Aluminium tig guide getting started.

[Benna]

Hi there Guys.
Can anyone please assist me. Im struggling my ass of to get my TIG welder to anything close to good aluminum welding. Ill attach a few pictures can anyone please assist me with the correct settings. I cannot seem to get any settings to work.

 

[addjunkie]

Hi there Guys.
Can anyone please assist me. Im struggling my ass of to get my TIG welder to anything close to good aluminum welding. Ill attach a few pictures can anyone please assist me with the correct settings. I cannot seem to get any settings to work.View attachment 471510View attachment 471509View attachment 471508View attachment 471507View attachment 471506View attachment 471505View attachment 471504

What gas are you using? Is the metal new and clean, is it anodised?

First go, preflow looks ok. Peak current roughly 40 amps per mil of thickness, basic ok, down slope ok, ignore arc force, pulse frequency about 100, pulse duty ok ish, clean area width about 35 to 40. Post gas 8 seconds.

AC, 2T, and pulse the square wave off. 2T is basically arc on when button pressed, and off when released. 4 T is for not holding button down.

Sharp tungsten suitable for ali. About 5mm stick out past the cup.

Spark up wait for pool to form before moving. Try just runs with no rod, till you get a decent clean pool. When releasing button keep torch still till gas stops.

 

[Benna]

What gas are you using? Is the metal new and clean, is it anodised?

First go, preflow looks ok. Peak current roughly 40 amps per mil of thickness, basic ok, down slope ok, ignore arc force, pulse frequency about 100, pulse duty ok ish, clean area width about 35 to 40. Post gas 8 seconds.

AC, 2T, and pulse the square wave off. 2T is basically arc on when button pressed, and off when released. 4 T is for not holding button down.

Sharp tungsten suitable for ali. About 5mm stick out past the cup.

Spark up wait for pool to form before moving. Try just runs with no rod, till you get a decent clean pool. When releasing button keep torch still till gas stops.

It is new Aluminum
I use Argon gass
Must the torch be in the neg side and the ground clamp on the pos side?
I cannot seem to get a puddle

 

[voipio]

There doesn't seem to have been any attempt made to clean the metal first. It might look clean, but the appearance suggests it's been anodised, plus there is some contamination. The anodised layer needs to be cleared off before welding.

The other thing to set the welder to is AC. It's not clear from the image of the switches, whether this is the case. The Clean Area Width control is effectively the AC balance. Start with this set to about 50%.

Not all alloys of aluminium are easy to TIG weld.

 

[addjunkie]

Must the torch be in the neg side and the ground clamp on the pos side?

Yes

I cannot seem to get a puddle

When you position ready to start your arc how far from the metal is the tungstem tip? Very close 3mm or so, watch a few close up videos. Further back in this thread there is a set of basic settings to get you going, page 1 post #7. I use them as my starter and work from there.

This manual for another machine may help build your understanding

https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/media/attachment/file/t/i/tig201_owners_manual_2017-10_1.pdf

 

[Benna]

How do you clean off the anodizing. I start 3mm from the Aluminum.
It is set to AC but where must the torch go + or -

 

[addjunkie]

Section 3 page 17

https://engweld.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/downloads/products/ARCMASTER202-1.pdf

 

[voipio]

How do you clean off the anodizing. I start 3mm from the Aluminum.
It is set to AC but where must the torch go + or -

Ideally clean off any oxidation and anodising using a stainless steel wire brush, used only for aluminium. Before using the brush, totally degrease the surface, using panel wipe or similar, and allow this to evaporate. The metal has to be scrupulously clean before welding.

For AC welding, in theory, the torch could connect to either the -ve or +ve welder output terminal, but I would suggest stick to connecting the torch to the welder's negative output, as the Cleaning Width control will operate in the opposite direction, if the torch connection is reversed. Without seeing the user manual for this welder, I cannot be 100% sure, but normally, on other welders, turning the Cleaning Width control (or its equivalent) in a clockwise direction (with the torch connected to -ve) will cause the torch to spend a greater proportion of time being +ve, which helps with cleaning, or breaking through the oxide layer, but also deposits more heat in the electrode, which causes the tungsten to melt, and less heat in the workpiece. Expect a certain amount of balling of the electrode to occur during normal aluminium welding.

In spite of the best preparations, not all aluminium alloys will weld well. Do you know which alloy the tread plates you're trying to weld are made from?

 

[angellonewolf]

looks like checker plate to me

 

[Munkul]

How do you clean off the anodizing. I start 3mm from the Aluminum.
It is set to AC but where must the torch go + or -

You can "bump weld" anodized but it's not a beginner friendly process. The best thing to do for your practicing is to grind the shiny bright surface off altogether using a clean flap wheel. It's a relatively thick coating usually so a little bit of wire brushing doesn't usually help much.

 

[Popcorn]

As addjunkie and Munkul have said, that's anodised. If you look at it you can actually see where the aluminium is melting under the anodised coating.
This is because anodising is basically a oxide coating but thicker than the one you get on bare aluminium and it melts at something like 4 times the temperature of the alloy underneath it.
You need to get rid of the anodised finish and back to bare aluminium.

 

[addjunkie]

As addjunkie and Munkul have said, that's anodised. If you look at it you can actually see where the aluminium is melting under the anodised coating.
This is because anodising is basically a oxide coating but thicker than the one you get on bare aluminium and it melts at something like 4 times the temperature of the alloy underneath it.
You need to get rid of the anodised finish and back to bare aluminium.

New clean non anodised metal, when learning remove anything that might cause issues until you get going…or there is a good chance youll get so frustrated you give up.

 

[Benna]

Good morning. Can it be that my tungsten is too thin. I have 1.6mm tungsten and it is as if it burns away

 

[Macfun]

Did you check the Argon flow at the torch itself ?

 

[Misterg]

Good morning. Can it be that my tungsten is too thin. I have 1.6mm tungsten and it is as if it burns away

1.6 is probably too small for that metal, but might just work to get a puddle if you get the settings right. Did you adjust the 'Cleaning Width' control as suggested above? (It is set at 80% in the photos).

clean area width about 35 to 40

The Clean Area Width control is effectively the AC balance. Start with this set to about 50%.

Are you using pulse, or just plain AC? (I can't tell from the photos). If you are using pulse, switch it off - there's probably not enough heat going into the work.
Try setting your AC frequency down to mid range too (about 80Hz).

 

[Benna]

Did you check the Argon flow at the torch itself ?

How must I check it

 

[Benna]

1.6 is probably too small for that metal, but might just work to get a puddle if you get the settings right. Did you adjust the 'Cleaning Width' control as suggested above? (It is set at 80% in the photos).





Are you using pulse, or just plain AC? (I can't tell from the photos). If you are using pulse, switch it off - there's probably not enough heat going into the work.
Try setting your AC frequency down to mid range too (about 80Hz).

It was on pulse will switch off pulse and try again. Where do I adjust the ac frequency

 

[Misterg]

Where do I adjust the ac frequency

Bottom row, second knob from the left (‘Hz’)

 

[Cheesie]

Looks more like a gas problem to me, not enough and or bad torch angle, it doesn't look like anodised to me, I haven’t come across anodised aluminium chequer plate, I will say this it quite often comes with an oily scum, and because of the Durbar it's difficult to rub with a rag that's got brake cleaner on it without leaving half the rag caught yo the plate

 

[Benna]

When I weld on the plate lying flat it makes a ok puddle but as soon as I try to weld the corners toghether it is as if it doesnt want to clean will try to brush it and then clean is with methyl alcohol before teying again