Spoolgun issues

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Have recently started using the Spoolmate 100 on my Miller 211 and have figured out how to get decent welds on 1/8" plate if the welds are flat or outside edges. Inside corners are a disaster though. Much blobbing....no smooth flow. Have tried increasing voltage and fooling around with argon flow...using between 25-30 CFH. Any suggestions?thx,Dan
Reply:Are you set to dcep ?Post some pics if you can. Just a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:for sure pics would def help. sounds like the machine is dinkered best to scrap it lol. Just kindin  most likely your not welding fast enough if its alu you move twice to 3x faster then steelHigh Octane Welding
Reply:Inside corners of boxes?   Too much gas flow can cause problems.   What size wire?Multimatic 200Ellis 1800Haberle S225 9" cold sawMM 300;  Spoolmate 30A w/ WC-24TB 302GDynasty 280 DX Tigrunner
Reply:Originally Posted by AKweldshopAre you set to dcep ?Post some pics if you can.
Reply:All the black soot indicates the metal wasn't clean enough. Get some aluminum cleaner.
Reply:looks like poop but dont give up get yourself some more practice pcs and dont keep welding on one pc. General rule is if you cant hold your hand on it its to hot to weld. Alu likes lots of argon i run a 5/8th nozzle at 50cfh with 047 5356.High Octane Welding
Reply:The Spoolmate 100 w/ the Millermatic 211 only puts out 450 ipm of wire, at that speed with 0.030" 4043 you'll max out at under 100 amps, which may be borderline for spray transfer. No way you're gonna melt in at the chart settings, forget them. I'd switch to 0.035", I've been able to get good spray from 100-165 amps with my MM211 and my beefed up spoolmate 100, 165A with the wire feed maxed out. In that range you can do your 1/8" and 3/16" no problem. Make sure you're using 4043 wire, tried 0.035" 5356 wire today just for sh*ts and giggles, and with the wire feed maxed out I was able to 125-130A maxed out, minimum 110A before it went into short circuit.  Those values are all on 240V, I doubt you're gonna get anywhere on 120V. If you're on 240V, for 1/8" try running it around with wire feed at 82 (133-140A) and 6.5-7.2 (23-24V). That's Miller's online calculator recommeded amperage for fillet welds, and Maxal's recommended voltage for 4043 wire for that thickness.  Might be a little hot (voltage may be high), but you should be able to get some decent welds. Dwell a little at the start until the puddle flows out if you're not pre-heating. Make sure to keep around a 3/4" stickout.
Reply:Originally Posted by JieveThe Spoolmate 100 w/ the Millermatic 211 only puts out 450 ipm of wire, at that speed with 0.030" 4043 you'll max out at under 100 amps, which may be borderline for spray transfer. No way you're gonna melt in at the chart settings, forget them. I'd switch to 0.035", I've been able to get good spray from 100-165 amps with my MM211 and my beefed up spoolmate 100, 165A with the wire feed maxed out. In that range you can do your 1/8" and 3/16" no problem. Make sure you're using 4043 wire, tried 0.035" 5356 wire today just for sh*ts and giggles, and with the wire feed maxed out I was able to 125-130A maxed out, minimum 110A before it went into short circuit.  Those values are all on 240V, I doubt you're gonna get anywhere on 120V. If you're on 240V, for 1/8" try running it around with wire feed at 82 (133-140A) and 6.5-7.2 (23-24V). That's Miller's online calculator recommeded amperage for fillet welds, and Maxal's recommended voltage for 4043 wire for that thickness.  Might be a little hot (voltage may be high), but you should be able to get some decent welds. Dwell a little at the start until the puddle flows out if you're not pre-heating. Make sure to keep around a 3/4" stickout.
Reply:Just gave it a try with .035 wire, 82 feed speed, and 7.2 on the voltage, and I got some nice spray transfer! Thanks so much! Still getting soot though. I'm holding the gun nearly vertical (15 degrees away from the weld direction) and pushing. About 28 CFH on the argon. Any suggestions to eliminate the soot?Again, huge improvement. Thanks much.Dan
Reply:Maybe try increasing your push angle slightly, and trying different gas flow rates? You could probably play with the voltage a bit too (turning it down slightly), it's rare that I can weld a joint with hardly any soot at all, usually there's a really thin layer in both sides of the bead, occasionaly on the bead itself. I've gotten close, but generally just brush it off. As far as I understand it that's pretty normal if conditions aren't exactly perfect. No idea if it's optimal, but 27-28 is the gas flow rate I've been using as well. I'm still learning on aluminum though, maybe someone else more knowledgable can chime in regarding the soot.
Reply:BTW: http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...calculator.php
Reply:Soot is normal with Mig. I got a lot with the MM211 but hardly any with the passport though.Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:http://www.thefabricator.com/article...mize-weld-smutEd Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:Nice! The best article I've seen on the topic yet.
Reply:Interesting stuff. So, at this point Im ok with welding 1/8 and thicker aluminum, but haven't had much luck with thinner stuff. Has anyone had much success with 14 gauge, which is the thinnest that Miller seems to advise. If yes, what wire and settings did you use?thx,Dan
Reply:When I first got of WW I wrote a long post on how to get the spool gun setup correctly. I don't have very many post so it would be pretty easy to look through my previous post. It will get you to a solid starting place.
Reply:Thanks Burns. Couldn't find your prior post, but have you had success with 14 gauge aluminum? If so, what settings did you use?thx,Dan
Reply:Welded 16gIt's a pain to dial it in but it can be done.Steel is very forgiving but AL not so much: slight changes make big differences :0Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:I think it's in this threadhttp://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ces&highlight=Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:Broccoli, was that 16 gauge butt, fillet or lap? I havent tried welding anything that thin yet only because i don't have any available at the moment, but read some excellent articles on welding butt joints on aluminum pipe written by the author who wrote the above article on aluminum soot, and it seems that using either a stainless steel backing with a groove milled into it for the weld or using a permanent backing strip is really the best if not only way to get complete and consistent joint penetration on stuff that thin. i've been experiementing with 3/16" x 2" square tube butt welds, have done about 10-12 separate tries in the last few days, trying different bevel angles, land sizes, gap sizes, stickouts, voltage/amp settings, preheat and have come up with some decent results but still nothing resulting in complete joint penetration throughout the entire weld length. I'm starting to feel like the only way to achieve this is to use a permanent backing (smaller tube) inside of the tube. Any gap whatsoever larger than about an 0.040" and i end up blowing through, and the first 1/2" is never completely penetrates, even with preheat.  Frank Armao in his articles recommends against gapping when mig welding aluminum pipe, unless there is a backing of some type used. Another good source can be found by googling "key to metals aluminum fusion welding" and checking out maxal's aluminum welding handbook. All of maxal's joint recommendations for mig welding anything 1/8"and thinner all use temporary or permanent backings.
Reply:16g tubing. No end to end Butt welds but 45deg corners.Not sure if I have any photos of that project- don't do much AL.Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge