R-Tech mig 180 penetration on 3mm

[tigan]

Tried some 3mm yesterday (with r-techs recommended settings), and thought there was lack of penetration - was using a long extension lead.

Today did a similar piece - with same settings, but on a 2.5mm^ shorter extension lead, in case this was limiting the power.

Anyway seems exactly the same on the reverse side (ie nothing poking through only the "heat marks")

Now, being a newbie when i did 2mm it came through the other side, and i expected it to do the same on 3mm

Im just unsure of how its suppose to look on the back-side..

Any help appreciated, the welds were a bit over the place today too.

cheers
Martin

 

[tom2207]

too much wire speed ,,, try slowing it down , and waiting a bit for a puddle to form, rather than throwing wire on top ... hth

 

[Country Joe]

I dunno - you seem to have reasonable penetration, there.
You can see it on the rear & it looks as if it's textured the sheet a bit on the rear-side.

On the other side though, it does look a bit cold, to me - the edges of the weld don't melt in very well, and the weld is sitting a bit high.

So upping the power a bit, or backing off the wire-feed speed slightly might help - you generally have to adjust slightly away from generalised settings to get it "just so" with your machine - along with any possible variables introduced by the actual welding, like arc-length, or whatever.

All the Best,
CJ

 

[daro]

The vertical weld on the far left + the second weld up from the bottom are nearly there { just my opinion of course )
plus as you go up on thickness of metal you are less likely to be burning through - 3mm compared to 2mm

 

[gaz1]

you havent explained the wire your using

https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/media/attachment/file/r/-/r-tech_mig180_weld_settings_chart_2017.pdf

 

[Country Joe]

The vertical weld on the far left

I didn't even see those two vertical ones - I was totally locked into the horizontals, there! But yeah, the one on the left is the better of the two.
The toes seem better fused, too - where it meets with the parent metal.

All the Best,
CJ

 

[tom2207]

at 3mm you should be able to lay down a bead that basically looks like a painted line , if you want to, about flush or very close to it . Recommended settings are really only a very rough guide to get you going , and they have done that nicely , now its just practice till you get things to look like you want , some times I weld a job up and then lay a bead like those over the top cold / too much wire to simulate a stick welding run , vintage land rover chassis dumb irons spring to mind . But the real welding is flush and finished and invisible .

 

[tigan]

you havent explained the wire your using

https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/media/attachment/file/r/-/r-tech_mig180_weld_settings_chart_2017.pdf

0.8 wire , settings power 3.5 / wirefeed 5.5

martin

 

[tigan]

Many thanks for the quick feedback, the one on the left was my last one as i run out of space, so tried the cursive "e" thing.
Had a go at filling the hole too which was about 6mm across.

I was thinking the welds were too high, if i reduce the wire speed would i need to lower the power too, or is it just a case of getting somewhere in the ballpark, then tweeking from there?

I have some more 3mm to play with so ill be able to compare. Finding it hard to judge the distance from the tip to the material at the moment, i guess its just practice.

Martin

 

[tom2207]

keep the power where it is , less wire and wait for a puddle to form , so your actually feeding wire into the puddle rather than onto the metal ,, i personally prefer to push over the weld , so right handed , right hand start and work from right to left on the plate ,, position your head on the left so you can see the puddle round the nozzle .
plenty of folk will prefer the drag method , same as stick , i find its got less penetration but then again , i dont practice it often enough, just a handy technique if im in a jam space wise etc .. we all have our own styles and techniques ,,

 

[Mark 2]

Too much wire

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

When you add wire you need to melt it...that takes heat out of the weld puddle and reduces penetration. Try playing with the feed to see what affect it has.

 

[tigan]

keep the power where it is , less wire and wait for a puddle to form , so your actually feeding wire into the puddle rather than onto the metal ,, i personally prefer to push over the weld , so right handed , right hand start and work from right to left on the plate ,, position your head on the left so you can see the puddle round the nozzle .
plenty of folk will prefer the drag method , same as stick , i find its got less penetration but then again , i dont practice it often enough, just a handy technique if im in a jam space wise etc .. we all have our own styles and techniques ,,

Might be a daft thing but... when i start get an arc, i start travelling straight away, i guess im supposed to wait until the pool forms before moving on. This would explain the way the start of the weld seems higher then slopes off.

Thanks for the wisdom Tom
Martin

 

[tom2207]

yep , try that and see ,, burn through a few times , burn a few holes with excess pen ,, you can practice filling them in too , dont worry about how it looks , feel the difference burning through has , you can see it and feel it as well as hearing it to , the idea is to practice , dont worry about pretty , pretty will come later , explore , play with the settings , its a practice piece of scrap , not a 6g test for coding ..

 

[Domdom]

I would turn the wire down half a notch and the power up half a notch. I have the 250 version and find the power and wire need to be within a mark of each other to get best results.

I also tend to pull the weld towards me, right handed and pull from left to right, feeding wire into the pool as I go. But then again I do get told I should push and weld a little colder so read into that what you want. But unless you’re trying to weld a lace curtain a bit more power drives easier penetration in my experience. Keep going hotter until you blow holes and that would give you the marker.

 

[carbon]

What gas are you using?

 

[tigan]

Hobbyweld 5

 

[Lazurus]

I also tend to pull the weld towards me, right handed and pull from left to right, feeding wire into the pool as I go. But then again I do get told I should push and weld a little colder so read into that what you want

I was always told "Only drag where there is slag" IE stick, may have missed a trick!

 

[tom2207]

I was always told "Only drag where there is slag" IE stick, may have missed a trick!

thats a basic rule , but as i often say
Have to ,, makes a hard master ..

some times you end up doing all sorts just to get the job done ,, lots of folk can stick weld with bent rods using a mirror to work round tha back of a pipe joint if there is something like a bulkhead in the way ,, Im not one of them though ..

 

[Domdom]

lots of folk can stick weld with bent rods using a mirror to work round tha back of a pipe joint if there is something like a bulkhead in the way ,, Im not one of them though ..

You know, I just *might* have been able to do that when I was taught to weld almost 40 years ago. In my College days, when everyone else was working in a bar for £1.80 and hour, well doing an Engineering degree I figured I would walk round the industrial estates and look for work. Ended up at Crane Fruehauf who were desperate for platers. They gave me a trial, then an hour of instruction from a master welder and BINGO, I was earning more than double what bar work was paying. That was hefty stick welding and (if I say so myself) I was rather good at it. No re-work ever came back to me in 3 years. Not sure if I could mirror weld but I probably could have back then. Wish I was still as good now. Old eyes don't help one little bit.