georgehurst
New Member
- Messages
- 5
- Location
- Somerset, UK
Hi there,
I've been browsing this forum for a while, really great resource, thank you. I have just got myself an Oxford Migmaker 200-1 and have been doing some test welds to get to grips with the settings today.
I have a little MIG experience, but mainly theory based from what I picked up in a metal work company I work for rather than actual hands on practical experience.
I've made some satisfactory welds, but I'm surprised by the power setting I need to use to get proper penetration and as such wonder if I've got it wrong.
I'll add some pictures tomorrow for clarification.
I've mainly been playing about with welding lap jointed 1.5mm mild steel, which is my first task on a Mk2 VW Jetta.
In order to get a spot weld that I consider (perhaps wrongly) to have penetrated adequately, I use the following settings: Power - 9 / Wire - 4.5 / Spot weld timer - 1.5
The power setting is 9 out of 12 available steps, the wire feed is semi-synergic and I've pretty sure I've got that dialed in correctly, and the timer equates to about 2 seconds welding in the same spot.
Given that the welder is 20-200amps, the power setting of 9 is in excess of 100 amps, which from my patchy understanding seems way too high for 1.5mm steel.
The result is a weld that sits nicely on the top, not a ball, and a small amount of relief on the underside, showing that the weld has melted right the way through.
Any power setting lower than 9 simply discolours the metal on the underside and does not show any weld coming through the surface.
Do I need to see weld coming through on the underside to get adequate penetration?
I've also tried some but weld joints, and am still having to use a setting of 6 or 7 out of 12 to get any weld showing through on the underside of the joint.
Hope that makes sense. Will add some pictures tomorrow.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Cheers
George
I've been browsing this forum for a while, really great resource, thank you. I have just got myself an Oxford Migmaker 200-1 and have been doing some test welds to get to grips with the settings today.
I have a little MIG experience, but mainly theory based from what I picked up in a metal work company I work for rather than actual hands on practical experience.
I've made some satisfactory welds, but I'm surprised by the power setting I need to use to get proper penetration and as such wonder if I've got it wrong.
I'll add some pictures tomorrow for clarification.
I've mainly been playing about with welding lap jointed 1.5mm mild steel, which is my first task on a Mk2 VW Jetta.
In order to get a spot weld that I consider (perhaps wrongly) to have penetrated adequately, I use the following settings: Power - 9 / Wire - 4.5 / Spot weld timer - 1.5
The power setting is 9 out of 12 available steps, the wire feed is semi-synergic and I've pretty sure I've got that dialed in correctly, and the timer equates to about 2 seconds welding in the same spot.
Given that the welder is 20-200amps, the power setting of 9 is in excess of 100 amps, which from my patchy understanding seems way too high for 1.5mm steel.
The result is a weld that sits nicely on the top, not a ball, and a small amount of relief on the underside, showing that the weld has melted right the way through.
Any power setting lower than 9 simply discolours the metal on the underside and does not show any weld coming through the surface.
Do I need to see weld coming through on the underside to get adequate penetration?
I've also tried some but weld joints, and am still having to use a setting of 6 or 7 out of 12 to get any weld showing through on the underside of the joint.
Hope that makes sense. Will add some pictures tomorrow.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Cheers
George
