Please help - How do I weld aluminium using my MIG?

This is my first post to this group. I have moderate experience of welding steel with my arc welder and have just bought a SIP topmig 150 MIG to weld aluminium. All my efforts so far have resulted in little balls of aluminium flying off everywhere or the workpiece melting completely. I'm using 0.8mm alu wire and pure argon gas, I've tried loads of combinations of amperage and wire speed and gas pressure but I'm getting nowhere. I cannot get a bead of molten metal that actually fuses with the workpiece. Can anybody give me some advice? possibly a website with good instructions? any help seriously appreciated (I'm desperate!!!!). Many thanks Paul.

Reply to
Paul Bohanna
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Have you read your machine's manual? - GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

The welder does not come with a manual. It is supplied with a small info leaflet that tells you nothing about anything you didn't already know (like the fact you need to put a plug on the machine....), also there are no helpful diagrams or suchlike on the machine itself for setting wire feed / amp ratios etc.

I've searched Amazon for a book dedicated to welding aluminium but they don't have anything.

I need to weld extruded aluminium sections. 16g and 10g thickness.

I wouldn't ask for help if I already had the help at my fingertips. Thanks, Paul.

Reply to
Paul Bohanna

You might be surprised at how many people never read their manuals!

GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

First, I'd 'google' for a users manual. Then I'd go to the Manufactures web site and see what they offer. I'd also check

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as they may be of use too. Then search for 'generic welding web sites' and see if they can help.

Reply to
xSoldier

I've found the books and info at Miller very useful, and I don't have a Miller machine. It's got some stuff specific to their boxes, but lots of stuff that's good regardless of hardware.

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Peter
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Reply to
Peter Grey

What polarity are you using?

I have not sucessfully done any aluminum MIG welding, but I understand that it is normally done in spray mode, not short circuit. Which makes me think you would have the voltage at or close to the max and the wire feed at whatever works ( probably mid range or higher ). Some preheat would probably help, especially at the beginning of a bead.

Try welding some lighter gauge aluminum. That might tell you that your machine is too small for what you want to weld.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

These links may help:

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Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

Reply to
Keith Marshall

IIRC, the OP mentioned that he was wanting to weld 16 to 20 ga. aluminum. If you go thinner than that, you have aluminum foil. Well, nearly.

With the hot shortness of aluminum, I really doubt that it will be easy to weld such thin aluminum.

Welding 16 ga. (.0625") or 20 ga (.0375") aluminum with midrange to high amperage MIG does not sound plausible to me. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I once owned a Millermatic 200. I thought I wanted to do aluminum work, so bought a SpoolMatic gun. I found out that it did not work well with thin aluminum.

I only did one weld job with my rig. A repair on an aluminum boat where I fixed the bow. It had been caved in. I built it back with 1/4" and 3/8" aluminum diamond plate. I burned up enough wire and plate getting the settings right that I knew aluminum wasn't in the cards for me. I made enough on the job to pay for the SpoolMatic, then sold it.

That was fifteen years ago. I know there have been improvements since then, and other processes. I am only stating my own experience.

Wirefeeding thin aluminum? Eh ................ I don't know.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

go here scroll down and read it's got lots of info to start you off

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Dave

Reply to
Dave P.

My Eland MIG 160 recommends the use of Al 5%Mg wire when doing Al due to the softness of other wire causing feed problems. It was also suggested that I use a soft wire liner to help feeding. I got the stuff but have never used it. I either TIG or use OA on Al.

Are you >This is my first post to this group.

Reply to
David Billington

How thick is the material you are trying to weld? Do you have a teflon wire liner fitted, and is the wire feeding smoothly? If the material is too think a 150 mig wont touch it, and you must have smooth wire feed (which can be very difficult to achieve on a cheap mig).

k
Reply to
Ken

Paul, there isn't much information on mig welding aluminum anywhere. Even on Miller and Lincoln's site. Maybe Ernie could make a video of this process. Ok, here we go..... MIG DC+, argon should be higher than tig settings, try 35cfh, that is what I use on a Lincoln mig. The voltage settings about the same as for steel, wire feed speed I start at is about 4 times faster than the steel setting. The process is hot and fast. You have to move right along or get drop out, you can make some pretty good looking welds with a little practice. Remember, you have to move faster than with steel. Almost forgot, you need a teflon liner and your tip should be a little larger for the wire you are using. Aluminum wire grows with heat. I use a little bit longer stick out to stay out of trouble with burn back at the end of your pass. At the end of your pass back weld ¼" to prevent porosity at the end of weld. I usually use 0.9 mm Lincoln super glaze and it works well. Clean aluminum is a must when welding. Just my 2¢ worth.

Reply to
cutter

Thanks for that. The link to Lincoln Electric was particularly useful. As far as a manual goes, there is no manual available for my model. It's next to impossible to even find the SIP website - a google search just brings up distributors who seem to know very little about anything other than how to sell..... I managed to force out of one supplier the technical help number for SIP who promptly gave me the wrong info concerning the specs for the mig tips used and were pretty useless. Paul

Reply to
Paul Bohanna

Thanks Peter I checked out the Miller site (even did the online tutorials - far too basic), unfortunately no books specific to alu welding though I did find some useful info. Paul

Reply to
Paul Bohanna

Thanks Dan I've managed to glean some info from various sites but some of it is contradictory. For instance one site says that the thinnest material possible in alu with a mig is 14g (0.08" / 2.337mm), if this is true then it is devastating news because I need to weld 16g (0.064" / 1.626mm). This suggests that thicker material is less of a problem yet other sites agree with you that extra juice is needed to weld aluminium.....

Spray mode and preheating seem to be the accepted way to go. I'm trying to keep hope alive but the odds are stacking up....... Paul

Reply to
Paul Bohanna

Thanks Steve By the way I'm trying to weld 16g (0.064" / 1.626mm) as the thinnest and 10g (0.128" / 3.251mm) as the thickest (not 20g). However the little pieces of info that I have found seem to agree with you and suggest that 14g is the thinnest possible.

I've had no problems with the wire feed, I'm using a teflon liner and a topmig which has the spool on its side for easier rotation, I'm using 0.8mm wire through a 1.0mm tip. The wire I'm using is 5356 (all I could find in the UK) but I've now read that 4043 is easier to weld with but harder to feed because softer. So far I've found one roll on ebay but I can't find a UK supplier for serious orders. You welders in the US seem to have it soooooo easy ;-) everything you want and at fantastic prices! Paul

Reply to
Paul Bohanna

Thanks Keith I've followed up all links and got some useful info. Nothing really specific about why my attempts are so seriously crap but it looks like my technique, my materials and maybe even my equipment could all do with a kick up the backside. This looks like it's going to be a long slow painful journey......arghhhh Paul

Reply to
Paul Bohanna

Hi, I'm using 5356 wire (0.8mm) which is stiff and feeds easily but have read that 4043 may be easier to weld with. I'm using a teflon liner and so far have not had any feed problems. I'm in the UK (where choice of aluminim wire is seriously limited for some reason), the material thickness I want to weld is 16g (0.064" / 1.626mm) and

10g (0.128" / 3.251mm). Can you say what type of wire "AL 5%Mg" translates as for the uninitiated (that's me)? Thanks, Paul
Reply to
Paul Bohanna

Thanks Cutter Those are some of the most useful tips I've received so far - everywhere else I seem to be hearing that I've got the wrong equipment and I'm trying to do the impossible -

I'm already using a teflon liner and a slightly wider tip but I'm going to get hold of a few items that have been suggested and try the following:

1] A tin of Toluene to clean up the metal 2] A stainless steel brush to remove the alu oxide (brushed in one direction only and only used for aluminium.) 3] A gauge for my argon bottle so that I know how much gas is being used (the one supplied with the welder has no indicators) 4] Different wire (4043 rather than 5356) because apparently pools easier 5] I'm going to try and find a wire feed roller wheel with a U groove rather than a V groove (any suggestions where from?) 6] Use newer aluminium (I've been using old offcuts to practice with) 7] Work on my technique - push rather than pull the tip, about 10 degrees angle of attack, 3/4" shroud distance from workpiece, fast and hot with fast wirefeed.

Have I missed anything? Other suggestions most welcome. Paul

Reply to
Paul Bohanna

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