What's Going On? TIG 4043

[hotrodder]

Can you change the AC pattern on your v205?

Yeah, choice of sine, triangular and squarewave like yours. I've not changed it from squarewave in eons so don't know how much of a difference it'd make to grainyness... i'd expect sinewave to be more forgiving than squarewave, triangular less (despite it's lower heat input as it's very 'harsh') but might be very wrong. On mine you change the waveform in a 'hidden' menu which is only accessible when switching the machine and so is a relative PITA

Having a play with a Dynasty might be interesting due to their choice of 'soft' and advanced squarewave? While it'll be switching faster i reckon the soft squarewave is probably closer to what you get out of a squarewave transformer set like a Syncrowave or Murex transtig/ESAB heliarc 252/352?

 

[Richard.]

Yeah, choice of sine, triangular and squarewave like yours. I've not changed it from squarewave in eons so don't know how much of a difference it'd make to grainyness... i'd expect sinewave to be more forgiving than squarewave, triangular less (despite it's lower heat input as it's very 'harsh') but might be very wrong. On mine you change the waveform in a 'hidden' menu which is only accessible when switching the machine and so is a relative PITA

Having a play with a Dynasty might be interesting due to their choice of 'soft' and advanced squarewave? While it'll be switching faster i reckon the soft squarewave is probably closer to what you get out of a squarewave transformer set like a Syncrowave or Murex transtig/ESAB heliarc 252/352?

Exactly like mine PITA. You have to switch it off then on again while holding the switch then use the torch switch to change it, so it's just kept in square wave which I find is just fine. I'll be honest I've never seen a real advantage to changing it.

 

[wheresmejumper]

The later v205 models have a button on the front panel for changing wave shape.some also have a 6010 stick setting not found on other variants

 

[whm_fab]

If anyone is in the Essex area and would like to earn some beer money giving me a few pointers send a PM please bored of wasting ally, tungsten and gas now.

A run through of settings:
Pure argon 6lpm
Size 7 cup

in my opinion, thats a touch on the low side, plus are you confident in your flow meter?
Have you tried turning the argon up a bit to see if it improves? in some of your photos there is definitely some areas that lack shielding,
id be up around 9lpm until you get your torch angle and arc length on the money, then you can try turn it down again. 6lpm is right on the limit, and if your flow meter is a bit off, that could be 4.5 or 5.

 

[Richard.]

I use 4-5 with a lens kit.

 

[whm_fab]

i dont think brad is using a lens? plus as i said, you are what looks like a very experienced alu welder, the OP's torch angle, arc length etc may not be perfect like yours, plus we dont know how drafty his workshop is etc.
for a beginner on alu, i think its cutting it a bit tight. there is definitely oxygen contamination in some of the welds.

 

[wheresmejumper]

There looks like contamination issues towards the end of the 5356 weld too,so it might not be a filler only problem

 

[whm_fab]

heres an outside corner butt weld i actually did with a R-tech funny enough on 2mm 5052 plate with 4043 filler, 8lpm no lensm the beads are fairly mirror like finish, sorry for the crappy photo

 

[Richard.]

heres an outside corner butt weld i actually did with a R-tech funny enough on 2mm 5052 plate with 4043 filler, 8lpm no lensm the beads are fairly mirror like finish, sorry for the crappy photo

Looks good!
I agree arc length will totally effect gas coverage and yes looking at the welds there does look to be contamination issues in various places. I would be inclined though to tailor advice towards arc length and torch angle to eliminate the issue rather than compensating bad technique with higher flow rates. As you rightly said though which is a good point if he's using collet bodies then the coverage will be less effient to a lens.

 

[whm_fab]

Looks good!
I agree arc length will totally effect gas coverage and yes looking at the welds there does look to be contamination issues in various places. I would be inclined though to tailor advice towards arc length and torch angle to eliminate the issue rather than compensating bad technique with higher flow rates. As you rightly said though which is a good point if he's using collet bodies then the coverage will be less effient to a lens.

this is very true also, perhaps compensating for deficiencies is not the best approach - id just be concerned if its drafty or the flow meter is off, he's on the edge of sufficient shielding.
what stick out are you using actually OP? dont know if you mentioned it previously.

 

[chevy2]

Yeah, choice of sine, triangular and squarewave like yours. I've not changed it from squarewave in eons so don't know how much of a difference it'd make to grainyness... i'd expect sinewave to be more forgiving than squarewave, triangular less (despite it's lower heat input as it's very 'harsh') but might be very wrong. On mine you change the waveform in a 'hidden' menu which is only accessible when switching the machine and so is a relative PITA

Having a play with a Dynasty might be interesting due to their choice of 'soft' and advanced squarewave? While it'll be switching faster i reckon the soft squarewave is probably closer to what you get out of a squarewave transformer set like a Syncrowave or Murex transtig/ESAB heliarc 252/352?

Like you once i found a setting that works i leave it there, on my dynasty i find that the 'soft squarewave' is the most universal so it stays there mostly, once again its in a hidden menu but luckily it can be changed while the machines running, used it on 'advanced' briefly last week when Langy came over as we needed a more penetrating arc,
not a great deal different but the 'soft' setting feels better for most stuff.

 

[wheresmejumper]

Exactly like mine PITA. You have to switch it off then on again while holding the switch then use the torch switch to change it, so it's just kept in square wave which I find is just fine. I'll be honest I've never seen a real advantage to changing it.

I cant be certain exactly,but the Castolin version of your machine that i had,the factory setting for ac was square ep and sine en.or vice versa.
Whatever it was,it was super quiet,clean and f all etched zone around the bead

 

[Richard.]

The factory setting is square en sin ep. I find it quiet on all ac waves compared to any other brand I've used. I used the lorch 220t not long ago. Wonderful machine but the row off the ac was much louder Than mine. I keep telling myself to invest in a modern one but then I ask myself what are going to be the benefits. The lorch was nice and had more range on its features but every joint I undertook I could replicate to the same standard on my old unit. If I was going to be moving it around a lot then that would encourage me to buy a newer one as at 20kg without the cooler attached it's not that mobile.

 

[mcostello]

Alcohol will work for cleaning, don't know what it's called over there. Don't waste the drinking kind...............

 

[Jim Davey]

Isopropyl alcohol I believe.

 

[Richard.]

Isopropyl alcohol I believe.

I've not heard of that before. What's it like in comparison to acetone Jim.

 

[Jim Davey]

No idea, I've not used it but I imagine any degreaser that evaporates away fully will be better than nothing.
I've had decent results with brake cleaner in the past if I've been out of acetone, all you want is a clean surface with no residue.

 

[Richard.]

I used a bike chain degreaser once as I'd ran out of cleaner. Not the best idea I've had as it left a residue behind which spat and flustered when I struck up. Live and learn. Yeah brake cleaner was always good.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Meth's works, you can buy it cheaply and easily as well. The only problem I have found is it does not flash off so quickly in cold weather.

 

[Richard.]

I only keep acetone now. It's what I find works well and it's relatively inexpensive as I find you don't need much to get clean results.