Welding Resources and Tips

Increase Productivity by Adjusting the Pulse Feature on your TIG welder

Today’s TIG welding guest post comes from Andrew Pfaller of Miller Electric:

There are proper tools designed for every job to prevent damage and to increase ease of productivity throughout the task at hand. When you are not appropriately equipped for a particular job, it can make it very hard to complete the job successfully.

It can be even more frustrating to have the correct tools, but lack the knowledge or experience to utilize these tools properly. One particular tool that comes to mind is the pulse feature on welding machines.

When utilizing the pulse feature on the Miller Maxstar^® or Dynasty^® TIG welders, there are several variables to adjust that can yield significant benefits.

• Pulses Per Second [PPS] – This variable is the number of times the machine switches from a high to low amperage each second. Often times it is referred to as the pulse frequency.
• Peak Time [Peak t] – Peak Time is the percent of the pulse cycle spent in the high or peak amperage
• Background Amperage [BKGND A] – During the low amperage portion of the pulse, this variable sets the amperage as percent or ratio of the peak amperage.

A frequency at the lower end of the available spectrum can be used as a training tool for beginners when they desire to weld thinner materials. Common settings for this type of application would be:

• 0.5 Pulses Per Second
• 40-60 percent Peak Time
• 25 percent Background Amperage.

The addition of filler material at each higher amperage pulse will help melt the filler. Having a visual aid denoting when to add the filler material enables even a novice to achieve the “stacked dimes” appearance. Furthermore, by reducing the heat input for a portion of the weld, an operator has more forgiveness to reposition or progress the torch forward.

Adjusting the Pulses Per Second provides the most visible change to the weld operator. For a majority of applications, a good starting point for the pulse variables is:

• 120 Pulses Per Second
• 40 percent Peak Time
• 25 percent Background Amperage

By increasing the Pulses Per Second, one should quickly note a tighter arc cone. Increasing this frequency can result in better directional control, a smaller weld puddle, and increased penetration. With the proper settings of these variables, the pulse feature can increase weld quality, weld penetration, and travel speed – all of which translate into increased productivity.

Weld strong and live long.

Learn more about TIG welders at Baker’s Gas and Welding

About Today’s Guest Blogger

Andrew Pfaller
Product Manager/Weld Engineer
Miller Electric TIG Division

Andrew Pfaller is a product manager for the TIG Division at Miller Electric Mfg. Co. He was formerly a weld engineer and has a degree in Welding Engineering Technology from Ferris State University.

MIG Welding Wire Feed Troubleshooting

Today’s guest post is by Ben Romenesko of Miller Electric.

Do wire feed troubles with your MIG welder ever leave you frustrated? Burn back, wire slipping, birdsnests... These are just a couple common problems customers call us about. The wire feed system is vital to successfully getting your MIG welder to perform.

Today I’ll walk you through the key components in the wire feed system so you know what to look for in each component.

Spool Hub

The first place you’re going to want to look at is the source of your wire: the spool hub. The inner spring on your spool hub sets the brake tension on your spool of wire. The intent is to prevent the spool from over-spooling when the wire stops feeding, but there is a fine line between over-spooling and over-tensioning the spool. I like to optimize the brake tension by turning the wire feed speed to its max and then cycling the trigger with at least 6” of run out. The spool should coast so the first loop of wire just starts to loosen on the spool. A general factory setting is having the tension nut flush with the end of the threads, but each hub is slightly different. Be sure that when putting a spool in the machine the loose end of the wire is not fed through any of the other loops. This will cause feeding problems.

 

Wire Drive

The second place to look for wire feed problems is the wire drive. There are two main adjustments at the wire drive; the drive roll groove and the drive roll tension. First, you’ll want to check to be sure the diameter of weld wire matches the drive roll groove you’re using. Be sure to use a knurled roll for flux core welding and a V-groove roll for steel. The knurled groove provides more traction on the softer flux cored wire so the drive doesn’t crush the wire. A knurled groove will provide more traction on solid wire, but it will also plug the gun liner much faster as well so we don’t recommend it on solid wire.

The other component of the wire drive is the drive roll tension. This is adjusted with the numbered tension knob seen in the picture. More tension is not always the best. Cranking down the tension all the way deforms the wire, causes shaving that plugs your gun liner, and allows the drive to birdsnest. Not enough tension will cause wire to slip in the drive rolls and result in inconsistent wire feed speed. Under the hood, it will look like the arc is pulsing. Here is a brief video that goes through the proper way to set your drive tension.

 

MIG Gun

The final component of the system is the MIG gun. The first thing to check is that your gun is completely inserted in the drive casting and tightened down with the thumb nut. The next component to look at is the contact tip. The size of the tip printed on the side, needs to match your diameter of wire. As contact tips wear, that hole will start to become oblong. This will change how the current picks up through the tip and potentially cause weld performance issues. If the hole looks out of round, replace the tip.

If you’ve checked all of these things and you still see problems with wire feeding, it may be time to change your gun liner. There is a monocoil liner inside the MIG gun that guides the wire from the drive rolls to the contact tip. They can become kinked, plugged, or just wear out over time. As an initial step, compressed air can be used to try to clean out shavings that plug liners. This should be done on a routine basis to extend the life of your liner. Liners are a consumable of the MIG gun so they are relatively inexpensive if you need a new one. They turn out with a nut on the powerpin end. New liners need to be trimmed to length so you need to remove your contact tip when replacing a liner. Also note that it’s important to lay the gun out straight when replacing the liner so you cut it to the correct length. Here is a video that walks you through changing your liner.

 

Wire Feed Troubleshooting

Symptom	Possible Causes
Birdsnests	Clean liner with compressed air or change liner Check contact tip for size or obstruction. Properly adjust drive roll tension
Wire won’t pass through torch	Check contact tip for correct size Change gun liner
Drive roll slips on wire	Check spool hub tension Check drive roll groove condition Check drive roll tension Check contact tip for correct size
Arc length is inconsistent	Check spool hub tension Check drive roll groove condition Check drive roll tension Check contact tip for correct size
Burn back (pinned contact tip)	Check spool of wire for binding Check spool hub tension Check drive roll groove condition Check drive roll tension Check contact tip for correct size
Wire feed starts slow	Run-in feature is working (speed will increase when arc is established)

 

About Today’s Guest Blogger

Ben Romenesko has been with Miller for over 5 years and his entire career has been spent with the Millermatic products. He originally came to the company as a mechanical engineer. He is currently a product manager at Miller’s Integrated MIG systems and oversees the Millermatic and ArcStation products.

 

 

Don’t Forget Miller’s Build with Blue Promotion!

The price for a Miller welder or plasma cutter has dropped, from March 1st to  May 31st, with the latest Build with Blue promotion offered by Miller Electric. Welders will be able to take an additional 5-15% off the already discounted price of Miller welders and plasma cutters at the Baker’s Gas and Welding online store.

If you’re looking for a new welding machine or plasma cutter for your welding projects, these prices will be among the lowest for a Miller machine all year. In addition, if you need some new welding supplies such as a welding helmet, welding jacket, or welding table, you can use these purchases to get additional savings. Here’s how you can save money on a new Miller welder or plasma cutter.

MIG Welding Aluminum Spool Gun Tips

Learning to MIG weld aluminum with a spool gun may lead to some of your longest days in the welding shop since there are so many different things that can go wrong with your settings and technique. Everything is far more difficult and sensitive with aluminum, and therefore you’ll need to spend a lot more time figuring out your wire speed, stick out, amperage, and plenty of other key settings. Here are some tips for getting started with a spool gun on your MIG welder:

Don’t Forget to Clean Your Metal

While you can sometimes get away with not cleaning your metal if it’s brand new and doesn’t have any residues on it, the best bet for a high quality MIG weld with aluminum is to start with clean metal that you either clean with a wire brush or an angle grinder for really tough oxidation or residues. Either way, a little prep work will go a long way to preventing weld contamination. It’s also common practice among most welders to use a little acetone to clean up a weld before getting to work on it.

MIG Gun Angle for Welding Aluminum

Usually a 10-15 degree angle gets the job done on aluminum welding, as is the case for most MIG welding projects. However, in the case of aluminum, getting this wrong could case more problems with your weld than you would experience when MIG welding steel. Attention to detail is critical when maintaining the proper angle.

Voltage and Wire Speed for MIG Welding Aluminum

The first place to start with your adjustments for MIG welding aluminum with a spool gun will be your amperage and wire speed. Too much wire and too much heat will do a number on your weld and will leave you with a mess to clean up with your angle grinder. Use the chart on your welder to experiment with a few different voltage and wire speed settings before going to work.

Gas Flow for MIG Welding Aluminum

If your arc is jumping around or hissing too much, there’s a good chance that you need to adjust your shielding gas flow. Too much shielding gas will cool off the weld puddle and make it incredibly difficult to keep a steady, tight arc.

Temperature of Metal for MIG Welding Aluminum

Preheating aluminum will give you a much cleaner and neater weld that will also be easier to make. If you’re working in a cold climate, consider preheating your metal a bit before striking your arc.

Keep Testing Your Settings for MIG Welding Aluminum

Even the pros have to run a few test passes to dial in their settings just right for welding aluminum. You don’t want to cover your work piece with spatter or burn up your tip right at the start. It’s better to test your gas flow, wire speed, stick out length, and amperage first in order to work out the kinks with an erratic arc or too much oxidation in your puddle.

Wire Stick Out for MIG Welding Aluminum

A little extra wire on your tip will save you a lot of hassle and save you from burning up your tips for your MIG gun. The ideal stick out will be around 3/4”, which is much longer than what you would use for MIG welding. On some projects you may even find that you need a longer stick out than that! However, too much stick out will dump too much metal into your puddle and you could loose control of the puddle and even leave a bunch of spatter on your aluminum work piece.

Invest in a Spool Gun for your MIG Welder

Aluminum wire for a MIG welder tends to easily jam if you feed it like regular MIG wire. No matter how economical you may try to be, you really don’t want to spend your day feeding a jammed wire out of your MIG welder! You’ll save yourself a lot of headaches by purchasing the right spool gun that will make it much easier to feed wires with your MIG welder. Don’t overlook this important welding supply!

Learn more about affordable and reliable Spool Guns at Baker’s Gas and Welding here and here.

How to Choose the Best Welder/Generator

Today’s Guest Post is by Chris Wierschke of Miller Electric.

Most of us can vividly remember the anticipated arrival of hurricanes Katrina, Dennis, Rita, and Wilma in 2005. The year 2012 brought in Superstorm Sandy and hurricane Isaac. While many of us were out of the direct path of these storms, they impacted us in ways we will never forget. While these terrible events are not preventable, we can certainly try to be prepared for them. Now I’m not talking about “Doomsday Prepper” prepared, I’m talking about having a welder/generator on hand to keep your refrigerators and freezers cold, your water supply operating, and your house comfortable while the power is out.

Image Source: Miller Electric

Where to Begin with Generator Sizing?

Most homes today are equipped with 200 amp electrical services. While we have the ability to draw up to 200 amps, in general, most of us use very small portions of that available current throughout the day. For example, the largest electrical load in my house is our electric clothes dryer. It requires 24 amps of current. That is a far cry from the 200 amps I have available. My point here is that even though we have all of that energy available, most of us don’t use that much at once and can get by with lower amounts of electricity in temporary power outage situations.

Miller makes welder/generators sized from 4,500 watts of generator power on up to 12,000 watts. In general, the smaller units provide enough power to get your essentials up and working. For instance, many of us have refrigerators and freezers with fairly large quantities of food in them. When the power goes out, it is important to keep the items inside from thawing.

How about homes with sump pumps? There is a lot of damage that could be done if water happens to flood basements. People with well pumps need to ensure that the pump continues to run even when the power is out. In general, 4,500 watts is enough to power for these essential items in a pinch.

While 4,500 watts is enough to “get us by”, many of us simply do not want to worry about whether the generator will have enough output to sustain the loads that we may demand during power outages. For me, if I lose power during the summer, I want to ensure my central air conditioning unit will operate. The central air unit I have for my house draws 3,300 watts. Keep in mind that my refrigerator and freezer will also be working hard to keep up with the warm ambient temperatures. When I add those loads to the formula, 4,500 watts simply isn’t enough. In those cases, Miller offers 12,000 watt generators that will provide more than enough energy to sustain most household loads during power outages.

What about Sensitive Electronics?

Many of us have refrigerators with onboard ice makers and specialty controls for humidity control. These “fancy” refrigerators have circuit boards that may be susceptible to dirty spiked power. How about microwave ovens? These definitely have circuit boards that may also be at risk to dirty power that some generators provide.

When selecting generators, we need to pay attention to power cleanliness. Miller’s Bobcat and Trailblazer products use a rotor design that is referenced as “ten degree skewed”. What that means is it optimizes generator performance for smoother power – not spiked power found with other brands.

While power cleanliness is very important to temporary power scenarios, running quietly is also important in suburban areas. Excel™ power, an optional feature offered on the Trailblazer, provides 120 Volts, 60 Hz of pure sine wave generator power at idle speed and while welding. When connected to the Excel power receptacle, you get up to 2,400 watts of the cleanest generator power available. Plus, you can run most 120 volt appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and microwave ovens at idle speed, which provides exceptional fuel-efficiency, extended runtimes, quieter operation and longer engine life.

How Long Will the Machines Run on One Tank of Gas?

Runtime is another item to consider when selecting the proper welder/generator for your temporary power needs. Miller offers welder/generators with fuel tank sizes from 5 gallons to 12 gallons. Generally, the more fuel a tank can hold, the longer the runtimes are. Longer runtimes usually equate to fewer trips outside to fill the unit up. One can’t put a value on sleeping through the night without having to refill the fuel tank.

Another item to consider is that often it is hard to buy fuel during power outages. Chances are that your local gas station is also without power and can’t sell fuel to you. Larger fuel tanks become invaluable in those challenging times. Miller also offers machines with Kohler EFI engines that reduce fuel consumption by up to 27%. Who can argue the fact that the slower you burn fuel the less likely you are to have to refill?

Why Should I Consider a Welder/Generator Over a Standalone Generator?

Emergency power demands at home often require industrial-strength generator solutions. Comparing welder/generators to standalone generators with engines of similar quality and horsepower, Miller® welder/generators provide equal or better generator power capabilities at a comparable price. Consider the following when deciding between a welder/generator and a standalone generator.

Advantages of a Miller Welder/Generator:

• Includes a welder to do your own welding repairs

• Features fuel-efficient engines and 12-gallon tanks for longer run time

• Generates up to 12,000 watts of Accu-Rated™ — not inflated —generator power

• Built to the highest standards and has a three-year warranty

You can’t predict power loss due to severe weather, but you can be prepared when an emergency power situation occurs. No matter where you live, severe weather can leave you in the dark — but the power of a Miller welder/generator will keep your household or operation running. Plus, a Miller welder/generator can be used for repairs year-round — in the garage, on the farm or in the shop. So why buy a generator when you can buy a Miller welder/generator and be prepared for what Mother Nature might throw at you.

Learn more about Miller’s Welder/Generators at Baker’s Gas and Welding.

About Today’s Guest Blogger

Chris Wierschke is a product manager for the Power Products Group at Miller Electric Mfg. Co. Chris has been with Miller for the last eight years. During that time Chris has been involved in the small and mid-frame engine drive division (Bobcats, Trailblazers, and Blue Stars). Prior to his latest assignment, Chris worked as a welding equipment service technician and did that for eight years as well.

 

How to Make High Powered Tack Welds: TIG Welding Tip

Tack welds can save you a lot of time and will help you make stronger, cleaner, straighter welds. However, if you get the tack welds wrong, the rest of your welding project will only get worse, wasting both welding project time and welding supplies. You need your tacks to be solid and even, and here are some tack welding tips on how to get it done right the first time:

Image Source: Miller Electric

Tack Weld on a Flat Surface

Let’s say you’re fabricating a 90 degree angle with your welder, and you need to setup the metal with a perfectly flush angle before you clamp it together. That is going to be a tough task right from the start if your table is uneven or has sloped edges.

Before you even start welding, make sure you either weld your own table or buy a welding table. Either way, get a work surface that is flat and flush. In addition, if you’re working in a garage on a hobby welding project, make sure the floor is flat and stable so that your table is secure and even.

Tack Weld with Clamps

Clamps are small welding tools that can make a huge difference for a welding project. When you’re buying clamps, don’t go cheap. Buy a variety of sizes or at least pick up an adjustable magnetic clamp that is strong enough to hold your work piece together.

When you’re setting up a tack weld, use multiple clamps to hold your work piece together, ensuring that there is little to no gap in between the work pieces. The less you have to fill in the weld joint, the better!

Tack Weld with a Lot of Power

The goal is to fuse the metal together with a tack weld before it even has a chance to distort while creating a sturdy tack weld for the metal. Tack welding tends to take a lot more power than the typical welder settings you would use.

Jody at Welding Tips and Tricks has a great welding tip for making better tack welds when you’re fabricating sheet metal with a TIG welder. I’ll summarize some of his post below so you can give his tips a shot in your own welding shop. Some of the tips below could also work for other welding processes.

For starters, Jody suggests working with a #4 TIG cup. A small cup makes it easy to center the electrode right on the middle of the weld joint. Too large a cup, and it may not fit well into the joint, especially if you’re tack welding thin sheet metal with a  TIG welder.

The electrode should just barely stick out of the cup into the weld joint. Too much stick out will inject too much heat into the weld joint, leading to potential burn through and damage to the metal you’re working on. Did I mention that you should test this on scrap metal first?

Set the TIG Welding machine to a higher amperage.

Tack welding is all about using more power, but in the case of using a TIG welder to tack sheet metal, the power setting could be more than double what you would normally use to weld.

For example, on a corner that calls for 65 amps, Jody used 165 amps to tack weld. For the Synchrowave mentioned in his post, he selected “Panel” instead of remote for the amperage setting. The frequency should be set on “Start.” Set the AC setting to balanced. Crater fill was off and it was set to DC electrode negative. For the output, he selected remote for use with a foot pedal.

As a side note, a foot pedal will make tack welding much easier to do. It just takes a slight tap on the pedal so that you get a split second burst of power into the weld joint you’re tack welding. Just tap the foot pedal and then move the torch off the metal, or you’ll end up melting the corners without making a weld. If the electrode is out too far, if the gap you’re welding is too wide, or if you stick around too long with the electrode, you’ll just mess up the corner.

You can also set up TIG welders with a finger control switch to do this. This isn’t just limited to welders with foot pedals. Some welders even come with a “Microtack” feature that is specifically designed for this kind of high speed work.

Welding Your Tack Welds

Fabricating doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Once you get the feel for this tack welding technique, line up your clamps, and work on a flat surface, you’ll be ready to weld your newly fabricated work piece. Successful welding and fabrication begins with making high quality tack welds.

Learn More about TIG Welders at Baker’s Gas and Welding.