[77cruiser]

There's a guy in this video that lie high frequency. It's an interesting video if you haven't watched it.

https://youtu.be/RRxAANqmrL0

[cj737]

Yep, it’s interesting how much Chris dispels the old myths about aluminum welding.

[77cruiser]

He would be quite interesting to talk to.

[tweake]

i think my previous explanation was a bit crap.
ac freq is probably better thought of like dc pulse but Ep is peak amps. and EP is background amps. unfortunately my cheap machines don't have individual en/ep adjustments or any fancy waveforms.

[Aaron]

Hi guys , CAPT. Dave 75 new member Appreciate any help.i have a miller 180 SD syncrowave. Trying to weld 1/4" 6061, seems not getting enough heat to puddle up and weld with amperage at 180. ? is 180 amps enough. Using 3/32 2% tungsten -#8cup-18-20cph.

Man today I was welding 6061 3/16 with my miller diversion 180 at 165 amps. I noticed the back side was distorted but it wasn't penetrating through. I was told depending on the weld joint you are trying to weld. You can taper the metal down so there is less material to weld and maybe you can gain some penetration with your machine. Just a thought.

[cj737]

Hi guys , CAPT. Dave 75 new member Appreciate any help.i have a miller 180 SD syncrowave. Trying to weld 1/4" 6061, seems not getting enough heat to puddle up and weld with amperage at 180. ? is 180 amps enough. Using 3/32 2% tungsten -#8cup-18-20cph.

Man today I was welding 6061 3/16 with my miller diversion 180 at 165 amps. I noticed the back side was distorted but it wasn't penetrating through. I was told depending on the weld joint you are trying to weld. You can taper the metal down so there is less material to weld and maybe you can gain some penetration with your machine. Just a thought.

Full penetration will depend heavily upon the joint configuration. If you are performing a butt weld with zero gap, then you have to really push the limit between amperage and travel speed. 180 amps will do it, but you need some preheat, skill, and probably will get massive distortion. Thick material fully butted that requires a full-pen weld often sees a bit of tapering of the joint ends to get new material added into the joint and through the joint. Aluminum is tricky with this. You need to weld with a "keyhole" in front of the puddle whereby you have essentially melted the edges back allowing filler to be added. That gives you a full pen weld.

Butt joint with aluminum often see two side welds for this reason (if there's no gap). You need the strength on the other side to support the joint.

"I noticed the back side was distorted but it wasn't penetrating through." Do you mean that you saw the surface "bubbling" and showing signs of heat? What has happened there is your weld did not penetrate the oxide layer on the backside. To solve this, you can tack the ends, flip the part over and on the backside cut a V groove in with a cut-off wheel or Dremel type tool to thin the material. Then flip back over to the front, weld a solid stitch. Flip it over and check that you're running hot enough or traveling slow enough to get the full penetration you seek.