Shielding gas

Date 08-28-2009 00:21

Would anyone be willing to share with me their experiences concerning argon gas mixes particularly 90% Ar-10% Co2 and 95% Ar-5% O2? One of the Company’s plants I work for is having difficulty and is currently using 95-5 mix on 14ga to 7ga of either burn thru or the other extreme lack of fusion and penetration. I am thinking it is most likely the welding gas mix and wire size that had been chosen requiring the welder to walk a fine line do to the voltage needed with the 95-5 gas and .045 ER70s-6. The Maintenance Department checked wire speed and voltage readouts on the power unit and wire feeder. Currently no WPS is in use and welding is being preformed in all positions.

Thanks,
Rey

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 08-28-2009 04:42

Rey

Five percent O2 is not really common for plain carbon steel although some still use it. 98/2 Ar/oxy and 90/10 Ar/C02 are by far the most common gasses for spray transfer GMAW....

WWW.weldreality.com is the best free resource online for data on GMAW shield gasses.. The site also has two excellent books on parameter settings that cover everything from light duty to heavy automation...

Say more about your specific applications and you may get better responses... Let us know about production speeds, automation, mill scale and travel speeds.

By R McLead (**)

Date 08-28-2009 15:14

Lawrence

Thanks, I will check out the web site. Yes there is mill scale present as far as travel speeds that is unknown right now (no WPS just getter done), no pulse is being used presently. I have a meeting with engineering and the quality manager for this plant and I just wanted some more ideals. While walking thru the welding area I took some readings of weld settings and these are the highest and lowest, (95/5 30V 425IPM .045 wire 7ga a572), (95/5 23.4V 394IPM .045 14ga. 1010 CC steel)

Rey

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 08-28-2009 05:06

.045 wire is pretty hard to handle on thinner material. Can You use .035 70s-6 wire? it is a lot more user friendly, especially on conventional [not pulsed] machines. Are You using short circut or spray transfer? If using short circut, You could use a greater percentage of CO2, up to about 25%. If spray stay under 20% CO2 balance argon. More CO2 makes for a hotter arc. 15% CO2 would work with either transfer, it is popular due to versatility.

Check WeldReality.com for more information on shielding gas & MIG welding than You would believe is available.

By R McLead (**)

Date 08-28-2009 15:25

Dave

.035 wire would be my suggestion also I would say the welders are trying but with 95/5 their not getting there; some of the welds look really bad. I wish the person that set this up had to weld with it; I wonder what he would think then?

Rey

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 08-29-2009 01:52

(95/5 23.4V 394IPM .045 14ga. 1010 CC steel)

That is about 300 amps. Sounds like a lot for 14 Ga. material.

I would talk to the guy who set the parameters.

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 08-29-2009 05:00

Unless that is, he's running it as fast as that "Bolt" (what last name huh?) fella from Jamaica who currently holds the Wolrd Record in the 100 yd dash!!! :) :) :)
Sorry, I couldn't resist that one Dave :)

Respectfully,
Henry

By R McLead (**)

Date 08-29-2009 19:25

If I remember correctly, he was running the weld vertical down on a flare bevel joint.

Rey