EN16T welding.

[Spacecowboy]

Is it ok to weld EN16T by MiG?
What I mean is, will this alter the hardening of the metal or make it unusable as a stressed part, or cause any other problems.
I'm thinking about welding on a nut, to turn a piece of 16mm bar into a pivot bolt.
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[TechnicAl]

It is very high strength so you need to be careful. It sounds like you are more comcerned about the effect on the EN16T rather than the strength of the weld. If thats the case you can weld it with standard mild steel MIG (SG2 or G3Si1) wire but you will need to preheat before welding. 150 oC minimum and it should be heated long enough to soak through. After welding allow to cool slowly, packed in sand.
One other precaution, weld one half side first, allow to cool and then weld the other half. This prevents contraction pulling the weld apart.

Oh and dont use Chinese wire some of it contains high Hydrogen which can cause cracks.

 

[Spacecowboy]

Thanks for the info, very useful.
My next problem, after another avenue has proven to be a cul-de-sac, is that I need to source a length of 16mm EN16T.

Any ideas anyone?