|
|
#1 tubes before welding corner of left side tube is beveled slightly with angle grinder#2 welded using 1/16th 4043 welding rod 167amps foot pedal lincoln PT275 with footpedal corner was beveled with angle grinder#3 welded using 1/16th 4043 welding rod 167amps foot pedal lincoln PT275 with footpedal corner was NOT beveled with angle grinder#4 welded using 3/64th 4043 welding rod 167amps foot pedal lincoln PT275 with footpedal corner was beveled with angle grinderHonestly they all look about the same. the weld #3 with out prebevel is slightly higher. tube is .093" wall thickness AL 6063 T6.The welds are not the prettiest. for this application we are making a cube out of aluminum tube that is 1.5' square very low non critical load of about 20 lbs. Alignment is more important to me, and for best alignment I need a flush weld. for shipping purposed the cross braces between the two cube sides are bolted in so the whole assembly can be shipped flat and bolted together upon receipt.Therefore the inside welds need to be ground flat.I have to much dust in my shop from grinders. Seems like a waste anyways, so I'm looking to make the welds flat wtih no grinding ( or very little) needed. recommendations for best technique are highly appreciated. Attached ImagesLast edited by AluminumWelder; 05-26-2014 at 09:54 PM.
Reply:Learn to control the puddle. Cut more bevel and it will help keep you from adding too much filler. I don't think you will get it as flat as you are wanting though.You have been here a while, and you do this for a living.. Those are the quality welds you put out? Honestly, if the welds are going to look like that you are better off grinding flush.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugLearn to control the puddle. Cut more bevel and it will help keep you from adding too much filler. I don't think you will get it as flat as you are wanting though.You have been here a while, and you do this for a living.. Those are the quality welds you put out? Honestly, if the welds are going to look like that you are better off grinding flush.
Reply:Retracted...Last edited by MinnesotaDave; 05-26-2014 at 11:49 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:Not that is matters but I do not weld for a living and those are not my welds. Im an entrepreneuer that makes products that need a little welding here and there.Yes they could be better but at the same time they are hidden behind paneling.Customers have complained about other things like scratched aluminum so we switched to anodized which has helped. Customers have not ever complained about the hidden welds. I've learned which battles to fight. How pretty the welds are is important, but not on the top of the list.In fact I've gotten more complaints about dust from grinding , which is the whole reason I want to improve quality control and eliminate dust. Thanks for constructive adviceLast edited by AluminumWelder; 05-26-2014 at 11:31 PM.
Reply:Retracted...Last edited by MinnesotaDave; 05-26-2014 at 11:49 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 AluminumWelderI've learned which battles to fight. How pretty the welds are is important, but not on the top of the list.In fact I've gotten more complaints about dust from grinding , which is the whole reason I want to improve quality control and eliminate dust. Not that is matters but I do not weld for a living and those are not my welds. Im an entrepreneuer that makes products that need a little welding here and there.
Reply:Originally Posted by AluminumWelderNot that is matters but I do not weld for a living and those are not my welds. Im an entrepreneuer that makes products that need a little welding here and there.Yes they could be better but at the same time they are hidden behind paneling.Customers have complained about other things like scratched aluminum so we switched to anodized which has helped. Customers have not ever complained about the hidden welds. I've learned which battles to fight. How pretty the welds are is important, but not on the top of the list.In fact I've gotten more complaints about dust from grinding , which is the whole reason I want to improve quality control and eliminate dust. Thanks for constructive advice
Reply:Have you talked to your weldor? Even he might say to bevel your part much deeper and keep the weld profile flush or below the surface. So double bevel the joint and give the weldor room to maneuver.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:If any of you have photos of actual flush welds than I would love to see them. All the photos of aluminum welds on this board I have found are protruding ridges. Yes ALL of them and I have searched this board for hours, probably read over 40 hours of posts as a guess. Obviously it is not a common technique. Please save the judgmental statements too, I just skip over them, they help no one either. Lets focus on technique and constructive advice.
Reply:Go back and reread my last post. You aren't going to find a flush weld on thin material except maybe stainless that you can weld with no filler. You are going to have to modify the weld joint to get what you want. Terry is suggesting exactly that. However unless we know what you are looking to accomplish, we can't give you good suggestions on how to accomplish this..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:go back and reread my first post I want a flat surface, dont' make it more complicated than it is.very very simple , flat weld , no ridges. can't explain it any simpler
Reply:You can get a nearly flat weld with MIG but it will still be proud of the parent material. Like DSW said, only way this is likely to work is to use stainless and TIG it with no filler.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Ok the answer to your problem is listed at the bottom section of post 7. Redesign your joint. Crush the edges to allow you to have a depression you can fill with weld. Weld and the weld ends up below the surface of the tube.Simple. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be..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:Originally Posted by AluminumWeldergo back and reread my first post I want a flat surface, dont' make it more complicated than it is.very very simple , flat weld , no ridges. can't explain it any simpler
Reply:Originally Posted by AluminumWelderwow get a life you condecending godI'm not sure I believe those aren't yours anyway..as if any one cares!jsut got you on my ignroe list
Reply:When I was building boats we would often butt up the joint and tack it, then vee it out with a skill saw, or we also had special disk saws made for our angle grinders. Basically a mini carbide tipped skill saw blade. some of the joints we could use the skill saw to cut off the weld flush. The boss wanted us to keep the dust down too, this technique produced little chips. The dust from aluminium is unhealthy for you and your welder. Maybe set out to buy a die grinder bit to cut your bevels, they make chips too.The welding part... what tungsten are you using? If you are using green, you don't need to anymore with these new machines. Even my Squarewave 175 manual says it can use red end 2% thoriated. What it doesn't tell you is after you sharpen it to a point (grind marks going the right way) is to blunt the end a little bit. It keeps it from eroding too fast while using it on ac (learned that from jody @weldingtipsandtricks) What ever you decide to do with the bevel, Remember this mantra, more fusion than filler, more fusion than filler. Go quick, don't need to dab a big glob in there if you're just going to grind it off anyway. Once you dab use the torch to flatten it out, push that metal around. That's all I got for now... Oh ok one more tip. Always weld towards a tack, it will help keep the part from pulling.Nothing Ever Got Done By Quitting, Never Give Up.
Reply:Like others suggested, a v joint bevel prep on one or both parts would help. You will stillneed to grind, though if you used a double cut file and sandpaper it doesnt take long, and it nearly eliminates the "flying dust" in the shop. Just ends up as a small pile of shavings on the work bench. And if you are worried about time, that joint would take maybe 5 minutes at best to clean and appear seamless with a file and sandpaper. Plus you dont have to worry about messing up or gouging near as much with a file. If its one side prep, that would take a minute or two at best.If you have to use a grinder, make a downdraft table that will suck all the chips and dust out of the air as they are ground. That will help eliminate your dust issue. It will need sanded/ground anyway.In all honesty, making a flat weld that will still hold (even 20 lbs) is a challenge. One technique could be to use smaller filler, or more heat, to help wash out the weld bead. One thing I DO know is that whoever welded those needs to work on filler and pedal control. Having large craters at the ends of an AL weld almost always results in the source of a crack.Good luck
Reply:AluminumWelder,If it were me I think I would try putting a 45(+) degree bevel on the end of the one tube that butts up against the side of the other. Then run the weld really hot and fast with a 1/16 filler rod. I think with enough amperage (probably 200 +) and not over adding the filler rod you can get that weld to "sink" down in there (and see it sinking down in there as it's being welded). Those welds you showed us pictures of were done with to little heat and to much filler rod and to slow a travel speed. You also didn't say what type welding machine you were using. It could be a case of your welding machine not quite being up to the task. To weld it like I think would work would take something along the lines of at least a 250 Syncrowave (or compatible) machine. You'll need the AC balance set high so it really puts the heat into the work piece.Not saying you might not get the occasional small high spot that might need to be kissed with a flap disc but no where near what your having to grind off with the welds you pictured.I fully understand what a pain in the a$$ a lot of aluminum grinding dust can get to be. A more separated area for doing it can be helpful. Make sure those doing it wear a dust mask and have the tools at hand (shop vac) for keeping it cleaned up.
Reply:One other possible thing that might work would be to do it with DCEN and a Helium / Argon mix. Of course that technique is a little trickier on the thin stuff and might require a little higher skill level (and experience) than it looks like your current welder has. Plus you'd have the extra expense of the Helium.
Reply:Beveled edges and angle depends on the size of your filler and pump and work that pedal while your feeding. Working the pedal while feeding will let you precisely see how its wetting out and help you control your bead profile. Heres a weld i did a while back and found it laying around. I think this is what your looking for.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Mike,That's getting closer to what I think is possible. Instead of all that pumping and working the foot pedal while adding the filler intermittently I think what I would try is coming down fast and hard on the pedal to get a good hot puddle established and then hooking the filler rod up to it and keeping it there by feeding the rod in while moving the torch forward quickly down the joint. Might take a daub or two at the very end of the weld as you back off the pedal to fill in the crater so it doesn't crack.
Reply:I think you mistook me bud. What I was getting at was basically a standard manual pulse. The key to a flat profile in the joint is a smaller than normal filler and just feed it to your desired profile to keep your height down. Speed was standard.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:So we're buds now huh? Gosh, lucky me. I'm pretty sure I understood what you were getting at I was just trying to offer up a possible alternative method.
Reply:Originally Posted by 4956So we're buds now huh? Gosh, lucky me. I'm pretty sure I understood what you were getting at I was just trying to offer up a possible alternative method.thanks for the helpful suggestions everyoneI think we have settled on using 0.045 filler rod/wire and beveling the edge a little. That keeps the weld almost flat. I'm also going to only use deep groove files made for filing aluminum to bring them down.The reason dust is such an issue is we use plastic panelling that has a staic cling protective wrap on it. As soon as that is taken off just a little it attracts dust like a magnet. It's almost as hard as keeping a magnet clean in a machine room. Dust filters are useless, elminating source of dust is only option for us.
Reply:Carbide tipped router bits with an edge guide for the router works good for beveling or trimming aluminum. Wax or WD40 works to prevent plugging up.Miller xmt304, Miller S22 p12, Miier Maxstar SD, Miller 252 w 30A, Miller super32p12, Lincoln Ranger 9, Thermal Arc 181I with spoolgun, Hypertherm 10000 ,Smith torches. Esab 161lts miniarc.
Reply:Originally Posted by AluminumWelderthanks for the helpful suggestions everyoneI think we have settled on using 0.045 filler rod/wire and beveling the edge a little. That keeps the weld almost flat. I'm also going to only use deep groove files made for filing aluminum to bring them down.The reason dust is such an issue is we use plastic panelling that has a staic cling protective wrap on it. As soon as that is taken off just a little it attracts dust like a magnet. It's almost as hard as keeping a magnet clean in a machine room. Dust filters are useless, elminating source of dust is only option for us.
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeNot no more! I call everybody that's cool with me bud. Just a friendly term, i'll sit back and figure out another name for you, unless your biological name is really 4946. Lighten up man I was just trying to answer to a fcking reply politely! |
|
发表于 2021-8-31 23:10:45