I kinda-sorta replicated what you are working with.
2" x 3/8" flat bar, 90° inside corner, uphill
Wire is 035 ER70S-3
Shielding gas is 90/10 Ar/CO₂.
Flowrate: 25 CFH
1st try was 170A (for 045 solid wire Amps = IPM, roughly, so about 170 IPM). Too hot and thus ropey in the middle, so I kept going down. The last run at 149A worked great. I say try 145-150 IPM and about 20.3-20.7V. Different machines run differently so just try those out as a baseline.
Tomorrow, I'll give it another go after I gouge out those welds and re-salvage those strips to run more beads. The lower amperage settings gave better results, but the CTWD has to be tight. Smidge Less than ¼", perhaps ¼" max.
That bead there looks a lot more like what Im going for. I'll try those settings out today and hopefully get this beat so I can move on to the next challenge. I'll try the lower IPM and increase voltage. Also when you say gouge out so you just mean clean the joint out or some other meaning?
What I found makes the most important difference is the CTWD. I didn't show my initial warm up beads for that reason; i was using varying amounts of CTWD to "get the hang of it", as I hardly do 3/8" let alone uphill. Make sure its tight. And of course play around with the voltage since my wire is obviously a different diameter.
As for "gouging", I have a gouging tip for my plasma cutter, which allows "carving" out welds like you would with carbon arc gouging rods.
Thanks for the tips. Yeah the tip distance is as close as I can get it with that nozzle. Vertical up for 1/4 and above right? When would you usually vert up?
Second attempt. Needs work. The bigger beads at the bottom have 2 passes. Looks rough. That tip distance is screwing me up. I think I need to shape the tip more conical. Like you said. Also need to find a comfortable position to lay the bead, I'm pretty much floating my arms. More practice.
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Ebay seller hasn't responded to my offer, hopefully I can get some 045 wire in to get more accurate settings.
If you can sacrifice that nozzle, just take another slice so that the contact tip stick outs about 1/8". It might help. Also play around with the voltage as well. It could very well be different than my 035 wire, but should be close. Perhaps try an extra ±½ or ±1.0 V.
Oscar wrote:Ebay seller hasn't responded to my offer, hopefully I can get some 045 wire in to get more accurate settings.
If you can sacrifice that nozzle, just take another slice so that the contact tip stick outs about 1/8". It might help. Also play around with the voltage as well. It could very well be different than my 035 wire, but should be close. Perhaps try an extra ±½ or ±1.0 V.
Sounds like a good plan I'll get into doing that tomorrow. I can definitely sacrifice it.
To me, it looks like just technique. It's looking much better. The main problem is we're not there to see what you're doing and thus we can't see the puddle as you are creating/manipulating it. If you have the equipment to capture video arc shots, by all means that would help. But short of that, and keeping on chuggin, the only other option is to find an experienced weldor to show you. I'm on vacation, so if you pay for my travel/meals/lodging I'm available for hire.
Joking aside, you can try a systematic approach for different WFS while using a wide range of voltages, and then increasing the WFS and again using the same range of voltages. But in the end you do have to have proper technique. You can't free-hand the MIG gun and be eating a cheeseburger with the other hand. You have to be able to maintain the same gun angle into the joint the entire way through, which by the way I used a very slight angle, about 5°. What is your actual CTWD? Please don't say a range of numbers. It should be one number and one number only. If it is a range of numbers, you're not doing it right.
Oscar wrote:To me, it looks like just technique. It's looking much better. The main problem is we're not there to see what you're doing and thus we can't see the puddle as you are creating/manipulating it. If you have the equipment to capture video arc shots, by all means that would help. But short of that, and keeping on chuggin, the only other option is to find an experienced weldor to show you. I'm on vacation, so if you pay for my travel/meals/lodging I'm available for hire.
Joking aside, you can try a systematic approach for different WFS while using a wide range of voltages, and then increasing the WFS and again using the same range of voltages. But in the end you do have to have proper technique. You can't free-hand the MIG gun and be eating a cheeseburger with the other hand. You have to be able to maintain the same gun angle into the joint the entire way through, which by the way I used a very slight angle, about 5°. What is your actual CTWD? Please don't say a range of numbers. It should be one number and one number only. If it is a range of numbers, you're not doing it right.
Since I trimmed the nozzle a bit more and the tips protruding, CTWD is about 1/4 inch very small. I believe it's technique. I'll keep posting here as I get better results. I didn't have much time today to get more beads laid but here's another attempt. I'll look into getting some gear for a video. Also I hold the gun straight at the joint. With a slight angle down so I penetrate. I saw a video the guy said a slight down angle works well. So that's what I tried today. Basically perpendicular to the steel.
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My dad's a 40+ year welder has welded on almost every type of metal. Has worked in this same fab shop for 34. Never learned vert up. He's retiring soon and could care less. The other is my brother who never learned and guys less experienced than me. So I'm on my own. I believe the 21v 150ipm is my winner so now I can really focus on a better beat. You mentioned consistency and I think I'm lacking that!
Havoc0122 wrote:Since I trimmed the nozzle a bit more and the tips protruding, CTWD is about 1/4 inch very small. I believe it's technique. I'll keep posting here as I get better results. I didn't have much time today to get more beads laid but here's another attempt. I'll look into getting some gear for a video. Also I hold the gun straight at the joint. With a slight angle down so I penetrate. I saw a video the guy said a slight down angle works well. So that's what I tried today. Basically perpendicular to the steel.
I think that's why you're getting so much droop, because you're holding a down-ward angle. That's just my gut feeling of course. Try 5° upward as you are making the triangles to see how you like it. IMO, pushing the puddle as you trace the front of it exposes the arc to dig more into the fresh metal ahead.
As for getting gear for a video: you already have it. You have a passive shade 10 lens? You got a cell phone? You got tape? That's really all you need for a bare-bones video. You just have to change the focus from auto- to manual-focus, so the camera is already focused on the joint that you are welding. Otherwise the camera will get all screwy as it's trying to focus on the arc light.
Havoc0122 wrote:Since I trimmed the nozzle a bit more and the tips protruding, CTWD is about 1/4 inch very small. I believe it's technique. I'll keep posting here as I get better results. I didn't have much time today to get more beads laid but here's another attempt. I'll look into getting some gear for a video. Also I hold the gun straight at the joint. With a slight angle down so I penetrate. I saw a video the guy said a slight down angle works well. So that's what I tried today. Basically perpendicular to the steel.
I think that's why you're getting so much droop, because you're holding a down-ward angle. That's just my gut feeling of course. Try 5° upward as you are making the triangles to see how you like it. IMO, pushing the puddle as you trace the front of it exposes the arc to dig more into the fresh metal ahead.
As for getting gear for a video: you already have it. You have a passive shade 10 lens? You got a cell phone? You got tape? That's really all you need for a bare-bones video. You just have to change the focus from auto- to manual-focus, so the camera is already focused on the joint that you are welding. Otherwise the camera will get all screwy as it's trying to focus on the arc light.
Perhaps you might need a smidge less WFS. Remember different machines work differently. My machine has an encoder built into it that reads back the RPMs of the drive wheels so the CPU can run the wire at the exact speed it needs to. Most machines do not, so the WFS is usually an approximation. Or perhaps it's your travel speed as you are progressing. Hard to say without being "there".
Oscar wrote:Perhaps you might need a smidge less WFS. Remember different machines work differently. My machine has an encoder built into it that reads back the RPMs of the drive wheels so the CPU can run the wire at the exact speed it needs to. Most machines do not, so the WFS is usually an approximation. Or perhaps it's your travel speed as you are progressing. Hard to say without being "there".
Oscar wrote:Perhaps you might need a smidge less WFS. Remember different machines work differently. My machine has an encoder built into it that reads back the RPMs of the drive wheels so the CPU can run the wire at the exact speed it needs to. Most machines do not, so the WFS is usually an approximation. Or perhaps it's your travel speed as you are progressing. Hard to say without being "there".
I tried lowering the ipm, looked bad didn't even take pic. Decided to go back to 20.5 and 150. Best results yet as I think my technique was better. I think this looks a bit better.
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All in all I think I progressed today: I think the welder settings at 20.5 and 150IPM is where I wanna be. I'm going to fab a "post" to lean my left arm to help stabilize the gun. I figure I'll lay my first nice bead that way and then practice "free arm".
It may seem like I haven't progressed much but in my mind I think I have a better idea of what my technique should be especially after today.
The stick out and tip distance is helping a ton. You also got me to 150 ipm. I was at 200 before you started helping.
Also got my hands on a pair of Tillman gloves, a lot more dexterity than the black stallion or big Jake's.
I have off tomorrow but I'll give it another go Saturday.
Not too sure how many attempts get in today. Overtime day but I'm not going to milk it. I wanna get my task complete and go home today. I'll prob get atleast one in. Here's a glimpse into what I make: these lifting arms lift up to 11,000 lbs, we build dock lifts for tractor trailers and stores. Also a pic of the frame. Just so you know I take welding serious this isn't a fun thing for me I need to learn v up. (Ok well it is fun)
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That's really all you need for a bare-bones video. You just have to change the focus from auto- to manual-focus, so the camera is already focused on the joint that you are welding. Otherwise the camera will get all screwy as it's trying to focus on the arc light.
