Hello, I have borrowed a Cebora Apollo 215A Mig welder which I am using for car body work (1.6mm material). After releasing the trigger after finishing a weld, the welder continues to release gas for a second which burns away due to the heat in the weld. Now this is a problem for me, I release the trigger as soon as I think I am about to blow a hole in the material, the gas continues to come out resulting in more heat which in turn sometimes blows a hole in the material. Should it be doing this as my other welder (an Oxford 300A) doesn't do this?
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the snooper
getting older by the day
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no sheilding gas burns .
JayRS4
Si vis pacum, para bellum
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I know exactly what your talking about, there was an adjustment for it on my old migatronic, you could turn it one way or another depending on your gas mix, it`s a bit like post flow on tig. The reason its "burning" is the burnback setting, try using a slightly longer stickout, or adjust it if you can.
pedrobedro
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The gas doesn't burn at all, car bodywork is not 1.6mm it's usually a lot thinner try turning the power down.
JRSolutions_82
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I also have an apollo 215 and I understand what you are getting at, it is not the gas burning it is just the way these machines weld, it's own personality if you like. It is not a gas issue, but when you release the trigger it takes a moment for the arc to cease. It is a little bit like arc force when stick welding where the machine is acting on its own accord. I thought it a little strange when I first started using mine but now I barely even notice that it runs on after I have released the trigger because I have gotten use to it and it is now completely natural. Do as suggested if you are blowing holes then turn the power down, also continuous welds on car body work are not a good idea, to much heat will build up resulting it much distortion and holes being burned. Also the extra heat will change the properties of the metal surrounding the weld which can weaken the structural integrity of the vehicle, especially on a monococ (bad spelling). I was taught to use a spot on spot technique, where one spot of weld overlaps the other in a continuous series from one end of the joint to another, each new spot is applied just before the previous weld loses s its redness (heat). When joining say a c post pillar on a rear quarter panel the the finished weld using this technique produces a strong weld that has an even yet minimal amout of distortion, as it cools the join well contract pulling the pannels together producing a low valley that after the weld has been ground back smooth can be filled with minimal amount of body filler thus reducing the time required to carry out the repair. Another tip for reducing distortion that I have not tried but can't see not working is to use a 'special' clay as a heat sink either side of the place where the weld will be. Like I said I have not used this idea but perhaps someone here has?
tlsjk
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hi car bodywork is about 0.8-1.0mm chassis rails are about 1.5-2.5mm and it sounds to me like you need to turn the power down 30ish amps is good for bodywork,
as jrsolutions_82 said spot on spot is a good technique also you could stitch weld (weld 5-10mm leave a gap of 5-10mm weld 5-10mm an so on) the repair panel in then when cooled weld in the gaps as all welding repairs need to be welded all the way around to be MOT spec
as jrsolutions_82 said spot on spot is a good technique also you could stitch weld (weld 5-10mm leave a gap of 5-10mm weld 5-10mm an so on) the repair panel in then when cooled weld in the gaps as all welding repairs need to be welded all the way around to be MOT spec
