Can anyone point me in the right direction as to where I can find weldability info for TIG/MIG welding stainless steel to 4130? Is this possible? What type of weld wire is recommended? What issues should I be concerned about?
This type of combination can be tough, because you typically need to pre-heat and PWHT the 4130, while you typically want to stay away from both of these when welding S/Steel. (I assume you are talking about 300 series s/Steels.)
A good option is to butter the 4130 with a Ni based alloy that will be OK to PWHT. Then PWHT the weld and then weld the S/Steel to the butter layer. again, use of a Ni based filler will result in good welds.
Obviously you can PWHT the S/Steel, but it depends on the application that you will be using the weldment in. If it is for example on furnace tubes (A typical place to weld Cr-Mo materials to e.g. 310 S/Steel) you can quite happily weld the materials together and then PWHT the weld, S/Steel and all.
If you give more info like matl thickness and application etc, we will be able to see if the buttering is worth it.
I agree with RonG about using the Inconel 82 filler if you can't find any specs for this.Our company has used Inco 82 filler for many years in welding dissimilar metals such as these with good results. Niekie3 has a very good suggestion of buttering and PWHT then welding again because at times we have had to do this also when welding different metals,as in this case S.S to 4130.We have performed similar requirements with very few problems as long as preheat,interpass and PWHT are followed closely. Inconel can sometimes be tricky to weld on it's own but if care is taken then I have seen it to be an excellent choice in joining different matl's. I don't know your situation but for GTAW, Inco 82 is a good choice and for SMAW, Incoweld-A is an electrode that can be tried.
You question is tuff because of unknown variables like what your application is and the thickness of the base materials.
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