1. Connect work clamp to a clean, paint free location on the metal workpiece, as close to the cutting area as possible.2. If your plasma system includes adjustable air, set the air pressure to the factory recommended pressure (psi) for cutting. 3. For standard (shielded) cutting, place the drag shield on the edge of the metal. For non-shielded cutting, use 1/8 in (3.2mm) standoff distance (draggin...

1. Take precautions with flying materials when chipping slag.2. Keep electrodes clean and dry - follow manufacturer's recommendations.3. Common steel electrodes: (Refer to Diagram 8. Recommended Stick Electrodes)4. Penetration: DCEN - Least penetration, AC - medium (can be more spatter also), DCEP - most penetration.5. When welding a fillet, the leg of the weld should be equal to the thickness of ...

12. Avoid big guns as much as possible to control the puddle:Big guns can be attractive if you are new to welding. But it is very hard to control.If you are not experienced, you will find it very difficult to control the puddle. Always start with the small guns gain control. Later you might shift to big guns.Special Tip: To get a more significant build-up, you can make the wire speed faster or opt...

1. Get rid of the unnecessary sound with good Ground Clamps:You are familiar with the earth-shattering sound from the MIG guns.Do you know you can decrease it massively with a small tweak?Here is how:Just use a good ground clamp.A bad ground is the primary cause of terrible sound which we get from the MIG gun. Just change the ground, and noise will decrease a lot.Special Tip: Try to go for the cop...

There are several processes that are not well suited for welding aluminum. Any welding process that uses a flux, such as stick welding, flux cored arc welding, and submerged arc welding, are generally not effective methods for welding aluminum. Oftentimes, the welds created by these processes result in large amounts of porosity.

Before highlighting different welding processes that are used for joining aluminum, it is important to understand some of the difficulties that are inherent to welding aluminum. One area of difficulty is filler metal. First, some aluminum alloys cannot be welded without filler materials. Alloys such as 6061 will undergo solidification cracking if welded without filler metal. Furthermore, the corre...

Robotic welding systems offer consistency and repeatability that can lead to significant improvements in productivity and finished part quality. That better quality also helps reduce the time and money spent on rework. In addition, these systems can lower production costs by reducing waste and labor requirements. For example, a welding robot has the ability to lay down the same amount of weld meta...

If you run into these common challenges when MIG welding aluminum, consider these steps to address the problem.Burn-through (melt through) caused by overheating the base material· Increase the travel speed and make shorter welds.· Move around on the part, spreading out the heat.· Use thicker material, change the joint design or switch the welding process to AC TIG.· Eliminate/reduce gaps.Dirty wel...

1. Pulsed Welding2. Portability3. Foot Pedal4. High Frequency Settings5. Simple Controls6. Plasma Cutter and Stick Welding Options7. Air-Cooled Torch vs. Water-Cooled Torch8. High Quality Arc

1. Proper fit up ：Proper fit up ensures that only the required amount of filler metal is used. 2. Filler metal ：The thicker the rod or wire the more heat is required to melt it.3. Electrode size ：Common tungsten electrode sizes range from 3/32 to 1-1/4 of an inch4. Electrode geometry ：A taper of no more than 2.5 times the electrode diameter creates a focused arc capable of producing deep, thin bea...

Electrode or the wire stick out should be about 3/4 of an inch. Less is OK but a much longer wire stick out won’t allow the shielding gas to do its job properly. I do want to mention that the shielding gas flow rate needs to be right for the stick-out. Too much gas causes turbulence even if the stick-out is just right and too little gas does not provide enough shielding gas. It is a balancing gam...

There are two ways to MIG weld. The first and the most common is to push the MIG gun toward the direction of the weld, this is called forehand method. Forehand welding produces shallow penetration with a flat wide smooth surface. The second is backhand method where you drag the MIG gun like a stick welder. This produces a deep penetration weld that is narrow and is high in the center. In most case...

·Lack of portability (Shielding Gas Cylinder & Hoses)·Not ideal for outdoor welding – the shielding gas is susceptible to wind & drafts·Requires Clean Base Material·Low Deposition Rates·High Operator Skill Necessary·Often Slow

·A Filler Rod May or May Not Be Necessary·AC Polarity for Aluminum & Magnesium·High Quality Welds·All Position Welding·Can Be Used on a Variety of Metals·Excellent on Very Thin Materials·Fusion Welding is Possible·No Slag·No Spatter·High Efficiency

1. Passive welding helmetsThis is the most basic type of welding helmet. The passive welding helmet is not a modernized helmet with fancy features, but this does not take away from its effectiveness. It is well-built with tough material. It protects its wearer from flying objects, ultraviolet rays, and the extreme heat emitted from welding.One of the most favorable advantages of the passive weldin...

MIG Welding is a slang term that stands for Metal Inert Gas Welding, the proper name is Gas Metal Arc Welding or “GMAW", and it is also commonly referred to as “Wire Wheel Welding" by Unions. MIG Welding is commonly used in shops and factories. It is a high production welding process that is mostly used indoors.MIG Welders have five main components: 1. A constant voltage power supply.2. A wire fe...

TIG PROS· Precision – TIG welds are more precise and have a higher general quality than MIG welds.· Cleaner Process – The TIG process is cleaner and better for the environment.· No Filler Required – TIG welding doesn’t require filler material.· Greater Control – The pedal used allows for foot control to adjust heat input.· Lower maintenance – With MIG welds, the welding process consumes the weldin...

MIG PROS· Shorter time – MIG creates welds in a shorter amount of time.· Less Costly – This process is not as expensive at TIG welds and the required equipment is more accessible.· More accurate – It is easier to get an accurate bond with MIG welding.· Cleaner – This method produces a clean weld with little post-weld maintenance required.MIG CONS· Weaker Strength – MIG is typically not as strong a...

The following 7 tips will not only improve your overall technique, but they will help to keep you safe on the job.1.Keep it clean – Granted a lot of the places you find yourself welding are not going to be neatly scrubbed and polished. But you need to do all that you can to remove dust, debris, rust, grease and other coatings that may prevent you from making a good weld. Always prep the area befor...

TIG Welding is also a slang term commonly used for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding or “GTAW". TIG welding also goes by the term HeliArc welding. TIG welding is the most difficult of the processes to learn, and is the most versatile when it comes to different metals. This process is slow but when done right it produces the highest quality weld! TIG welding is mostly used for critical weld joints, welding ...

Stick Welding is a slang term commonly used for Shielded Metal Arc Welding or “SMAW". Stick welding is the most basic and common type of welding processes used. It is also the first process learned in any welding school. Stick is the most trouble free of all of the welding processes and is the fundamental basis for all the skills needed to learn how to weld!Stick welders have four main components:...

Typically, less amperage is required to weld thinner material and more amperage is required to weld thicker material.A general rule-of-thumb is, one ampere for every .001″ of metal thickness. For example, 10 gauge (or 1/8″) material equates to 125 amps.

Virtually all types of material can be welded with a MIG machine. However, in the MIG process different materials require different wire and gases. For instance mild steel can be welded with either self-shielded wire, (which does not require separate shielding gas) or with CO2 or a CO2 mixed gas. Aluminum material requires the use of Argon gas.

Initially, it costs more to set up a MIG system than a Stick welder, because of regulators and shielding gas (some MIG welding is done with self-shielding flux core which does not require gas or a regulator)Strictly looking at dollar per amp, Stick welding is cheaper

It’s easy to learn how to MIG weld – with a little practice, even a first-time user can achieve a good-looking weldMIG welding is a much faster process than Stick weldingThe operating cost of MIG welding is lower than Stick welding because of the time savings, and because there’s virtually no waste of filler metals (50 lbs. of MIG welding wire yields approximately 49 lbs. of deposition, as compare...

Plasma cutting dross is the result of various variables, thickness of material, output amperage, cutting speed, and standoff. With hand held cutting, there is typically an output amperage, speed and standoff for any thickness that will minimize dross, but in some cases you will not be able to completely eliminate it. With plasma units with lower output amperage capacity, dross levels are typically...

The TOPWELL plasma cutters will run off of compressed air, bottled air, or bottled Nitrogen. We have not, as a company, done any testing on cutting with any other gases or gas mixtures. Nitrogen is normally recommended when cutting stainless for improving the weld ability of the cut area.

No, it is irrelevant. However, it is important not to connect the protective ground to a phase or the neutral connector. The plug connections must always comply with the local electrical regulations.

For MIG, Flux-Cored, or submerged arc welding, automatic wire feeders feed a spool of wire at a constant rate to the weld joint. They are usually mounted onto a fixture in a factory/industrial setting and are used in conjunction with a separate power source

You must first determine your current cutting capacity requirements, or decide what capabilities you would like to have in the future. Each with its own maximum piercing and cutting ranges.

Air compressors can be used to supply high density plasma systems as long as a few requirements are met. The most important is that the air is clean and dry to prevent reduced cut quality, consumable damage, or torch failure. It is recommended that the air is filtered to ISO 8573.1 Class 1.4.1 (particulates, moisture and oil). Secondly, the compressor must be able to maintain the minimum input ...

Like a stick electrode, MIG wire completes the electrical circuit creating the arc, but it is continually fed through a welding gun from a spool or drum. MIG wire is a solid, non-coated wire and receives shielding from a mixture of gases. (Process is also known as GMAW, or Gas ...

A lot of stainless steel mig welding tests are set up using Tri mix shielding gas (90 helium - 7.5 argon-2.5 co2) and .035" 308 stainless steel mig wire.try these settings for a start and adjust from there....20 volts 300 inches per minute ( if the machine does not read in ipm, just pull the trigger and count to 6 seconds. then measure the wire that came out and multiply by 10..in this case , 30 i...

The proper travel speed produces a weld bead with the desired contour (or "crown"), width and appearance. Adjust travel speed so that the arc stays within the leading one-third of the weld pool. Slow travel speeds produce a wide, convex bead with shallow penetration. Excessively high travel speeds also decrease penetration, create a narrower and/or highly crowned bead, and possibly undercuts.A few...

Each welder manipulates or weaves the electrode in a unique style. Develop your own style by observing others, practicing and creating a method that produces good results for you. Note that on material 1/4 in. and thinner, weaving the rod typically creates a bead that is wider than necessary. In many instances, plain, straight-ahead travel works fine.To create a wider bead on thicker material, man...

Stick welding in the flat, horizontal and overhead position uses a "drag" or "backhand" welding technique. Hold the rod perpendicular to the joint and tilt the top of the electrode in the direction of travel approximately 5 to 15 degrees. For welding vertical up, use a "push" or "forehand" technique and tilt the top of the rod 15 degrees away from the direction of travel.

he correct arc length varies with each electrode and application. As a good starting point, arc length should not exceed the diameter of the metal portion (core) of the electrode. Holding the electrode too closely decreases welding voltage. This creates an erratic arc that may extinguish itself or cause the rod to freeze, as well as produces a weld bead with a high crown. Excessively long arcs (to...

The correct current, or amperage, setting primarily depends on the diameter and type of electrode selected. For example, a 1/8 in. 6010 rod runs well from 75 to 125 amps, while a 5/32 in. 7018 rod welds at currents up to 220 amps. The side of the electrode box usually indicates operating ranges. Select an amperage based on the material's thickness, welding position (about 15 percent less heat for ...

Now that you're ready to weld, remember CLAMS. Bringing all these points together in one moment of welding may seem like a lot to think about, but it becomes second nature with practice. And don't get discouraged! Stick welding got its name not because the electrode looks like a stick, but because EVERYONE sticks the rod to the workpiece when learning how to weld.