Hi,
I am after some feedback advice on my attempts to weld some thicker (8mm) plate using a MIG as I am struggling to get things working properly. I am using a TecARC 181 (aka portamig) 185a welder all and just switched from CO2 to Argon / CO2 mix (93% 5% 2%) I was planning to do this bit of welding with pure CO2 but the bottle ran out!!!
Firstly a bit of a practice weld on some scrap. The metal is 5mm profile that I did not clean (i.e. I welded over the rust) - but it was just a practice
The weld was done vertical up and seems to have penetrated
So far so good, the welder was not as smooth as I was expecting, but then I did not clean the metal so I moved on to welding some 8mm plate. I ground the plate down on both sides at 45 degrees (It is only going to be a surface to weld small parts together on) hence the V depth is about 4mm deep by 8mm wide
All of the following welds are done with the work-piece flat on a bench
First run with the power turned up and I am struggling to get a smooth weld, quite a bit of splatter and cracking whatever I set the wire speed to. Also on occasions the wire would stick into the weld pool or produce a machine gun effect, but this was intermittent and would weld reasonably ok before / after. I know the metal is clean as I just ground it all down.
power setting 9 (of 12) wire speed 5 (guessing around 140A as much more takes out the 13A fuse)
and a closer view of one section
There is a lot of brown dust all over the weld area
Next setting
130A ish power, but with a lower wire speed of 3.5
Seemed to produce a better weld and the wire no longer sticks in the weld pool, but it does give a bit of a machine gun effect intermittently (finger kept on trigger it comes and goes lasts for a few seconds then goes for 20 or 30 seconds without a problem)
Next attempt 100A wire speed 3.5A
The strange bump in the middle of the weld is a result of my finger on the metal getting very hot!
These seemed the best looking welds and there was still enough penetration but the weld performance still seemed a little variable and I could not get a smooth arc (sounded the same as welding with pure CO2)
Final welds were taken at 90A with different wire speeds
90A wire speed 5
90A wire speed 4
90A wire speed 3
Any feedback / pointed would be appreciated. Is the lack of a smooth arc simply due to the material thickness?
I keep thinking the intermittent problems are wire feed, but when I check the tension it is fine, the real does not run on and the wire seems to feed smoothly when I try it in free air?
Thanks
Tim
I am after some feedback advice on my attempts to weld some thicker (8mm) plate using a MIG as I am struggling to get things working properly. I am using a TecARC 181 (aka portamig) 185a welder all and just switched from CO2 to Argon / CO2 mix (93% 5% 2%) I was planning to do this bit of welding with pure CO2 but the bottle ran out!!!
Firstly a bit of a practice weld on some scrap. The metal is 5mm profile that I did not clean (i.e. I welded over the rust) - but it was just a practice
The weld was done vertical up and seems to have penetrated
So far so good, the welder was not as smooth as I was expecting, but then I did not clean the metal so I moved on to welding some 8mm plate. I ground the plate down on both sides at 45 degrees (It is only going to be a surface to weld small parts together on) hence the V depth is about 4mm deep by 8mm wide
All of the following welds are done with the work-piece flat on a bench
First run with the power turned up and I am struggling to get a smooth weld, quite a bit of splatter and cracking whatever I set the wire speed to. Also on occasions the wire would stick into the weld pool or produce a machine gun effect, but this was intermittent and would weld reasonably ok before / after. I know the metal is clean as I just ground it all down.
power setting 9 (of 12) wire speed 5 (guessing around 140A as much more takes out the 13A fuse)
and a closer view of one section
There is a lot of brown dust all over the weld area
Next setting
130A ish power, but with a lower wire speed of 3.5
Seemed to produce a better weld and the wire no longer sticks in the weld pool, but it does give a bit of a machine gun effect intermittently (finger kept on trigger it comes and goes lasts for a few seconds then goes for 20 or 30 seconds without a problem)
Next attempt 100A wire speed 3.5A
The strange bump in the middle of the weld is a result of my finger on the metal getting very hot!
These seemed the best looking welds and there was still enough penetration but the weld performance still seemed a little variable and I could not get a smooth arc (sounded the same as welding with pure CO2)
Final welds were taken at 90A with different wire speeds
90A wire speed 5
90A wire speed 4
90A wire speed 3
Any feedback / pointed would be appreciated. Is the lack of a smooth arc simply due to the material thickness?
I keep thinking the intermittent problems are wire feed, but when I check the tension it is fine, the real does not run on and the wire seems to feed smoothly when I try it in free air?
Thanks
Tim
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