Good Penetration

Date 06-11-2003 18:00

Just remember it is my belief that the faster you travel the better pen you will get. This will obviously reduce the size of your fillet as well.

By Wildturkey (**)

Date 06-11-2003 18:58

a couple of questions first

1) what is the configuration of the joint? (fillet or groove)

2) how thick is the material?

3) are you pushing or pulling the gun?

4) what gas and wire are you using?

you can always weld up a fillet weld and cut a cross section out to see the penetration. as you hold it in the light you will notice a change in color between the base metal and the weld. to make it more defined you can polish an etch it.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 06-11-2003 20:19

If you cut a section out, polish and etch it, you can see the Heat Affected Zone and each pass of a multipass weld.
John Wright

By amalgam (*)

Date 06-12-2003 03:04

1) Mostly butt and fillet
2) right now I am working with 1/16 to 1/4
3) Usually pushing
4) 75/25 (Ar/CO2) and .30 wire

By Wildturkey (**)

Date 06-12-2003 12:17

On the 1/4" material I would say you probably are getting about 1/8" penetration unless you are getting on the high side for your heat (amperage). The thinner material will tend to have a thicker bead profile, you may have to manipulate the gun a little to flaten it out. You also may want to try putting the weld in a vertical position and run it downhill.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 06-12-2003 13:58

A wire that is for flat and horz only, will be fluid enough to flatten out and a wire that is for any position may freeze too fast to really flatten out with out working the puddle. Work the arc to the leading edge of the puddle and melt the base metal and then back to the middle of the puddle and fill in where you have melted the base metal as you travel forward. This motion helps flatten out fillet welds. It will give you a rippled affect like it was done with stick.
"Most" FCAW wire that comes from the factory with those machines is E71T-X wire and is for any position. The "1" is the indicator that lets you know that it is an any position wire. If the wire is E70T-X, the "0" would be an indicator that it is for flat and horz. only positions.
An increase in travel speed and more heat will help with the "piling" up, along with proper preheat of the material. The materials you are working with don't need much heat, if any, due to the thickness. Shielding gas mixture will play a part in freezing the molten puddle as well. The amount of CO2 in the mix determines how fast the puddle will freeze. CO2 is cold when released into the atmostphere after being compressed and helps cool the puddle to make it freeze quicker.
John Wright