Trouble welding 2mm plate

[Grrrmachine]

Getting to grips with my Snap-On 2135 (0.8mm wire, Ar-CO2 mix)

I can lay a bead on, but when I do joints (butt or fillet) I can't find the sweet spot between lack of penetration and blowing through.

The Snap-On only has 2 power switches (1-2, Min-Max) so I seem to be dependant on the wire speed, but whenever I turn it up to match the increased power, I either get spitting/balling from the wire, or "craters" around the weld where the pool has sunk; this is especially apparent on my fillet welds.

Any ideas?

 

[Richiew]

Are you able to use 0.6mm wire with that machine? By using 0.6mm wire you would lower the amps on the settings so if you were blowing through on a particular setting using 0.8mm wire you may get lucky and have it just right on 0.6mm.

 

[Grrrmachine]

yeah, I've got 0.6mm wire and tips waiting for the 0.8mm plate I've got, but I should be able to do 2mm plate with 0.8mm wire, surely.

I'm wondering whether lowering the power and upping the wire speed is the key here. It's that undercut I'm worried about, although the fillets I made stood up to a massive pounding with a 2kg hammer until the parent metal bent flat.

 

[shenion]

Up the power until you start getting full penetration.

Then it is up to keep moving the torch fast enough and at a constant speed.

You can try a lower setting with a high wire speed or a higher setting with a lower speed. With Ar/CO2 mixes you get a larger usable speed range.