Some MIG welding machines guides: how to become a more skilled welder and how to select the top welding equipment. First, practice handling the gun without actually welding. Rest its barrel in one hand, and support that hand on the table. The other hand operates the gun’s trigger. Stand in a comfortable position and move the gun steadily over the work surface. Adjust your posture and gun movement so that they feel natural. Attach the work lead to the workpiece, and hold the gun so the wire meets the weld surface at about a 30-degree angle. Touch the wire very lightly to the surface, squeeze the trigger, and gently pull the gun toward you to make your first test weld. The wire should melt off into the weld puddle at an even rate and make a steady crackling noise as you go. Adjust the welder settings if needed.
Many companies get completely “bogged down” in the paperwork required to run a business. But with today’s latest technological advances, there are items that can be a great help. For instance, Lincoln Electric offers something called ArcWorks software which can document procedures, create drawings everyone in the shop can access, keep track of welding operator’s qualifications, and many other things. Software such as this can be tailored to the individual company’s needs and provide great efficiencies and also eliminate mistakes. Adding Robotics or Hard Automation to the Operation: Today’s technological advances offer many options. Robotics can be justified when the volume of parts a company produces is so great that it can offset the monies spent on a robot. Robotics can also be considered if there are a number of different parts that are similar enough in nature to be able to be handled by the same robot. If robots are not justified, a company might determine that fixturing or hard automation could be used to increase efficiency or quality. One company incorporated fixturing and clamps to hold down a tank while the seam was being welded. In another case, an automotive manufacturer decided that automation was necessary because of the amount of parts and intricate angles and welding positions.
Several tips on welding equipment, MIG and TIG welders, plasma cutters. Stick Welding – If you learned to weld years ago, you likely learned using an arc welder. Stick welding for many years has been the most popular method for most home-shop welding needs. This process uses an electric current flowing from a gap between the metal and the welding stick, also known as an arc-welding electrode. Stick welding is an effective method for welding most alloys or joints and can be used indoors and outdoors or in drafty areas. It’s also the most economical welding method and provides the ability to create an effective bond on rusty or dirty metals. However, this method is limited to metals no thinner than 18-gauge, requires frequent rod changing, emits significant spatter and requires that welds be cleaned upon completion. Stick welding is also more difficult to learn and use, particularly the ability to strike and maintain an arc. Arc welders are available in AC, DC or AC/DC, with AC being the most economical. It’s used for welding thicker metals of 1/16 inch or greater. These machines are a good choice for farmers, hobbyists and home maintenance chores.
Flat-Position Welding Increases Welding Speed : It’s common knowledge that welding in a horizontal position will be the easiest and fastest way to weld. A flat position is not as taxing to maintain and the welding puddle will stay in place. Take some time to evaluate each project before beginning in order to make sure the majority of welds can be completed in this position. If a job calls for vertical welding, see this article about vertical welding. Core Wire Feeder Increases TIG Welding Speed: For professional welders hoping to speed up TIG welding, a core wire feeder will add filler metal through an automated process. Watch this video on how it works. This enables welders to work with both hands and to maintain a constant flow of wire into the welding puddle. Ed Craig at the Frabricator writes about the wire feeder process first developed in Europe, saying it is “suitable for all-position welding on materials of any thickness, the process addresses traditional GTAW limitations and can enhance both manual and automated TIG weld quality and productivity.” Find extra info on MIG welder.
Not all aluminum alloys are weldable: For example: 7075 and 2024 are not considered readily weldable using TIG welding. You can usually TIG weld them and they might be fine for a tool tote or some little art project…but don’t be fooled. You can’t depend on the welds in critical applications. Take a tree stand for instance. Lets say Joe gets a good deal on some aluminum angle iron at his friends scrap yard and he decides to make a tree stand. Joe has no way of knowing what alloy of aluminum he got from the scrap yard. He makes the tree stand, it holds together and looks just fine. The welds are real pretty…like a stack of dimes. One day he is sitting in his tree stand about 20 feet up a tree. The stress corrosion that has been happening on a microstrucutural level since he finished welding the tree stand finally comes home to roost and CRACK!!