Aluminium Mig wire size?

[Fixer]

I had no issue with the rollers been knurled, it does imprint on the wire but not enough to be a problem. You literally need the minimum tension on the rollers to feed and yes torch stays as per normal

Tried it and as you say, makes an impression on the wire but feeds fine.

 

[Fixer]

Argon should be here tomorrow. Had a NIGHTMARE with it. Found a seller on ebay who was 30 quid cheaper. after a week of no coms and no gas i open a case for delivery update and he refunds me 3 days later. SO 10 days and i'm back at square one. i ordered with the same people i got my current Co2 mix from and should be here tomorrow.
Moral of the story - I'm not sure there is one since the ebay dude has plenty of positive feedback from happy buyers. Same story with weld equip. Brokenbiker recommended him in this very thread for bits but i never got even a reply from him. Had the same experience a few hers back when i was thinking about buying a portamig, no response. Maybe its me?!

 

[jordan1]

I use 1mm 5356 in my mig....it's 180 amps and will only weld 2.5 to 3mm thick.

I think the welder will struggle on 4mm with 160 amps.

What size rollers, liner & tip do you use for this?.
Cheers

 

[wyn]

The roller was the standard one for 0.8-1.0 wire.
The tip was a kemppi one specifically for 1mm aluminium wire....not sure of it's actual size.
The liner was changed for a plastic one...can't remember exactly what type of plastic.

 

[sardine]

How come you can weld AL with DC MIG, but need AC for TIG ?

 

[super noob]

You can weld DC with tig on ally you just don't get the cleaning action

 

[Jim Davey]

You can weld DC with tig on ally you just don't get the cleaning action

It's not quite as cut and dried as that. It's possible but you really need helium gas and electrode positive with a big tungsten to get anything like a reasonable result. You can melt ally on DCEN with pure argon but the weld is awful.

 

[ukracer]

As this three has been resurrected I don't suppose anyone knows where to buy the short brass rod that stops the birds nests??

 

[Jim Davey]

An outlet guide?

 

[ukracer]

? Not sure Jim. I just remember being told they exist but never been able to see one to buy. It's live a V at one end hoes sort of between rollers and goes right up to the Teflon liner so there are no gaps..

 

[ukracer]

Looks like you are spot on Jim. But I don't know if they are machine specific or sized. I can't say what machine it's for either...,) wink wink

 

[Jim Davey]

They come in various lengths and you trim them to suit the machine. However we don't use them on ally, we run the liner all the way to the rollers and use a thin wall brass tube that slips over the liner to support it instead. No joints to cause jams whe feeding wire through and it seems to work much better.

 

[Jan]

When I changed the liner on my MIG welder to steel the feeder tube wouldn't fit on the end of the new liner, so I simply cut it a little longer so that it reaches within a couple of millimetres of the feed rollers. *Touch wood* I've never had it bird's nest on me even when the wire has flashed back and welded itself the tip.