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Hello everyone. I have been an occasional welder for the past 7 years, using both gas and an AC/DC stick welder. Thus far I have only welded steel.I am getting ready to weld some aluminum angle onto which I will rivet aluminum fenders for my construction trailer. Airgas supplied me with 4043 1/8-inch electrodes for the task. I have zero experience welding aluminum. Can someone suggest the best technique to use?Thanks,Miranda
Reply:For the most part these rods suck, I think they require DC- IIRC, clean the joint and run stringer bead pretty fast. WEAR a respirator for welding because these rods put off a lot of smoke, sometimes enough to make it very hard to see the puddle. I have very little experience with aluminumNRA LIFE MEMBERUNITWELD 175 AMP 3 IN1 DCMIDSTATES 300 AMP AC MACHINELET'S GO BRANDON!"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Reply:The couple times I tried them a good preheat of the material produced the best results. Dont get me wrong , I am not experienced and the weld still sucked but it did hold.Miller Dynasty 280 DX, Lincoln 210 MP
Reply:This older thread is a good read.https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.ph...-My-ExperienceI tried a few aluminium rods last year and it wasn't to bad.https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.ph...ium-SMAW-beadsFronius Transpocket 180Kemppi minarc 150Esab powercut 400
Reply:I've tried them. I DO NOT LIKE THEM! In my experience they are scary hot. They will blow through 1/8" thick aluminum.Successful welds like you plan will involve TIG or spool gun.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:Our trailer mechanics use them for mobile repairs / aluminum lift-gates mostly.. I took a few home to try once... worked ok on 1/4" but thin stuff (1/8") will burn through quick if yer not haulin azz. not beautiful, but I'm sure it will work ok for you if you are quick.Miller 211Hypertherm PM 451961 Lincoln Idealarc 250HTP 221 True Wisdom only comes from Pain.
Reply:I’ve tried it a few times ,not pretty . For me 90degrees ,go as fast you can then a little faster. A fan helps with smoke. The slag is a pain to get off.
Reply:I found most of the slag was easy to chip of but little bits stuck at the toes of the weld can be a pain.You have to make you remove all the slag with hot soapy water and a hard brush because it is salt based and very corrosive.I didn't remove all of it from the test pieces i did last year and all of them have pitting and nice white mushrooms growing on them now.Fronius Transpocket 180Kemppi minarc 150Esab powercut 400
Reply:Ive only done a few and no matter what you do with that stuff itll be FUGLIER than my first grade teachers personality. Oh itll work but dont even think about just going for it with the actual piece. Find something similar and practice first. Its far messier and you have to move fast with That rod. Did I say it was fuglllllyyyy. People will laugh here but Ive had excellent luck with that aluminum brazing rod you get at HF. Low heat no burn through and very strong . Its also dirt simple to use with just a propane torch.. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Reply:A few aluminum facts before you start:Aluminum oxidizes instantly after being cleaned.Aluminum oxide is a poor conductor, and defeats the ionization necessary for a successful weld.Aluminum oxide melts at a temperature between 2 and 3 times the melting temperature of clean aluminum. Both TIG, And MIG processes depend on AC power to blast away the oxide layer. Stick electrodes don't address these facts.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Willie B
A few aluminum facts before you start:Aluminum oxidizes instantly after being cleaned.Aluminum oxide is a poor conductor, and defeats the ionization necessary for a successful weld.Aluminum oxide melts at a temperature between 2 and 3 times the melting temperature of clean aluminum. Both TIG, And MIG processes depend on AC power to blast away the oxide layer. Stick electrodes don't address these facts.
Reply:Thank you ALL for your input and advice. I managed to get my 1/8" aluminum angle fender mounts welded. Everything that was suggested was accurate, and helped me get some mostly butt ugly but structurally sound welds. I scrubbed the surfaces clean, made sure my butt joints were closely fitted, preheated with a torch (indispensable), did a couple of test welds identical to the ones planned, worked FAST -- faster than I ever welded before, held my breath for each short (2-inch) weld to avoid the fumes, and ground the excess weld material down to almost flush. I ran DC(+) at around 90 amps - hot enough to strike an arc with a little finesse but cool enough to weld without blowing holes through the 1/8-inch stock as long as I didn't linger. Thanks for the input, advice, observations, and suggestions. It all helped very much.
Reply:Glad it worked out for you. That rod works, it's just a PAIN IN THE A$$!NRA LIFE MEMBERUNITWELD 175 AMP 3 IN1 DCMIDSTATES 300 AMP AC MACHINELET'S GO BRANDON!"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Reply:with aluminum stick rod1) there is recommended amp range for each size stick rod. using too high amps can give bad welds. if anything going above higher than recommended amps you dont get a hotter weld all you do is melt the rod way too fast.2) there is a recommended size of welding rod to part thickness. 1/8 thick metal and 1/8 dia rod usually works. 1/4" thick metal and 1/8" dia rod you start needing preheat and can easily get cold arc starts. you almost always get poor results if you try welding over 3/8" thick with small 1/8" dia rod. basically you need bigger rod size for thicker metal.3) some use circle weave welding especially on arc start to help warm up weld start. as part warms up some reduce circle size or use oval longer in direction of travel or stop weaving as part warms up. basically trying to maintain same weld size from beginning to end of weld. this technique hard to explain. its fairly standard on some rod types like 6013 used to avoid cold arc starts. if you weld with 6010/7018 like 99.999% time it might seem extremely odd worrying about a cold arc start and using a minimum dia rod to part thickness (that is not to use too small a rod dia)
Reply:Hello, is it possible to weld up or down 1/4 thick alum with these rods even at 40-50 degrees?Are they too fluid for this?
Reply:
Originally Posted by Oscar
MIG doesn't need AC for aluminum, it runs on DC. Just the fact that it runs on DCEP is enough to blast away the oxide layer.
Reply:I saw some youtube videos, all welded flat with these rods...What if you need to fix something vertically?
Reply:
Originally Posted by And256
I saw some youtube videos, all welded flat with these rods...What if you need to fix something vertically?
Reply:Is this rod like a 308-16 that welds vertically but you need good experience or it's like a 7024 that's impossible for vertical?
Reply:
Originally Posted by And256
Is this rod like a 308-16 that welds vertically but you need good experience or it's like a 7024 that's impossible for vertical?
Reply:First photo is down hill with 20 more amps than recommended hence the spatter.
second photo is horizontal, third pass at recommended max of 80 amps
I don’t find it requiring extreme speed. The last weld was relatively slow, with lots of side to side motion. Still lack tying in. But it is doable.I used an HTP 221. No special prep for the metal.Last edited by tapwelder; 3 Weeks Ago at 12:54 AM.
Reply:
Couple of stringers on a bead.Reduced the current and it is easier to find puddle. Current too low and rod sticks. A machine that will run the rod is important. I have had inverters that will not run it. My esab 161 will run it.
Reply:Thanks for the pics.It looks like you weld aluminum bricks
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Reply:
Originally Posted by And256
Is this rod like a 308-16 that welds vertically but you need good experience or it's like a 7024 that's impossible for vertical? |
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发表于 2022-5-19 11:02:54