New PP 205 Asking for help w/Aluminum...

[Ray C]

Hi...

New guy here. First Post.

I'm hoping someone can give some starting points for making a bead with a PowerPro 205 on Aluminum. I've been stick welding as a hobbyist for a couple years and do OK. Stick welding with this new machine is great but this is my first shot at TIG and aluminum. I taught myself how to stick weld by reading and watching some videos and my first attempts were quite successful and I do stick welding several times a week in my machine shop. I've read-up and watched videos about TIG and feel like I understand what needs to be done.

I set my machine up the same as what's shown in this post ( http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...etting-started ) and the gas (100% argon) seems to be working and setup properly. I'm able to get an arc started no problem but all it does is crater the surface and within moments, the tungsten starts to ball-up and slowly melt away. I'm using 3/32, grey/ceriated and have available 1/16 and 1/8. I know these things take some time an practice but something just doesn't seem right here.

Anyhow, I'm just trying to lay a bead on a piece of clean 1/4" thick 6061 and wondering if anyone can offer some clues.

Thanks...

Ray

[fdcmiami]

seriously ray, what did you think was going to happen? here is a clue, at least take the time to do some research, watch some videos, use the search engine, visit other websites. or, would you rather someone dropped by and did it for you?

i don't know what a PP 205 is, do you have enough amps to be welding quarter in thk al? is the material sitting on a steel bench? you need to come to practice with some knowledge of the game you're going to play.

[zoama]

Here's a link to a tig weld calculator http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...calculator.php
Start at about 160 amps with the AC balance turned fully to the left. You can move up to the 1/8" electrode if you'd like. A picture of the whole front of your machine setup the way you're going to weld will help diagnose any problems with your setup.
Pictures of everything will help... work, electrode... ect
Welcome to the forum.

[Ray C]

Thank you so much.

Here are photos of the settings and typical results. And no, I'm not welding atop the mill bed but, the overhead doors are mostly closed and the fans are off (and I'm dying in here )...

Another question... While the arc is lit, I'm hearing some hissing under the cover of the machine. Is that normal? There is indeed gas coming out of the shielding cone but I'm uncertain about the hissing noise coming from within the machine.

Regulator is set at 20 PSI and I've adjusted the flow from 5 to 12 lpm.

The piece of plate was wire-wheeled with SS...

BTW: I have the phone app for the miller calculator -very handy indeed. I did not have the amps as high as you suggest as I'm only attempting to make a bead and not join pieces. I will try it higher.

Ray

[performance]

You will hear a buzz or hiss when the HF kicks in to start the arc, but after that, it should disappear.'

Ditch the ceriated, and just use thoriated or lanthanated. Ceriated doesn't handle the heat.

What is your AC freq and balance setting?

[Ray C]

Once again, I appreciate the last couple thoughtful replies.

Here is another photo using 1/8" ceriated. It's just buzzing away like crazy and drilling pits. I've tried a careful rotating and weaving motions with no luck. BTW: I'm not using the foot pedal. The settings are otherwise the same as the last photo.

Once I get past this little hurdle, I'll be feeling much happier but, at the moment, I'm calm but confused...

Also, I have about 400lbs of AL on hand in all shapes and sizes. Don't be afraid to instruct me to try a difference size piece of stock.

Sorry for troubling you all but I don't know anyone who knows TIG and the local community college canceled all their welding courses.

I will indeed try the other types of electrode if that's recommended. I chose ceriated because it it's not radioactive and several online guides and books suggested it for general purpose work including AL.

BTW: On the first shot, I was able to stick some 1/4" 1018 together in DC mode. Not the greatest looking bead but I couldn't break it in half with a hammer...

[performance]

That is a gas problem. What kind of gas/mix are you using? edit: scratch that, you said 100%, sorry.
Don't run the gas through the air regulator.
What AC balance and Freq settings are you using?
Ceriated was touted at one time by Miller, but in side by side testing, even they have backed away from it somewhat. Thoriated is used throughout the industry and it is the standard. More radiation comes from your cell phone or a pocket watch, than from thoriated. It's an alpha emitter and cannot even penetrate the skin.

[Ray C]

I gather it's OK to connect directly from tank to inlet?

I've tried balance from none to full with increments of 10 in-between. Frequency is mostly at 150 but I've tried down to 125.

I'll try bypassing the regulator but FYI: I hung a small weight on the water release to keep it shut at low pressure. Seems it doesn't like pressure below 30 PSI.

Question: Even with ceriated, should I still be able to run a bead or is it totally worthless at Amps in the 130-160 range? I noticed it goes fast above 130.

EDIT: I connected directly to the inlet and cranked rate up to 10 lpm. Also tried using a thinner piece of 1/8" stock and adjusting Amps to recommended levels. -Same thing. The arc sounds sporatic and skippy to me but I have no reference point. The difference is much worse than compared to stick welding in DC vs. AC mode.

[performance]

You have a gas problem with that gray area around the weld. It could be contaminated gas, or some issue related to gas flow. If you tried to plasma cut at too high of pressure, you could have blown the lines off inside...or there POSSIBLY could be an internal leak. Too much flow will cause a similar problem as too little flow as well.

[Rodsmachineshop]

dose he have his welding leads connected rite polarity

[performance]

It's a possibility, but it usually won't smoke out like that even if the tungsten burned up.

[Ray C]

I did some plasma but regulated the source tank at 40 PSI. I was very careful of that. I've used dedicated plasma machines many times before but am new to TIG and this particular machine. The gas comes from a very reputable place in town that I've gotten my ACY at for a long time but, anything is possible I've learned...

By any chance, have you looked at the pictures of the settings and do they seem reasonable?

[Ray C]

Yes, that was the 1st thing I checked. + goes to workpiece.

[Ray C]

OK, tried a couple things in sequence. First tried increasing the flow rate. Most of the gray/yellow soot has gone away but can't get a pool going -just a lot of erratic sounding buzzing. Buzz diddy, buzz buzz... It doesn't sound smooth like the (numerous) videos I've watched. I tried various Amperages and it went from just etching the surface to digging a hole in the piece. Next tried the foot pedal. Same results (but I do like the foot pedal better because its easy to press the torch switch w/the gloves on).

I've had a feeling all along the issue was both gas and improper settings. For the life of me, the instruction manual (both the one that comes with it and the one on the web site) make no sense due to the poor translation so I cant get any clues there. Im holding steady and even as I can and with stick, I can weld in all positions. If I knew how to set the dials in-relation to each other, it might help knock-out some of the variables here.

Are you guys able to weld AL with this machine and are there any instructional videos available?

[Rambozo]

Here are a couple of basic gas tests. If you have the ball type flowmeter, make sure it goes to zero once the post flow stops, if not you have a big leak. Then turn off the bottle. If the pressure gauge goes down, you have a small leak.

Basic aluminum settings with foot pedal, top to bottom left to right:
Pulse switch OFF, ignore blue knobs
Amps 200, Arc force 1, AC freq. 100 Hz, Balance 30%, Switches AC, 2T, TIG (HF)
Preflow 1, Postflow 10, Upslope 0, Downslope 0, Start Amps 5, End Amps 5

Argon set to around 8-10 lpm or 16-20 cfh

Hold tungsten about .060" off the metal and hit the pedal, for 1/8" plate, you will need about half pedal to start to form a puddle. It will take a little time about 5 seconds or so in one place, before you can begin to move.

Some of your plates didn't look too clean. Try new material first if you can. If there is corrosion, or chemicals that have permeated the plate, forget about welding it. All the wire brushing in the world won't help.

[Rambozo]

Can you post a video?

[Ray C]

Ball flow meter goes to zero after post flow. Turned off bottle and pressure remains and the hose is firm and puffed-out.

Video will be here but may take a while before it's visible. 3 minutes long and take a while to upload. http://youtu.be/CLoTtO_1faI

[Ray C]

Much thanks. I gave it a shot. The erratic buzzing went away but still no puddle. On the piece of 1/8", at the end of 5 seconds, it blew half thru the piece and the tip was mostly gone. The stock is all factory fresh drops from an aluminum distributor, end pieces from virgin material that have never been touched.

The video is up now. BTW: I'm holding the tip about where you say but after 4 hours of this, steadiness is going out the window.

[zoama]

Try holding the torch like a pencil, finger on top for the switch if using it. It takes a little longer to puddle thick aluminum. Your arc sounds fine, the variation in sound is from you moving it up and down. The arc will sound more like a tazer as you pull it away from your work... the other guys that are helping you have much more experience than me so I'll leave them to it. Keep practicing.
Use the little film strip icon to add your video directly to the post.

[Rambozo]

Ok, first this I can see right off is you are shaking around way too much. That will never work, you need something to prop your hand on to hold it steady. Freehand and TIG rarely go together. You need to be able to keep your position within about .050" or better. This can be a little block under your hand or even sticking out a pinky to touch the table. Tungsten stickout looks a bit too far, too. Set it to 1/8 to 1/4" from the front of the cup max. Make sure you don't have a breeze, too. If you are using the pedal, you should be able to back down the amps and just sit there indefinitely. The arc will be heating the metal but not melting it. Then add power and you should get a puddle, again as long as you don't go to far, you can pretty much just sit there. At low power settings aluminum will take time to puddle as the heat is conducted away. You can add power, but then things get busy, it's better to just give it a little time and work slowly. After you have had more practice, you can bump up the power and travel speed.

Take a break and watch a bunch of aluminum TIG videos.

Another thing I just noticed, Doh! You really ought to start with steel TIG before moving to aluminum. Somehow I thought you had done that before, but if coming from a self taught stick background only, you have a lot to learn. Steel is a lot more forgiving. Maybe even check out the TIG time videos on another thread here. (maybe they do have a use)