Setting up a 130A welder for thin metal

[Grrrmachine]

I've got a Snap-On 130A, which has four power settings and the wire speed dial. 1min, 1max, 2min and 2max is the sequence of power increase, with 1min delivering 30A. I'm using 0.6mm wire and an argon/CO2 mix.

But I'm struggling to butt-weld using the thin metal technique. With the lowest power setting and very slow wire speed, I'm not getting the right sizzle, but as I increase the wire speed, I just burn holes. It seems that the weld pool doesn't start quick enough, especially compared to the video in the tutorial.

Is it worth bumping up the settings to say 1max and a faster wire speed, and pulse the trigger a lot quicker? Or is it just my technique that's wrong?

 

[GrahamGKD]

Hi,
I don't do a lot of thin stuff myself but a couple of thoughts. Have you tried setting the machine up on some slightly thicker (more forgiving) material to check that everything is working as it should? Do you have the option to put a heat sink (like some copper plate) at the back of the joint?

 

[Grrrmachine]

I've done plenty of work with 1- and 1.5mm steel, and I'm comfortable butt-welding those, so I don't want to blame the machine just yet. But there are a few jobs I need to do on the car where using a cooling plate just isn't accessible, so I don't want to "cheat" just yet either.

 

[rikrobson]

You will need to turn the wire speed up on the machine. They make a soft hiss when the wirespeed is to low. They also seem to have a habit of arcing from the tip in low speed and not enough metal is added to the pool if the wire speed is too low. It's all down to technique i'm afraid. I had the same problem. also the torch isn't the easiest to use with the way it works, its not positive enough. Had much better success once the machine was converted to eurotorch. Also what is you gas flow?
Bumping up the power will only make more amps and therefore heat.

 

[Grrrmachine]

Thanks for the info. THe machine has already had a euo-torch conversion, fortunately, and I'm using a big bottle (1m tall) so I've plenty of gas there. I'll just keep playing until I nail it.

 

[rikrobson]

you just need to not put too much heat in one go. Ive welded mondeo sill with mine and they are made out of fag paper!! just lost of little stitches.

 

[Grrrmachine]

Stopped blowing holes now. Wire speed at 2.5 (just like the calculator said), angle correct, and off we go.

I also bought a length of copper (50x5mm) and cut it up into blocks that I can attach to the back of the workpiece, which really helps.