MIG Contact Tips

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At my work, everyone seems to go through contact tips like crazy.I was using about one every 20 mins or so today. Worst I can remember.That's using it for about 10 mins after it started getting fudged up.When I say going through, I mean crud getting in them and they start not feeding wire properly.Kind of feeding like a machine gun, then stopping the arc, stubbing the puddle, stopping it again, etc... really really fast... Then just stopping all together.They use Tweeco tips (.045)Anyone have any tips on what to do?The liners are always held as straight as possible.... so that's not an issue.Liners are replaced once and a while.... not much help there.I ream out the end after every weld for a while... taking the wire, grabbing it with pliers spinning it around... then pull the trigger, grab the next bit of wire, spin that around, and so on.Sometimes I take a drill gun with a .060 bit in it, and drill out the whole thing.That lasts for... a little longer, usually. But not always.i'm almost at the point where I buy a mini drill press, and make a jig to drill out my tip after every weld.Because this is getting frustrating, since it adds a start stop in the weld... and considering we do mostly all ASME VIII welds, start stops are a pretty big nono.
Reply:Are you using nozzel dip?.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:Nope.Does that help contact tips?Thought it was only for nozzles.
Reply:if it's filling with spatter after every weld, you may have too much volts for the wire feed speed
Reply:Several things to consider here:1.)What kind of weld wire are you using? I've seen some of the foreign wires not feed very well, as well as being inconsistent in chemistry. If your boss has gone to a cheap wire to save costs, he's not saving he's actually spending more, as weld wire makes up a very small portion of the cost to produce a product, it's usually 10% or less, the bigggest savings are to be found on the labor end of producing something, I'm all for companies looking to save a few pennies, but have had countless customers switch to a cheap wire, only to switch back to the higher priced product they were previously using. When a customer calls me looking for cost savings on doing a job, the wire and gas are the last two parts of the equation I look at, instead I look for ways to make his job faster and easier. 2.) Does it only burn back or go bad after you've been welding awhile? Check the ground clamp and cable, if you aren't getting a good ground, or if the cable is heating up to where you can't touch it due to the heat, you have a grounding issue. 3.) Liner replacement, are you or whoever is replacing the liners pushing the liner in before cutting it to the proper length? If not, and it's being cut without being pushed in, then it's cut too short. The liner should push against the diffuser as you screw the diffuser onto the neck. 4.) Are you seeing a graphite looking type substance built up on the drive rolls and the back of the tip? If so this is wire lubricant, and your weld wire may have too much lube on it, or the drive rolls are too tight which can pull the lube off of the wire, or worse cause the wire to shave back at the drive rolls which will plug your liner. 5.) On the subject of lube, are you using a lube pad back at the drive rolls? I sell all major brands of weld wire, as well as a couple foreign brands, and ALL of these manufacturers do not recommend using lube pads, for the simle reason that they pull the lubricant off of the wire, if you've ever seen a lube pad filled with the grayish graphite type substance, that's wire lubricant, and it doesn't do any good clogging up the pad, unless you are welding in a dirt floor shop, or a shop with some extreme arc gouging or grinding going on, these pads are not necessary. 6.) Drilling out the contact tip, this will do more harm than good, as the only spot the wire can pick up current is at the tip, hence the name "contact tip" I'd be willing to bet that changing the liner, and having it the correct length, installing a new contact tip, and resetting the drive roll tension, and making sure you have a good ground will solve your problem. You're welding wire supplier should be able to help you through a simple issue like this, if he or she can't it's time to find a new supplier.
Reply:Contact tip & wire jammingIf all else fails--see below:Several years ago, I bought my usual 25 ea.--bag of tips.LWS (Airgas) didn't have Tweco in stock--only their genericRadnor brand. I would get 3-5, short steel welds, before permanent wirejam and fuse in the tip.  Went to another LWS, bought a bag of branded Twecotips and life goes back to abnormal.Raised hell with Airgas, upshot was a Thermal Dynamicsfactory rep. came to see me, saw the problem, gave me a bagof branded Tweco tips, took the Radnor tips.---they make  or did make the Radnor tips---but..........TO SAVE MONEY, for a cheaper Radnor brand---theinner and outer, small hole chamfers, were deleted--sincethose--(In some Radnor or Tweco executive's pea brain) are a needless frill.Well, deleting those small hole chamfers---allowed burrs andthe sharp, small hole edge from previous machining to catch and shave the wire---very quickly.Tweco just may have deleted this hole chamfering--TO SAVE THEM MONEY,on their Tweco branded tips.....or there are burrs deep inside the contact tip.Check your existing tips--if there's no chamfer on the small hole on the exteriornose, it's a save bet, there ain't none on the I.D.--either.[I've had horribly bad experiences with Radnor branded wireand tips. I'm too poor to afford cheap consumables; which are builtto a price instead of built to function.]Blackbird
Reply:I've had problems with Radnor tips before, mentioned it to my supplier and he said yeah they had a few complaints about the tips, took them back and got me some genuine Miller or Bernard tips and problem solved.I've also had situation at the old job where the supplier sent us off-brand wire instead of our usual brands, Alcotec and ESAB, and all of us had trouble with that wire.   Change rolls to the usual stuff and problem solved.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Forgot about this one.  When we were welding the school buildings, the contractor was supplying us with McKay T-GS wire and all was well.  He got a better deal on some Radnor T-GS and neither of us could get that stuff to run any good.  Switched back to McKay and all was well again.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by ss42768Several things to consider here:1.)What kind of weld wire are you using? I've seen some of the foreign wires not feed very well, as well as being inconsistent in chemistry. If your boss has gone to a cheap wire to save costs, he's not saving he's actually spending more, as weld wire makes up a very small portion of the cost to produce a product, it's usually 10% or less, the bigggest savings are to be found on the labor end of producing something, I'm all for companies looking to save a few pennies, but have had countless customers switch to a cheap wire, only to switch back to the higher priced product they were previously using. When a customer calls me looking for cost savings on doing a job, the wire and gas are the last two parts of the equation I look at, instead I look for ways to make his job faster and easier. 2.) Does it only burn back or go bad after you've been welding awhile? Check the ground clamp and cable, if you aren't getting a good ground, or if the cable is heating up to where you can't touch it due to the heat, you have a grounding issue. 3.) Liner replacement, are you or whoever is replacing the liners pushing the liner in before cutting it to the proper length? If not, and it's being cut without being pushed in, then it's cut too short. The liner should push against the diffuser as you screw the diffuser onto the neck. 4.) Are you seeing a graphite looking type substance built up on the drive rolls and the back of the tip? If so this is wire lubricant, and your weld wire may have too much lube on it, or the drive rolls are too tight which can pull the lube off of the wire, or worse cause the wire to shave back at the drive rolls which will plug your liner. 5.) On the subject of lube, are you using a lube pad back at the drive rolls? I sell all major brands of weld wire, as well as a couple foreign brands, and ALL of these manufacturers do not recommend using lube pads, for the simle reason that they pull the lubricant off of the wire, if you've ever seen a lube pad filled with the grayish graphite type substance, that's wire lubricant, and it doesn't do any good clogging up the pad, unless you are welding in a dirt floor shop, or a shop with some extreme arc gouging or grinding going on, these pads are not necessary. 6.) Drilling out the contact tip, this will do more harm than good, as the only spot the wire can pick up current is at the tip, hence the name "contact tip" I'd be willing to bet that changing the liner, and having it the correct length, installing a new contact tip, and resetting the drive roll tension, and making sure you have a good ground will solve your problem. You're welding wire supplier should be able to help you through a simple issue like this, if he or she can't it's time to find a new supplier.
Reply:I'm currently looking at getting some contact tips for my K-ARC 100 welder does it matter which kind of .030 contacts I can get?Drink a Guinness Draught....Millermatic 140Do you still rememberDecember's foggy freeze --when the ice thatclings on to your beard isscreaming agony.
Reply:Especially on spray mode, getting a little off on wire speed/voltage, will increase your chances of fusing to the tip.  You said 95/5 gas, sounds like spray mode.  Sometimes, it's just something as simple as trying to force the gun into a corner or something, thus twisting or binding the liner, momentarily slowing down the wire.If your drive rollers are slipping at all, it will distort the wire.   It sticks when the bad part goes thru the tip, then the rollers slip again, creating another bad part 15' back.  This will go on and on.   Sometimes, just have to pull wire out, the full length of the liner, and snip it off.This can also happen if the rollers are too tight, tends to distort and crimp the wire.