steel to aluminium welding

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Not sure how to do this or if it can be done, I will be "testing" in the morning.  I have some 3"x1"x.120thick rectangular steel tube that I need to weld aluminium diamond plate to.  The plate will just be sitting on top and needs to be attached so it stays more or less.  Cars will be on this but the steel will do all the supporting the nice shiny diamond plate is just cosmetic.  So, the question is, can aluminium be welded to steel ?  and can it be done by someone who is not the best welder in the world ?  I have done some (very little) TIG welding, lots of O/A welding and MIG, I have access to all 3 types for this job.  My concern is the melting temparature difference between the 2 metals.  By the time I get a puddle on the steel, the alu will have vaporized (ok maybe not but you get the idea)  Any special filler rod ?  I was thinking of using alu rods.  Mike
Reply:not possible. hate to bust the bubble of thought but i think i might have tried the same thing years back, rivets or screws are pretty much your only optionsStangnetShop Full Of Stuff. Joey
Reply:In marine situations, steel decks and aluminium superstructures are sometimes combined, either by bolting, or (occasionally) an intermediate member is used which consists of aluminium explosively clad to steel (the only way I know to join them)Interesting process.You can weld both materials to the respective side of the composite member.
Reply:I just spotted another recent thread on this very topic, on this self-same forum. http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread...teel+aluminiumSeveral posters have encountered the explosive process, but there was one post which referred to a possible lead on a fusion or braze-welding option.
Reply:ive done similar things,  like witha  truck bed.  I used carriage bolts, nut on bottom so it looked pretty good.  Just my two cents,  oh and yeah the explosive thing works, but I know nothing of it but what a few old timers told me, and as far as the normal welding, nopeCHRIS
Reply:thanks to all that said forget it, can't be done  I tried a few things and failed and because of what I read here, I didn't waste too much time, you are right.  I bolted it together with chrome carriage bolts and the boss was ok with that, which is weird since yesterday he said no bolts.
Reply:This will not work for what you doing but we use a composite plate to weld the aluminum tailgates to the steel hinges on the dump trailers we produce. the composite consist of a 5" x 2" X 1/2" aluminum pad glued to a 5" X 2" X 1/2" steel pad. Then we weld the steel half to the steel hinge and the aluminum half to the tailgate. I have no ideal about the type of glue or process used to join the pads. We get them pre made.I do have the vendor name and they work great. I have never seen one fail even after gouged and re-welded. Your options are going to be fasteners of some type or make steel clips to hold the aluminum in place.Last edited by Robby T.; 07-27-2005 at 07:49 PM.
Reply:Howdy!  Another idea...  weld alloy studs to the back of the diamond plate, drill mating holes in the steel support structure, and torque ny-lok nuts appropriately. Perhaps a urethane washer of sorts betwen the two dis similar materials.  This is how I would do a project like this for a steel bumper with allow top shelf.  Just some more thoughts. Brian Lee  Sparkeee24
Reply:There is a aluminum to steel wire welding process mentioned in a recent Welding Journal.    For the rest of us it ain't gonna happen.  A word of caution about galvanic corrosion:  Isolate the steel from the aluminum using platic or whatever.  In one case I saw a layer of duct tape used on the aluminum before the steel was bolted to it..