MIG welding aluminum plate?

By pepx16 Date 07-20-2004 22:32

I have a 135 MIG.....
It may handle the 1/8 plate, I have serious doubts about the 1/4...
It probably won't be pretty....and yes, you need straight argon gas, set at 2.5 cfh.
Good Luck!
Ed

By pjseaman (**)

Date 07-21-2004 01:11

Don't bother you will have feeding trouble and birdsnesting problems, also remember 1 amp =.001 of material thickness in other words 1/8 is 95% of maximum machine capacity and it only has a 20% duty cycle so you can only run 2 minutes out of 10 minutes. Besides if your trying to learn you will have more trouble that is machine not operator.

I has a Weld pak100 and tried it so don't botherbeen there done that and bought a Millermatic 210 with a spoolgun and do Aluminum all the time, Love it.

pjseaman

By swnorris (****)

Date 07-21-2004 11:54

Hi Jeff,

I think the range for the 135 is 25-135 amps, and depending on the wire diameter and position for 1/8" thick aluminum, you'd need a range of about 110-150 amps with an arc voltage range of about 19-24. For 1/4" thick aluminum, and depending on the wire diameter and position, you'd need a range of 170-240 amps with an arc voltage range of about 23-28. These parameters are based on straight argon shielded fillet welds.
Incidently, for short circuit transfer welding of mild carbon steel with the 135 in the thickness range you posted, the ranges are slightly higher than those mentioned above for aluminum, and higher than that with the spray transfer mode.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 07-21-2004 14:20

Don't forget to clean "really good" and preheat to get all the potential out of that machine. Use the search function and check out how important cleaning aluminum is, especially with a lower amperage machine.
John Wright

By backpurge (*)

Date 07-21-2004 15:39

If you are really commited to using this machine as well as applying a preheat use a 50% Helium/Argon shielding gas mix to increase the weldpool temperature

By swnorris (****)

Date 07-21-2004 16:19

Hi All,

Just keep in mind that helium additions to argon of over 10% change the arc characteristics. With increasing helium content, the arc voltage and spatter will increase as well. As backpurge said, the addition of helium produces a hotter arc which is sometimes necessary due to aluminum’s high thermal conductivity. It also produces a wider weld fusion shape. As John said, cleaning should be done just prior to welding to prevent the formation of oxides. The base metal surface must be free of grease, oil, paint, dirt, etc. A clean surface will provide a smoother, stronger joint. Brush the plate surface & edges with a stainless steel wire brush to remove burrs & oxides. Gloves should be worn to prevent hand oil or dirt from getting on the joining surface.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 07-21-2004 17:32

As far as difficulty, I would have to say that getting adjusted to the fluidity of the puddle. How fast you can go from making a puddle, to making a puddle on the floor, is a relatively narrow range, which makes it hard to judge the amount of heat to apply without some practice.
John Wright