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I have a everlast powerpro 164..straight argon..1/16" red tungsten..3/32 aluminum rods..I have been trying for the past few hours to get a good puddle going and a few dimes stacked (sorry no pictures) on some scrap aluminum with no luck.Seems like i am blowing the puddle out (damn regulator is in lpm) not sure how much to set the argon at. any pointers would be greatly appreciated. i will try to get pictures up soon. most of the welds come out black or just awful looking.. Could this be a problem with my 220v outlet being wired wrong? or my settings? they make it look so easy on youtube. lol..
Reply:Clean your metal, set your ac balance around 7, Your tungsten may be contaminated, re-sharpen it. Try again.
Reply:Convert to CFH so you know what you are flowing. What amperage did you set the machine at? How thick is the aluminum? Do you have the machine set to AC? Unless you are welding thin aluminum that 1/16" tungsten will be too small. If you are welding thin aluminum the filler will be too big. What size cup do you have? Did you clean the aluminum?Pictures and more info needed. Without info its really hard to help.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:Post up picts of the weld so we can see them..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:It is easy. Must be your wiring. I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:You didn't mention what size aluminum you are welding. I nearly always use 3/32" tungsten for most work that I do from 1/8" to 1/4". I use 15-20 SCFH on the argon setting. There is a rule of thumb of 1 amp per .001 of workpiece. If you preheat, you can use less. Thoriated (red) is OK for most work. I've had problems with the tip splitting on very high heat on AC but generally it works very well on everything. I sharpen to a blunt tip for aluminum and let the machine make a ball on the end. Black welds can be:1. Work not clean enough. I use a dedicated SS brush and acetone wipe. Dirty old aluminum with heavy oxide or oil soaked2. Not enough gas or bad gas. 3. Poor coverage - too small a cup, drafty conditions. Just my humble comments.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:i was using AC, i sharpened the tungsten a few times ounce the tip balled.. will post more details in the morning.. the piece of aluminum i was practicing on is about 3/32" to maybe 1/8" thick. I tried several amperage levels from 20 to 120.Going to try and pick up some 3/32" tungsten tomorrow..The fact that im using 100% argon is not likely to be the issue is it?
Reply:100% argon is the most used gas for tig welding.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:Of course we make it look easy, after the first 100 hours it starts to smooth out a little The next 100 go better...Go here for your settings: http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...calculator.php100% Argon is correct15-20 cfh flow3/32" tungsten110-150 amps depending on the size and thicknessUse enough amps to puddle in 3 seconds or lessWait for it to be nice and shiny before adding rodEdit: btw, LPM x 2.12 = CFH (Basically double it to know what cfh you are running)Last edited by MinnesotaDave; 02-10-2014 at 11:00 PM.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Originally Posted by Don Russell the piece of aluminum i was practicing on is about 3/32" to maybe 1/8" thick. I tried several amperage levels from 20 to 120.
Reply:3/32 thoriated tungsten ok...1/8 better. If you intend to buy some tungsten try getting ceriated instead as it holds up much better on A/C....you do not have to ball it and it does not spit. FOR LPM on your flowmeter 550lpm will put you at close to 20cfm which is your ballpark..900LPM is 31+cfm which is a your high ceiling for most tig work indoors. What filler size/alloy are you using on what material? 100% argon is what ya want.Don,I have no idea if you ever tig welded before at all.....but aluminum is a different animal because of how fast the puddle freezes and how it wets. You BASICALLY are looking for wetting on both pieces of material (looks like mercury laying there). Then add filler to the arc/material, the filler will suck up and deposit on the "wetted" material. MOVE ON. There are tons of different techniques for adding filler, for learning I would just touch off to a wetted area and pull away. It is important to realize when tig welding you do not pull your filler out of the gas envelope as you add it, keep it under the cup/gas. If you are using a foot pedal or thumbwheel for heat control usually those work from the ceiling set on the machine. Whew been a long time but if your using a syncrowave set your ac balance to around 7 as already stated, set your heat ceiling around 130 ampsYou will need more heat input from pedal/wheel to get the weld started and then taper off a bit as you get going. I like setting my pedals about 75% or so of total heat running a bead. You can always bring the heat down and solidify the puddle as you reposition and get ready to continue....major advantage of tig. If you are doing this without any remote you will need to find a heat range where it wets after a bit and your comfortable adding filler as you go. Cleanliness: NO OIL, NO weird abrasives....with aluminum cleanliness is king. I like acetone for a wipe down, scotchbrite is ok for buffing before wipe. Using carbon steel grinding wheels and or carbon steel brushes you are likely to see "hot spots" turning red or whatever color as you weld....these are impurities on or in your metal burning away I.E> bad joint prep practices. SS brushes that never saw anything else. All you should ever see is the arc and silver (mercury looking wetted aluminum).Technique: After getting around the weirdness of how molten AL behaves I would often tell students to count after they found there heat range etc. Like your dancing a waltz, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, just to count off in your head as you lay filler and move forward. That is how you get that machine looking stack of dimes. Do not be afraid to weld "hot", as you add filler it cools the puddle and weldment, aluminum reacts best to hot+fast. I know that may be a lot and weird primer to it all but give it a go and post back results and PICS.There are a tremendous amount of variables with GTAW, square wave, sine wave, pulse, saw tooth or other waveforms, tungsten size, tungsten type, cup size, gas lenses, different fillers and parent metals, travel speed, heat input, deposition rates.... So there is a lot going on to narrow down advice to you that will be beneficial....Maybe take a look here .....Good luckLast edited by tommyjoking; 02-11-2014 at 12:03 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by tommyjoking3/32 thoriated tungsten ok...1/8 better. If you intend to buy some tungsten try getting ceriated instead as it holds up much better on A/C....you do not have to ball it and it does not spit
Reply:Electrode degradation on A/C current is much more pronounced. Anything you can do to keep it cooler is beneficial. Since you can take a 1/4 tungsten and sharpen it down to where you need (ridiculous I know) your will get more life out of them on A/C. I use ceriated broken off clean in a vice for A/C work, they ball all by themselves without changing polarity on dc, I can sharpen them to where I need them and let the tip melt into a nice little ball perfect for the current I am using. With thoriated tungsten you got to go big to keep the integrity and keep it from melting and spitting (contaminating) into the weldment. Of course if you like changing tungsten(and perhaps grinding hard metal out of your joint) on a regular basis carry on.EDIT: Thing is you can always go down in diameter but your screwed going up....I have no idea what his LWS can supply or what they can, its always better to have more capacity current wise then pushing your limits, stinger, leads, tungsten, machine you name it. I do not pull these numbers off some chart I pull them out of my head..Last edited by tommyjoking; 02-11-2014 at 12:24 AM.Reason: BS
Reply:Most charts that I've seen show up to 230amps for 3/32" thoriated tungsten. I use 3/32" for my Syncrowave 200 90% of the time. I've use 1/8" on occasion but it exceeds the requirements for my 200 amp machine. Since I quit dipping my tungsten into the puddle about ten years ago, I've gotten long periods between the need to change it. I do sharpen now and then but 3/32" does well for me.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:looks like my biggest problem is my angle, distance from work piece, and letting the piece get too hot.. My first attempt is usually the best after that i think the aluminum is getting too hot.. Also my filler is too big... Hate the fact that most welding supply places close before i get off of work so i may just have to order my stuff online.Is it generally a good idea to have filler rod no bigger than your tungsten? will try and post pictures of my mess later today it's really embarrassing.. a lot of it is me just trying to maintain a smooth puddle with no filler. My cup says 4 on it, should i be using a bigger cup?Everlast powerpro 164 is the unit running on 220v.
Reply:Originally Posted by Robert RheaClean your metal, set your ac balance around 7, Your tungsten may be contaminated, re-sharpen it. Try again.
Reply:Originally Posted by tommyjokingElectrode degradation on A/C current is much more pronounced. Anything you can do to keep it cooler is beneficial. Since you can take a 1/4 tungsten and sharpen it down to where you need (ridiculous I know) your will get more life out of them on A/C. I use ceriated broken off clean in a vice for A/C work, they ball all by themselves without changing polarity on dc, I can sharpen them to where I need them and let the tip melt into a nice little ball perfect for the current I am using. With thoriated tungsten you got to go big to keep the integrity and keep it from melting and spitting (contaminating) into the weldment. Of course if you like changing tungsten(and perhaps grinding hard metal out of your joint) on a regular basis carry on.EDIT: Thing is you can always go down in diameter but your screwed going up....I have no idea what his LWS can supply or what they can, its always better to have more capacity current wise then pushing your limits, stinger, leads, tungsten, machine you name it. I do not pull these numbers off some chart I pull them out of my head..
Reply:Lugweld "A hard (advanced) square wave punishes tungsten pretty hard." Hence my advice to go a little thicker on tungsten and advising ceriated, it performs better. It will also keep a point better then thoriated. You will get some erosion/melt with any electrode on ANY machine with an A/C current square, inverted or off a trans rec machine. Keeping a perfectly razor sharp electrode in AC is not real world, and for the other fella I am not talking about "dipping" your tungsten at all. If you push thoriated it will split/fork and spit into the weld pool...ceriated is much better in this regard. I will get out of the way so the OP can get the help he needs. I have no interest in any kind of pissing contests getting started.
Reply:Don RussellFor angle most folks tend to push just a bit on AL...when your going fast it will probably become a habit cause of the freezing speed of the puddle. Lean into weld direction a little bit but do not sacrifice gas coverage behind your tungsten....also you have to be able to see where your applying your filler, adjust as you need to. Keep your cup close as you can and still see what your doing, if not walking or dragging the cup on something I try to rest a pinky or something on the workpiece for consistency. ALSO depending on position it is more comfortable to hole the torch like a pencil instead of wrapping you hand around it...practice the joint and where your hands are, grip etc, in real physical space before welding....where your filler hand is resting and all..trust me it will help.Filler size is what you like really....as you add filler you cool the puddle temporarily...some folks actually control heat input via filler on aluminum. If you ever weld in a production environment with no remote...well larger filler wins the day according to how fast a guy can lay it without heat cracking. Use what feels best to you at the speed you are going, what sucks up and deposits best. Would I use 1/16 filler on a 1/8 joint...nope way to slow...would I use 1/4" rnd stock on the same joint....heck no the filler would be to hard to draw from....would I use 3/32 or 1/8 depends on the day. Pick a filler right now that is comfortable for you to work with and go from there....as you get more comfortable you will likely go to larger fillers as it is less work for your off hand and you can run more current.If you are getting little pimples or bumps showing up on your dimes (look real close)...that is from staying in one spot too long and overheating the aluminum. If you see them they usually are from not going fast enough on travel speed. Those are hydrogen bubbles and probably the most common defect when you have not got your heat input/travel speed dialed in. No biggie for hobby welding but definitely an issue on any code work.Best regards and keep posting pictures and info about your settings and progress.TommyLast edited by tommyjoking; 02-12-2014 at 10:23 PM.
Reply:Thoriated works fine on inverters. If you are splitting there are a couple of other possible reasons. 1) You have to much Electrode Positive going on. 2) Poor quality tungsten. This happens. Sometimes one piece will do it and another won't . Ceriated has been repeatedly tested and it won't hold a point as good as lanthanated or thoriated in many studies. It has less heat tolerance than thoriated or lanthanated in general. Miller used to recommend Cerieated, but more research has been done and now most of their publications are backing down and recommending lanthanated for allpurpose use in an inverter. Thoriated still has the best arc starting capability of any I know of. It's cheaper, to boot. As far as point keeping ability...That's going to have a lot to do with the tungsten, and that is a known weakness of ceriated. I don't have issues with Thoriated or lanthanated when used in the correct heat range. Again it's part of having the correct AC balance and frequency range (to a lesser degree). Slight blunting is normal, but if you are doming, it's likely that you are using a machine that starts on Electrode positive rather than electrode negative.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:You don't say what kind of aluminum you have. If it's 2024 or 7075 you won't be able to weld it, and because 7075 is alloyed with zinc you shouldn't try. Zinc can kill weldors.MM210TA186TA95sLincoln AC/DC Tombstonegood old Smith torch setup 24v Readywelder mig w/spoolgunSB H 10 latheBridgeport mill6x12 K.O.Lee surface grinderK.O.Lee tool/cutter grinder
Reply:Zinc will make you dog sick, but it really won't kill you. There are other things that can, but Zinc will eventually be used by the body as it is a necessary nutrient.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldZinc will make you dog sick, but it really won't kill you. There are other things that can, but Zinc will eventually be used by the body as it is a necessary nutrient.
Reply:Effects that rarely last more than 24 hours.https://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtra.../weldhlth.htmlhttp://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...61190604,d.aWcEsab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:I wouldn't want to be exposed on a daily basis to zinc or any other metal fumes.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A SetI agree on that for sure...or anytime, but there are times when some exposure may happen. It's not something that most people who weld much haven't run into though. Respirators help, but the average home shop guys aren't going to have one. Good circulation, and/or welding outdoors is their best bet IF galvanized is encountered.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldEffects that rarely last more than 24 hours.https://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtra.../weldhlth.htmlhttp://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...61190604,d.aWc
Reply:I built a large powder coat oven about 10 years ago. It has a galvanized stud frame with galvanized sheet metal outer covering and Rock Wool insulation. I used rivets to hold the sheet metal in place but the frame was MIG welded At first, I failed to clean off the galvanized where the joints were welded and I got ill there for several days with almost flu like symptoms. I figured it had to do with the galvanized fumes. They were bad. When I came back to work on it again, I first ground off all of the galvanized (wearing a mask) and all further welding was done on bare metal with the barn doors open. Zinc is nothing to fool with. Now and then, I guess you could weld it but not on a daily basis. If you do, you should be wearing a canister mask suitable for metal fumes.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:Okay so I am thinking my problem has to be my tungsten.. Going to get something from my lws.. Brand is radnor and is blue coded.. Says ground and annealed on the package. Has anyone ever used this tungsten? Guy at the counter says its good for both ac and DC.Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by Don RussellOkay so I am thinking my problem has to be my tungsten.. Going to get something from my lws.. Brand is radnor and is blue coded.. Says ground and annealed on the package. Has anyone ever used this tungsten? Guy at the counter says its good for both ac and DC.Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Reply:I have cracked the code! This morning I picked up radnor 3/32" purple (not blue like I thought) e3 tungsten from my local air gas, number 6 and no. 7 cups.. Now my arc is MUCH more stable, I can lay down bead after bead, and I'm loving it.. Now it's not pretty but if you saw what it looked like with the no. 4 cup and 1/16" ceriated (orange) cup you would be as happy as I am right now... They even gave me a bigger argon tank (60 vs the 40) at no additional costs because they didn't have any 40's left.. I know some of the welds lack cleaning action, but that's because I got too far from the surface with the torch, however they are all a little bumpy.. I have no idea why they are bumpy..I would not be at this point if it was not for you guys suggestions, tips, videos, etc.. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Reply:Nice!I think you had some crap gas.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:I'm not sure about the gas, I got the new tank yesterday before I got the cups and bigger tungsten. I was still getting very bad results until today. I think that No 4 cup was just not getting enough gas flow combined with my lack of experience and fragile tungsten.. I was able to get a bead going before the new stuff but it was rare, short lived, and usually only on first try after that was all down hill. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by Don RussellI'm not sure about the gas, I got the new tank yesterday before I got the cups and bigger tungsten. I was still getting very bad results until today. I think that No 4 cup was just not getting enough gas flow combined with my lack of experience and fragile tungsten.. I was able to get a bead going before the new stuff but it was rare, short lived, and usually only on first try after that was all down hill. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldZinc will make you dog sick, but it really won't kill you. There are other things that can, but Zinc will eventually be used by the body as it is a necessary nutrient. |
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发表于 2021-8-31 22:34:09