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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / 14 ga sheet metal warping. (locked)
- - By jneilson (*) Date 01-03-2007 20:18
I have this enclosure we've been working on and one of the panels is warping bad. It's a 4' X 5' 14ga mild steel sheet. It is skip welded around edges and has a 2 X 2 X 10ga piece of steel tube running horizonally along the middle. This is where the warp is occuring. The panel bows out about 1/4 to 3/8 inch on either side of the tube. The weld spec calls for a 1 X 8 pitch on this area. Should I try to heat sink it or use a jig of some sort? The customer says don't do anything that's not on the drawing. Thanks.
Parent - - By aevald (*****) Date 01-03-2007 22:17
Hello jneilson, I think you're on the right track when you discussed using a heat sink to control the distortion. Also, if you can use a very fast and small bead for the 1" welds, that should minimize the shrinkage and warpage that you will encounter. Using a back-step welding progression and skipping from side to side and end to end should also help with the warpage that you are seeing. The skip welds that are on the 2"x2" tube, are they offset skips from one side of the tube to the other, or are they in line with one another (directly accross from one another)? The pattern with the skips offset from one another might yield less noticeable distortion of the 14GA. I would also say to set your machine at the minimum heat setting that will still allow for a nice tie-in between the two parts and thus help to limit the heat input. The combination of all the things that I have mentioned here should be of some help to you. Good luck and regards, aevald
Parent - - By aevald (*****) Date 01-04-2007 07:48
Hello again jnneilson, after looking at your personal information and seeing that you folks are fabricators of equipment cabs and the like, is there any possibility that you can substitute the tube for a formed hat-channel? I believe that part of the problem here is the radius of the tube, when a weld is placed on the edge of this tube joining it to the 14GA. skin, the profile of the weld joint promotes additional shrinkage that causes an exaggerated oil can effect and the bulging that you are seeing. If you can use a hat-channel for this cross-piece having the edges of the channel welded in more of a lap-joint configuration should help with the distortion. Just a thought for consideration. Regards, aevald
Parent - - By jneilson (*) Date 01-04-2007 13:13
Thanks for the replies. Unfortunatly this perticular customer isn't flexible when it comes to design changes. After looking at the welds between the tube and the sheet it looks like someone put way too much weld in the radius on the tube, about 3/8" welds when 1/8" are shown on the drawing. I'll have one of the welders straiten the sheet and use smaller welds. Thanks
Parent - By jwright650 (*****) Date 01-08-2007 16:45
In the welder's defense, it's hard to gage how much weld is enough when you are welding down in that joint that you described. My guys are famous for over welding when applying a plate to a tube lintel, where a plate is serving as a shelf to lay the brick/block on over windows or doors. Having a short piece of scrap to test weld, section, and macro etch is nice, if you have that luxury, so the welder can gage how much weld is really required to get the weld size that the drawing is calling for.
Parent - - By Sourdough (****) Date 01-06-2007 14:52
Hot tack it, and smack it with a hammer
Parent - By jneilson (*) Date 01-08-2007 12:31
We beat it good and used a little bondo on it. It looks great now.
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / 14 ga sheet metal warping. (locked)

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