mig welding parameters

[God mode restorations]

Hi,
My name is Spencer and i have just signed up.
I have an Oerlikon Citoline 1700 mig welder with 6 power settings and ten wire speed settings..I am welding 3mm flat plate with gas flow set at 12 lpm..power setting 4..the recomended wire speed from an online calculator was 4.9 and seamed way to much..my wire speed is set at 2.5..are these calculators a basic guide line for settings? My machine did not come with the welding chart so am a bit blind on settings...I did spend three years at welding collage 15 years ago so I am very rusty indeed..I will post a few pics up of a couple of quick test beads I did this morning..any information would be great..many thanks..Spencer..

 

[Fastfingaz]

Alright spencer,,, good for you and your machine I'ma say this and hopfully it makes sense to you ,,, it good to set the machine by the numbers according to some manual,, but it is even better to know what to look for in a good weld, also how the machine is supposed to sound like, when it's set right,, just imgine your machine without any numbers around the dials ,,, could you set it properly??? since you've been to collage, do you know what it supposed to sound like and what a good weld supposed to look like ?? those welds look alright they'ed be flatter if you would have given yourself alitte more space between the plates,,,but that's good!!!!!

 

[God mode restorations]

hi and thanks for your reply..i understand completely what your saying.yes i know the sound i am looking for..a sizzling bacon sound..but it crackles abit too so i know i am a little off somewhere..i guess its just a case of tweaking the wire speed alittle more

 

[the snooper]

play around with wire speed until you get the right result ,online calculators cant take into consideration differences in machines and all machines will be different faster wire speed = taller welds

 

[God mode restorations]

Thanks Snooper..i will have another play tomorrow and tweak it some more

 

[BrokenBiker]

get some scrap metal, arc up with one hand and then slowly adjust the wire feed knob with the other and listen to it change. try it with different power settings on different thicknesses, helped me get to know what settings worked on what

 

[the snooper]

you can always v the joints out it will make full penetration better then simply butting 2 pieces together

 

[BrokenBiker]

also on thicker stuff you can leave a small gap, maybe 1mm and that will help the puddle flow right into the root

 

[God mode restorations]

@ Brokenbiker..will try it out tomorrow..thanks

@ Snooper..will get some scrap and put a 45 on the edges

 

[God mode restorations]

@brokenbiker i did put a 1mm gap in the 3mm thick plates..should i be looking for more drop through in the back of the plates?

 

[the snooper]

@brokenbiker i did put a 1mm gap in the 3mm thick plates..should i be looking for more drop through in the back of the plates?

you might have got a little more with a lower wire speed

 

[BrokenBiker]

on 3mm I would expect full penetration with a 1mm root gap, I can get that with my 100 amp machine on about 3/4 of its potential with a root gap.

ideally you would put a 60 degree bevel on the top edge with a 1mm root face (flat bit left below the bevel) then leave a 1mm root gap, then you set your power to where ever it needs to be, wire feed such that you can move fast enough that you don't blow through, and slow enough that the puddle gets hot enough to 'sink' into the root and just show through on the back of the weld.

 

[God mode restorations]

thankyou for the replies.as i have a day off tomorrow i will have another go at settings and beveling ...

 

[Jan]

I'm guessing that you're welding flat on the workbench/heatsink. As such a lot of the heat will be soaked up by the underlying metal so that penetration will be less than with air on both sides. After a few (dozen? hundred?) practice runs that way you will want to get the joint up off the bench and have a go at a 'real world' weld. Once you get that going well on the 2mm+ stuff it's time to start having a go with thinner and thinner materials. Nothing beats practice, practice, practice for improving your technique!

 

[God mode restorations]

thanks jan for your reply..yes i am welding flat on the work bench..i have now got my settings right and a nice sound..spent the hole day welding flat.lap.fillet.outside.and vertical up and down..almost there now...