I got a Hobart 187 and have started to get OK with welding steel. I have a couple of small jobs coming up that require welding aluminum. Is this possible with a MIG and how difficult is it?
Thanks
Thanks
cam MIG weld aluminum?
- Thread starter landtank
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[I've never done this, but this is my understanding. Correction welcomed.]
Theoretically possible, but the conventional wisdom is that the aluminum wire is too soft to be reliably pushed 8-10 feet without getting buggered up. I'm sure it's done, and you might be able to get away with it for a small job, but I wouldn't risk damaging the liner.
The preferred option would be to get a spool gun to hook up to your Hobart. Or buy a ReadyWelder and hook up the spool gun portion to your welder. Then you'd have an emergency trail welder too.
Theoretically possible, but the conventional wisdom is that the aluminum wire is too soft to be reliably pushed 8-10 feet without getting buggered up. I'm sure it's done, and you might be able to get away with it for a small job, but I wouldn't risk damaging the liner.
The preferred option would be to get a spool gun to hook up to your Hobart. Or buy a ReadyWelder and hook up the spool gun portion to your welder. Then you'd have an emergency trail welder too.
I am a aluminum welding newbe, but like e rock said it is not the easiest thing to push through a mig lead.
There is a different liner that you are supposed to install but kinda a pain to go back and forth.
Im using the magnum spool gun from lincoln and it works good , Im still working on all the fine details.
ken
There is a different liner that you are supposed to install but kinda a pain to go back and forth.
Im using the magnum spool gun from lincoln and it works good , Im still working on all the fine details.
ken
- Thread starter
- #4
I'll check out the spool guns, thanks
I have the Hobart 180 and although I have not welded Al I did ask the question when I bought it. I understood that you bought a TIG head and used a TIG rod and a different gas. Only gas and electricity went through the current positive cable.
Mark W
Yep, I really don't really care that much I guess.
You can mig Al... common. Pure argon, not an argon CO2 mix. Have a couple of friends who do a lot of Al work with Mig... I have used their setups a couple of times... probably gonna start working more in Al myself... for roof racks. I can buy AL stock for only pennies more than Steel. I'll be migging it.
works best with a spool gun.
Mark...
works best with a spool gun.
Mark...
Get a spool gun and follow the directions! I think you have to reverse the polarity, but i could be wrong so double check. Was looking at a bunch of this stuff over the last 3 weeks and it all runs together in my head now.
spool guns work well, if its avail for your machine. keep in mind it takes more amps to weld alu, i typically run in the 140-170 amp range so you'll be getting up there in your duty cycle but thats ok.
They have push-pull guns for some welders also,may be cheaper than a spool gun.Spools are very universal you can weld all.,steel and stainless,buy just switching gas and wire.If your only doing small jobs at a time the small rolls are cheaper! Get extra tips,they usually smoke when you hit the end of the roll.
Waggoner5
SILVER Star
We welded aluminum on a daily basis with a MIG. Like Mark said, pure Argon gas and the correct ga wire for your heat setting and alloy thickness and you should be fine. It is more difficult to weld Aluminum with a MIG, because the heat isn't real time adjustable like a TIG.
RufusTheDufus
SILVER Star
I have an old Hobart Beta MIG. It's got a 10 foot gun feed. I've welded a decent amount of aluminum with it. (I'd guess about 100 hours of welding time.) A few things I've learned in the process: 1) run a nylon liner, coiled steel liners will contribute to rats nests 2) use a tip that's one size larger than the wire (i.e. .035 tip with .030 wire). The Al expands a lot as it's heated. 3) 5032 wire feeds through the gun much better than softer 4000 series wire 4) keep the feed cable as straight as possible, maybe even duct tape a broom handle to it.
If you're going to switch back and forth between Al and steel it might make sense to buy another gun and keep it dedicated to aluminum. It's cheaper than a spool gun. However, a spool gun is a wise investment if you're going to do a lot of aluminum welding.
If you're going to switch back and forth between Al and steel it might make sense to buy another gun and keep it dedicated to aluminum. It's cheaper than a spool gun. However, a spool gun is a wise investment if you're going to do a lot of aluminum welding.
I use a lincoln 210 with a spool gun at work for our aluminum welding. I have also used my lincoln 175 with a teflon liner, different drive roller and new tips. While the spool gun at work seems to be a little better, neither type has produced stellar welds. I readily admit it may be the person operating the welder is the problem. The migs seem to do fine one thicker material, like 1/4". The thin stuff, less than .120 wall, seem to blow out a lot. I've played with feed rate and power settings, but haven't had much luck. Maybe some of the experts can school us a little.
RufusTheDufus
SILVER Star
It's possible to MIG thinner aluminum but very difficult to get it to look good and avoid blowouts. I'm not an expert. I did a roof rack for the Cruiser with 1" tube with .062" walls. I used some 1/4" flat stock too for some of the structural stuff. The 1/4" material was very easy to weld compared with the .062". If you're curious you can see some of it here. The welds aren't pretty.
One of the other problems with blowouts on thin aluminum is due to aluminum oxide (Al2O3). It melts at 2054 degrees C. Aluminum melts at 660 degrees C. On thin aluminum it doesn't take much oxide to trap heat in uneven and unpredictable ways. On thicker material the heat has somewhere to go. I had no idea how important it was to clean every joint with a stainless brush within a few minutes prior to welding. Anything beyond that and it was harder go get decent results.
I asked a fabricator friend of mine why it's so difficult to do aluminum with a MIG and he explained that most MIG outfits don't have the proper starting spark profile or something along those lines. I don't remember if it was constant current or constant voltage supplies being the contributing factor. I guess you can do this with a TIG welder. So your starting spark voltage ramps up quickly and then settles back down within milliseconds to something that can maintain the proper amount of heat.
One of the other problems with blowouts on thin aluminum is due to aluminum oxide (Al2O3). It melts at 2054 degrees C. Aluminum melts at 660 degrees C. On thin aluminum it doesn't take much oxide to trap heat in uneven and unpredictable ways. On thicker material the heat has somewhere to go. I had no idea how important it was to clean every joint with a stainless brush within a few minutes prior to welding. Anything beyond that and it was harder go get decent results.
I asked a fabricator friend of mine why it's so difficult to do aluminum with a MIG and he explained that most MIG outfits don't have the proper starting spark profile or something along those lines. I don't remember if it was constant current or constant voltage supplies being the contributing factor. I guess you can do this with a TIG welder. So your starting spark voltage ramps up quickly and then settles back down within milliseconds to something that can maintain the proper amount of heat.
fj40charles
SILVER Star
You're actually doing spray transfer when you're mig welding aluminum. This results in very high heat and lots of penetration (same as spray transfer on mild steel). Most people will say you need to stick to 1/8" or thicker for spray transfer unless you're lucky enough to have a mig welder with pulse. I'd TIG the thinner stuff.
MrMoMo
That's not rust, it's Canadian patina...
The absolute biggest key "trick" to welding aluminum is MAKE IT CLEAN!! Dirty aluminum will give you horrible welds. By clean, I don't mean, that aluminum looks clean - I mean wire brush it before you start, even if it looks perfect. Do it with a cup brush on a grinder for better results. You can weld aluminum with mig - we weld our boats with mig, and trust me you wouldn't want to tig up all the welds on a 70' boat - it would take years. With aluminum you won't see the heat, so remember when you are done welding that its still VERY HOT!!! Be careful if you have others around, as they may not realize it is hot.
yup, i built my bumpers with 1/4" aluminum, argon and a lincoln mig. swap polarity, clean it real good. and then spend about half an hour or most of your argon to figure it out. It is a pain to get it working but can be done with a bit of help, I am not a welder, just a cruiser fan.
