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I'm seeing black soot on both sides of the weld seam. The equipment is an old Spoolmatic 30a, Trailblazer 250g, Argon with .030 x 5356 wire welding 1/8 inch 5086 aluminum. I get the soot even when wire brushing the weld area carefully. iThis is driving me nuts. Not amount of adjustments I've tried gets rid of the black soot.Any ideas of what causes this would be appreciated.Joe
Reply:http://www.thefabricator.com/article...mize-weld-smut
Reply:What are you running your argon flow at?
Reply:Nature of the beast I'm afraid. Watch the vid. Clean with SS brush, wipe with acetone, then wipe off any soot afterward.
Reply:Originally Posted by HT2-4956http://www.thefabricator.com/article...mize-weld-smut
Reply:Joe, are you pushing the bead or dragging it? Pushing is preferred, although not always possible. When you are pushing the bead think of it in this way: if you are pressure washing your driveway and pushing the spray away from you you will see the dirt/debris push out ahead, in front, and away from you, if you are dragging the spray back to you the dirt/debris just sort of stays where it is. The aluminum weld bead reacts in a similar manner and will show the cleanest bead when the weld is being pushed. You will also notice more of the smut with the 5356 alloy over say, a 4043. I don't recall the exact alloying element that promotes this, however the 5356 has more of it than 4043 and thus more smut shows up. The nice thing is that this is a visual thing and doesn't promote any major detrimental effects to the actual weld bead/deposit. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Just brush the soot off with a small ss brush
Reply:Originally Posted by Going nowhereWhat are you running your argon flow at?
Reply:Originally Posted by aevaldJoe, are you pushing the bead or dragging it? Pushing is preferred, although not always possible. When you are pushing the bead think of it in this way: if you are pressure washing your driveway and pushing the spray away from you you will see the dirt/debris push out ahead, in front, and away from you, if you are dragging the spray back to you the dirt/debris just sort of stays where it is. The aluminum weld bead reacts in a similar manner and will show the cleanest bead when the weld is being pushed. You will also notice more of the smut with the 5356 alloy over say, a 4043. I don't recall the exact alloying element that promotes this, however the 5356 has more of it than 4043 and thus more smut shows up. The nice thing is that this is a visual thing and doesn't promote any major detrimental effects to the actual weld bead/deposit. Best regards, Allan
Reply:Great article, thanks for the feedback. joe
Reply:A little bit of smut at the edges of the weld is not usually a problem. If the smut gets excessive and covers the whole weld it can be indicative of inadequate shielding that could cause porosity in the weld (which lowers it's strength).The reason smut is more of a problem with 5356 is because of the Magnesium in it vaporizing out when it passes thru the arc. Where as 4043 has no magnesium to contribute to the problem. With 4043 the smut is just a by product of some of the aluminum its self vaporizing.As others have already mentioned you need to push the puddle (even down hill). When you try and pull the puddle you have the arc aimed back into it and this causes it to over heat and have more of the aluminum (and the Magnesium in the case of 5356) get vaporized.
Reply:One thing I have noticed that definitely makes a big difference is the quality of your regulator or flow meter I was using a older reg I had beaten on for years I switched to a newer flow meter and it was night and day, using less gas and its working much better.perfecting inconsistent problems is a game of eliminating possible variableshttp://www.forgingtechnology.com/
Reply:Wondering if it's better to use a l larger nozzle like. 5/8 or ¾. Other thing I noticed about MIG aluminum is that it gives off an insane amount of heat and UV rays. After the last Weld-o-rama, Only using the spoolgun for a few mins I ended up with a sunburn on my upper arms... probably partially cuz it's spray and maybe because it's so shiny and reflective?Tiger Sales: AHP Distributor www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P, Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma. For Sale: Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun. Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawWondering if it's better to use a l larger nozzle like. 5/8 or ¾. Other thing I noticed about MIG aluminum is that it gives off an insane amount of heat and UV rays. After the last Weld-o-rama, Only using the spoolgun for a few mins I ended up with a sunburn on my upper arms... probably partially cuz it's spray and maybe because it's so shiny and reflective?
Reply:I have leather sleeves and chaps I usually use for any significant time Welding. Was surprised how fast I got burned with the AL MIG, really less than 5 mins of weld time. Lesson learned heh. Won't do any Aluminum without covering up first. I see folks TIG welding all the time without gloves. Don't get that. Esp with HF , just touch the metal and you get zapped.Tiger Sales: AHP Distributor www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P, Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma. For Sale: Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun. Lincoln Wirematic 250 |
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