02GF74
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 08:48 AM |
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MIG welding aluminium
on national geographic channel as part of the meg factories series, they covered the making of this:
It has aluminium monocoque and robots spot weld the sections together.
The parts that the robots cannot reach are done by humans using MIG welders.
(definitely looked like MIG and n not TIG torches to me).
So aluminium sheet can be welded quite successfully - my experience is not so good, namely blowing holes in the sheet.
Anyway, the point of all this is has anyone done much MIG welding of aluminiuim? and had success?
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dogwood
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 08:56 AM |
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Hi
Short answer = No
Long answer = Noooooooooo
I tried everything....Gave it up as a bad job
David
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thunderace
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 09:02 AM |
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MIG welding of aluminiuim
its hard but can be done ,i would use a tig but there are courses at most colleges for MIG welding aluminiuim.
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DavidM
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 09:12 AM |
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I used to MIG weld aluminium very successfully. As with all these things the key is in the preparation. Good joints and attacking the prepared joints
with a stainless steel wire brush.
David
Proportion is Everything
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Peteff
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 09:14 AM |
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Mig is used to build lorry bodies from aluminium. You need pure argon, not co2 mix, and the feed is a problem as it tends to mark the soft wire and
snarl it up which is why expensive spool on gun systems are used to pull the wire through instead of push.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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UncleFista
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 09:16 AM |
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Ally-welding info.
Tony Bond / UncleFista
Love is like a snowmobile, speeding across the frozen tundra.
Which suddenly flips, pinning you underneath.
At night the ice-weasels come...
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Syd Bridge
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 10:37 AM |
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Said a dozen times before...
Mig welding ali is done all day every day around here, in the boat building industry. Everything from small dinghies to 200ft workboats.
Most use 'coil on' welding guns. They're the ones with a small reel of ali wire actually on the gun.
Cheers,
Syd.
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JonBowden
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 10:57 AM |
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I MIG welded a bit of an old aluminium pan (cooking) on to a damaged Rover V8 injection inlet manifold using a cheap hobby MIG and pure argon. No
problems and quite a nice weld.
I wouldn't make a chassis that way though
Jon
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jacko
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 07:19 PM |
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I use to build prison vans and all the cells are aluminium.
we used mig welders made by Esab and it had a air drive motor in the handle that you can adjust the wire speed when welding
Jacko
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davie h
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 08:10 PM |
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is it worth buying a roll of wire and a small bottle of argon and giving it a try. i have a zetec sump that needs shortened and i was thinking about
trying this with my 151tewould cost about £24
Davie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24179682@N04/?saved=1
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 08:29 PM |
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I think that you'll need a fairly fit MIG welder, as you'll have to use a higher current. A nice gentleman ( ) TIG welded my inlet
manifold for me, and it was astonishing how much heat had to be put in to make a nice weld.
Also, as said above, it's quite hard to push ali wire through the torch tubing, which is why the professionals use either a hand-held feed that
has the coil of wire mounted on it, or a device that pulls the wire through.
When you consider how amateurs' welders can occasionally snarl up with rather stiff steel wire, just think what floppy ali wire would be
like.
Saying all that, I have seen a video of ali welding done with a conventional welder - but it was a fairly expensive BOC welder, being used by a BOC
instructor!
If I was in your shoes, I'd spend my time preparing the work so that a skilled welder with the right kit can do the job for you.
[Edited on 15/10/08 by David Jenkins]
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NS Dev
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| posted on 15/10/08 at 09:40 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Syd Bridge
Said a dozen times before...
Mig welding ali is done all day every day around here, in the boat building industry. Everything from small dinghies to 200ft workboats.
Most use 'coil on' welding guns. They're the ones with a small reel of ali wire actually on the gun.
Cheers,
Syd.
Ditto, we do plenty, but no thinner than 4mm with mig in my very limited experience
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
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02GF74
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| posted on 16/10/08 at 10:43 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Syd Bridge
Most use 'coil on' welding guns. They're the ones with a small reel of ali wire actually on the gun.
The torches on the program in the GM factory looked like regularnes, but a lot meatier !.
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jacko
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| posted on 16/10/08 at 04:43 PM |
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You may get away with the liner you have for small amount of ally welding but you rally need a nylon liner with only a spring at the handle end for a
lot of aluminium welding
Jacko
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PaulBuz
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| posted on 17/10/08 at 03:34 PM |
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I've migged a fair bit of ally on my car, using a cheap Clark welder.
The welds dont even compare to Tigged ones for presentation, but they are good enough, esp. after dressing.
The secret is a fast wire feed & extremely clean ally.
ATB
Paul
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flak monkey
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| posted on 17/10/08 at 04:48 PM |
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One of the original uses for MIG was for welding aluminium out in the field for the army (so I am reliably informed by a welder who was around at the
time, and in the army).
Its not too difficult, but you do need a good welder with a top notch feed system on it.
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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Peteff
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| posted on 18/10/08 at 08:24 AM |
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I saw Martin (MK) using his synergic mig when he first got it and with the pulse on it makes some very tidy welds, very expensive machines though.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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