Tig welding aluminium help

[langy]

not really sure what to set the machine at there are to many button and knobs lol this is what i have got

One tip for you, the cleaning control on those machines works the opposite way to what you think it does

 

[Richard.]

Hi
Im no expert, but I have a similar machine, after a yr of getting aluminum wrong, I finally got it right

Power - depends on thickness etc but I am using like 35-40A on 1.2mm aluminum.
pulse + - 150 pps
duty 50%
cleaning 50%

this is where it gets important
Pregas - a must at least 1 sec or more - i have found without pregas the tungsten balls up
Postgas - min 5 seconds
Gas flow - 10L/min or more

And then this is where it gets more important
Tungsten is White zirconiated - no other one worked for me.
diameter is 3.2mm or 4mm (thicker the better, it helps prevent balling)
And a gas lense with the diffuser mesh - made a huge difference.
wire brush everything
Acetone everything
acetone the filler, I run a fine sand paper with acetone onto the filler, this alone has stopped the sparkling

I can now weld aluminum

Hope this helps someone.

10 lpm or more is not a good flow rate for tig welding and if your having to set it that high for results I'd say you have either a leak or your equip is reading inaccurate. I run mine at half that around 5 lpm through a lens but 6-8 should be the maximum ever required. Any more is a waste and going too high can have as bad effect as too low. Turbulence effect from high rates can draw contaminated air into the shield.

 

[Richard.]

Forgot to mention
its on AC
and also the filler needs to be away from the arc before dipping it in.
if the filler is close to the arc, it sorts of part melts then if you dip it it, it blobs and there goes the puddle.

Yes the filler does not want melting across the arc but it also doesn't want removing from the gas shield either.