ssc3 gas for use of stainless steel welding

Date 03-07-2008 03:48

well their not always a rainbow color most of the time when i weld stainless it is sorta grey colored but soon as i hit it with some pickleing gel it's nice and shiney afterwards. sometimes i get a nice rainbow color, and honestley i really don't know why I use a 95/5 mixture for stainless.

By MDG Custom Weld (***)

Date 03-07-2008 13:23

I'm not sure what the ssc3 gas mixture actually consist of, but I'm sure it's argon based with O2 or CO2. Gas changes do affect the welding parameters significantly, so if you are using the same weld schedules as you were with the tri-mix, you will have some problems. Also, the Fronius has different pulse and synergic pulse schedules based on the gas mixture used. I would first start with the welder and look at the settings for gas mix used. Next, I would start working with the parameters. Since I think that you are using a new gas that does not have He, you will have to up your voltage (arc length in pulse) and/or lower your wire some to get the puddle more fluid and wet out better.
We use 98/2 Ar/O2, 95-5 Ar/CO2, and 69/29/2 Ar/He/CO2 for welding various stainless parts from 201 to 441 and everything in between. We also use the Fronius TPS and Miller Axcess power supplies.

By js55

Date 03-07-2008 14:26

You might also pay a visit to Ed Craig's site. I really believe Ed's got some good things to say about getting too carried away with "Exotic" gas mixes as a result of marketing by aggressive salesmen. I'd highly recommend his Mig book too.

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 03-08-2008 00:54 Edited 03-08-2008 00:56

Good Point Jeff!
I always go there to cut through the Bull@%*# the sales folks try to run past me especially when I mention to them that I was on their side of the fence many years ago when they were still in grade school which only infuriates them further because nowadys, they avoid talking to me like the plague. ;) :) :) :)

Another person who might (more than likely) be able to help out jkb399 is Stephan since after all, he's intimately connected with Fronius... I believe he will be able to give you a set of parameters, and suggestions as long as you give him the composition of the gas mix - that is, unless he's swamped with too much work as he has been recently. I'd like to help out but, I'm not too familiar with Fronius... I'm only familiar with "Lincoln" red, "Miller" blue and "ESAB" yellow ;) So forgive me for not being as helpful as I'd like to be. I hope Stephan has an opportunity in his very busy schedule to read this thread, and offer some interesting input as he always does ;)

Respectfully,
Henry

By GRoberts (***)

Date 03-10-2008 17:21

The tri-mix generally contains a large part helium, which makes the weld hotter. Since the weld is hotter, it also takes longer to cool down, so as you travel along the joint, the weld is at a higher temperature when it exits the gas-shileding envelope. Then it oxidizes more when exposed to the air at the higher temperture. That's one of the theories anyway. I have limited but good experiences with the Fronius welders, but we are mostly using them for Aluminum. It makes the weld a lot easier for the welder to control vs straight CV equipment. The welder has to get past being scared of all the knobs and lights though. Easier said than done sometimes.