thus "amps" really isn't a good reference with mig as far as setting up a machine.