james butler
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might sound daft but theres no impurities in or on the metal being welded?
could it possibly be cleaner?
could it possibly be cleaner?
- Thread starter Davek0974
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Davek0974
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I doubt it - it's' bright cold-rolled, rated for bending and welding. I degrease it with white spirit then again with solvent then scuff the surface with 60 grit emery cloth then bend and weld.
I was getting similar results on hot-rolled covered in mill scale.
I was getting similar results on hot-rolled covered in mill scale.
james butler
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as a temporary measure could you cut a slot in some alloy sheet and overlay it on the steel you want to weld then weld the steel through the slot so the spatter hits the alloy and not you`re clean steel?
if you cant stop it spattering at least you could reduce the effect on you`re work?
if you cant stop it spattering at least you could reduce the effect on you`re work?
Johnseat
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A lot then!!!
backpurge
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It's really just a process of elimination, sort one thing at a time
Davek0974
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I'm not convinced its not the wire-feed now 
I had 12 joints to make this morning - all 1" long fillets on 3mm as i do quite commonly.
First two - great, next one something changed mid way and the weld arc sort of went quieter, blobby and looked more like a gas torch?
Next three were a bit spattery, rest were not too bad.
Its just totally random and unreliable, i need to video the WF i think so i can see whats going on in there while I'm welding.
Maybe its stalling?
Its not slipping and the liner is pretty new - about 1yr old, tip is new, gas is about 20% left in Argoshield light Y bottle, still correct flow.
I had 12 joints to make this morning - all 1" long fillets on 3mm as i do quite commonly.
First two - great, next one something changed mid way and the weld arc sort of went quieter, blobby and looked more like a gas torch?
Next three were a bit spattery, rest were not too bad.
Its just totally random and unreliable, i need to video the WF i think so i can see whats going on in there while I'm welding.
Maybe its stalling?
Its not slipping and the liner is pretty new - about 1yr old, tip is new, gas is about 20% left in Argoshield light Y bottle, still correct flow.
norlander
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On my machine, the polarity is changed by changing over the terminals. My machine started playing up something similar to what you describe.
I found one of the nuts was loose on one terminal, it was arcing, once I sorted that out it was ok. Might check yours
I found one of the nuts was loose on one terminal, it was arcing, once I sorted that out it was ok. Might check yours
Arclikeharrypotter
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You may just be creeping into globular transfer running 0.6. Try having a real good play with your settings. You may need to swap the 0.8 to stop the spatter and get adequate penetration
Davek0974
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This is on the 0.8mm 
What is globular transfer?
I had the covers off and all seemed tight, was a bit dusty in there so i blew it all out with the air line.
Will run some more tests this week and see whats going on, i don't think its the wire or the air or a loose connection so thats a few things ruled out.
What is globular transfer?
I had the covers off and all seemed tight, was a bit dusty in there so i blew it all out with the air line.
Will run some more tests this week and see whats going on, i don't think its the wire or the air or a loose connection so thats a few things ruled out.
Davek0974
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Ok, just looked up Globular transfer and it sort of does sound right - what i see is the sound changes from a crackle to more of a hissing/popping sound, you can see great big blobs of molten metal forming as well. So, if that is globular then how do i stop it?
There seems to be a few explanations of Short-circuit, Globular and spray transfer but nothing that says "at this voltage and with this wire you will get one or the other..." - how do you control what mode you are in???
There seems to be a few explanations of Short-circuit, Globular and spray transfer but nothing that says "at this voltage and with this wire you will get one or the other..." - how do you control what mode you are in???
Davek0974
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Hmm, there is some dark brown soot too. Just found this....
"The actual machine setup is done by finding the proper voltage setting for the metal thickness that will be welded. Once you get that setting dialed in then you need to set you wire feed speed. What you are looking for is a wire feed speed fast enough that it does not spray and slow enough that you do not achieve a short circuit transfer. The way you know that globular transfer is occurring is by the sound of the weld. It needs to sound like it is popping. "
So maybe i need to dial back the voltage to more normal levels then set wire-feed higher than i usually go so it stays in short-circuit mode??
If the wire-feed is slowing down mid-run that would explain why the arc changes mode maybe?
May be the feed motor needs looking at?
"The actual machine setup is done by finding the proper voltage setting for the metal thickness that will be welded. Once you get that setting dialed in then you need to set you wire feed speed. What you are looking for is a wire feed speed fast enough that it does not spray and slow enough that you do not achieve a short circuit transfer. The way you know that globular transfer is occurring is by the sound of the weld. It needs to sound like it is popping. "
So maybe i need to dial back the voltage to more normal levels then set wire-feed higher than i usually go so it stays in short-circuit mode??
If the wire-feed is slowing down mid-run that would explain why the arc changes mode maybe?
May be the feed motor needs looking at?
Davek0974
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Just had a chat with R-Tech and it definitely seems to be slipping into globular transfer for some reason.
He suggested new tip - done, new liner - this one has only done maybe 2kg of wire so not sure, might get a new one anyway, new wire-feed roller but he doubted that as this one has done relatively little work.
Tonight i need to increase wire feed tension and run some beads to see what happens.
If its inconsistent then there must be a problem inside surely?
He suggested new tip - done, new liner - this one has only done maybe 2kg of wire so not sure, might get a new one anyway, new wire-feed roller but he doubted that as this one has done relatively little work.
Tonight i need to increase wire feed tension and run some beads to see what happens.
If its inconsistent then there must be a problem inside surely?
Wallace
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How old is your machine? I serviced my old machine before selling it to a friend, the grease inside the wirefeed was like glue and causing a slow start to speed. A wash out and re-grease with moly disulfide made a dramatic difference to the welds. Is the torch liner worn?
Arclikeharrypotter
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Obviously you're governed by your material you are welding, if you find you are in globular then if possible whilst still achieving correct penetration drop your voltage, if not then you either need to increase wire size, that way you can return to short arc, or drop wire size and try enter spray arc with 0.6.
Just so you know globular transfer doesn't mean there is anything wrong with your machine, it's a transfer found between short arc and spray arc.
Just so you know globular transfer doesn't mean there is anything wrong with your machine, it's a transfer found between short arc and spray arc.
Davek0974
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Ok, did some more tests, this time focusing more on the wire than the result.
Did a bunch of crap first to get going the it went sour, the first picture here shows right to left, 3mm, starts off ok and then switched to globular and the bead went to crap....
I flipped it round and run what i would call a pretty tidy fillet - same settings...
Then i did some work and got mixed good and bad. When watching the tip of the wire you can normally see it dip into the pool as a continuous process, then it seems to slow way down, a blob forms and it turns to what i now know is globular transfer.
I tried various stick outs - no change, different wire feed speed - the same result, different weld positions - horizontal, up, down, horizontal on vertical etc, in the end i was just spraying weld all over the plate had it kept going to crap.
I will order a new liner tonight but i have serious doubts this is at fault as its pretty new. After that i guess its time to book it in with R-tech for service, hopefully they doing an exchange machine??
Did a bunch of crap first to get going the it went sour, the first picture here shows right to left, 3mm, starts off ok and then switched to globular and the bead went to crap....
I flipped it round and run what i would call a pretty tidy fillet - same settings...
Then i did some work and got mixed good and bad. When watching the tip of the wire you can normally see it dip into the pool as a continuous process, then it seems to slow way down, a blob forms and it turns to what i now know is globular transfer.
I tried various stick outs - no change, different wire feed speed - the same result, different weld positions - horizontal, up, down, horizontal on vertical etc, in the end i was just spraying weld all over the plate had it kept going to crap.
I will order a new liner tonight but i have serious doubts this is at fault as its pretty new. After that i guess its time to book it in with R-tech for service, hopefully they doing an exchange machine??
