Welding Tips and Tricks

had to fix this manufactures stuff up. this plate holds up an electric motor and gearbox and it sits flat.
had an issue with the plate bending and puddle forming from wash water etc.
its only 5mm thick. used some 25x5mm stock to reinforce it.
was concerned with the shrinkage. so used big tacks, short welds and moved around. allowed time for cooling.
in the end its back the correct way by about 3mm which is great. i think if i weld it right out it might buckle or bend to much.
still finding stainless very difficult.

This is just fine! There's no need to run a full weld seam for this purpose.

Such reinforcement bars mainly work/help because of their height which gives them the stiffness to support the plate. The welds you put in are not there to actually take the load itself, but are mostly to stop the bars from moving/flexing sideways under load.

Some interlocking is also provided by the welds between the plate and the bars for some extra shear strength so it also resists sagging by not allowing the top plate to shift/slide relative to the bottom bars.

As you noticed you can keep warping in check by limiting the length of beads and jumping around, which is very useful. It's always good to find out what a 'sufficient' amount of weld is, as it's bad to under-weld something (too weak), but can be just as bad if something is over-welded (aka. extra warpage, 'cooked' material losing strength, heavier, etc.) for it's purpose.

Of course if this were a food-grade part then you would need to either fully weld it out to seal any crevices, or a serrated/toothed support bar would have to be used and each contact foot/point would need to be welded out fully for the same reason. But that's a whole different reason

Bye, Arno.

Arno wrote:
Of course if this were a food-grade part then you would need to either fully weld it out to seal any crevices, or a serrated/toothed support bar would have to be used and each contact foot/point would need to be welded out fully for the same reason. But that's a whole different reason

Bye, Arno.

that raises an interesting question, do you weld with no filler to seal it, if so which order do you do it in?

just to add,
i fitted this today. inside that bit is basically a drum. it cleared one side by a mile but the other just clipping the bottom of the braces. i checked the drum and noticed it was bent, right where it had a weld. looks like they had the same issue. welded it and it pulled lifting one side. as always it was fixed with a grinder, just cut some clearance notches into the braces and we are out the door for the weekend.