Rec TIG set up for AL w power TIG 200DV?

[Michael Ross]

Hi I'm a new owner of a 200 DV power TIG. I need to weld someone 1/16" aluminum, T and butt welds. I have inconsistent results. Never very good. Can I get some opinions on what setup to use?

I have tungsten and hardware to use 1/16 inch diameter and 3/32 inch, gas lens, 26 torch, lanthanated 2%, thoriated 2%, and ceriated 2% tungstens. I have messed around with pulsing, various frequencies, etc., but I really just don't know what I'm doing so any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

[Rambozo]

1/16" aluminum is not ideal for learning. Get some scrap 1/8" and practice on that, then once you can produce good welds, move to the 1/16".
Do you have any TIG experience at all? If not you should start with steel.
2% lanth. is a good all purpose tungsten for steel or aluminum.
General settings for aluminum would be 120 Hz @ 30% EP. Use a foot pedal for amperage control and no pulse. on 1/16" I would use a 1/16" tungsten and about a #6 cup. For 1/8" use a 3/32" tungsten and a #7 or #8 cup.
Aluminum magnifies any problems in your technique. But once you get good with it, it will also make you a better welder on steel and stainless for those same reasons. Also there are three C's for aluminum. Clean, clean & clean! Aluminum will always have an oxide layer, but the more you can minimize that, the better it will weld.

[Michael Ross]

Hmm yes, 1/16" is hard to do, everyone says so and that is why I posted. But one of us at work needs to get to where it can be done consistently and realtively prettily. If I can do it I will get more work. At work we are using a not new Synchrowave 210 transformaer box. The boss only buys and uses pure tungsten. He also gets annoyed when we clean the materials very much. Still it needs to be sorted out. I should have said inner and outer corner welds, but I couldn't get the edit function to work on the original post.

I got the Power-TIG 200DV so I could go my own way at home, and now I am trying to do 1/16" AL out of his sight so I don't annoy him failing to follow instructions and the high failure rate. If I figure it out I will carry the 200DV in and demonstrate. They have no experience with IGBT machines.

I would like to ask why a couple times, so I can understand better and maybe be able to troubleshoot on my own.

You didn't mention an Amp setting (pedal max); 1/16" tungsten is supposed to go up to 60Amps, and 3/32" not much below that.

And I wonder that you think, and why, the finger button is not a good way to go? If you had to guess, what settings would be good for using the 2T?

On what basis do you choose cup size?

I was hoping to get hints on technique. I cleary see that I have problems. Any suggestions or hints?

I have been practicing on steel building a welding table. It is indeed easier, but I have problems with technique there too.

Thanks for the help,

Mike

[Rambozo]

The fastest way to get good is lots of practice. I would start with 1/16" steel and see how you do with that. If you have trouble, move up to 1/8" steel until you have that down. Then after that move to 1/8" aluminum, and finally down to 1/16" aluminum. The reason for using the pedal is that you can back off the power if things start to go bad. New welders typically do not have a very consistent travel speed, so you will need to change power levels to deal with that. Also with aluminum, as the part builds heat, you will need to back off the power or increase the travel speed to compensate.

There are differences, between inverters and transformers. Pure tungsten is the preferred type for transformers, but not on inverters. Also there will be a ball on the end instead of a point on that Syncrowave. It is a lot harder to control. You can somewhat simulate this by grinding a flat on the end of your electrode or slightly balling it, and set your machine to 60Hz AC frequency. That will be somewhat like the transformer experience. It will be harder to weld, so only do this after you can make good welds at 120Hz with a pointed tungsten. The arc will want to wander and getting it to go where you want can be a challenge.
1/16" tungsten can go to about 90 amps, depending on AC balance. The more positive you have, the less power it will take. You will know when the end starts to melt into a ball, that you are at the limit. Speaking of balance, the Syncrowave machine's balance control will be backwards from yours. Not sure if Miller has changed, but they used to be balanced at #3 that would be 50% EP and 50% EN, then turning it up would increase the penetration with more EN. I don't know what the limits were but I do not think it went very far. Just a guess would be 30-70% EN with 50% at number 3. Your Everlast machine will be calibrated in % EP rather than % EN and will show actual percentages, so balanced will be at the half way point. I would use around 30-35% as a good starting point with nice clean aluminum.

Amperage setting will be very dependent on the parts you are welding. Not so much with steel, but all over the place with aluminum. Aluminum is a good heat sink, so the size of the total part will make a difference, not just the thickness. For example you could butt weld two 1"x3"x1/16" steel strips together with about 40-50 amps, it would not take much more if you were welding two 4'x8'x1/16" full sheets together. But with aluminum the larger plates might take double the amperage to maintain a puddle over the small strips.
This makes it very hard to give amp figures for aluminum. You want enough to form a puddle but no more than that. Also the power you will need will change as the part heats up or if it is an irregular part. That is the reason for the pedal. Also it lets you add a little extra at the start to get the puddle going, without putting too much heat into the part. I typically set my amperage slightly over what I expect to weld with so that I have that range. For 1/8" aluminum I would set it about 150 amps, and for 1/16" around 75 would be a good start.

If I was welding those 1x3x1/16" strips, I bet you would see the machine start at 60-70 amps to get the puddle started, then I would back down to about 45-50 amps for about the first inch. After that you would see the power slowly drop to under 30 amps as the part got hotter, finally tapering off to under 20 amps as I got to the end corners. This would be at a constant travel speed. If I was doing this with a torch switch, I would be changing travel speed to get the same effect. Most new welders find it hard to get their travel speed up, so that's why I advise the pedal. Once you can master that, you can move to the torch switch. With steel it's not as big a deal.

You choose cup size based on puddle size, the heat effected zone, and the type of material. For aluminum you want the weld puddle shielded as well as the area of cleaning action that is going on. (cathodic etching) You will see this as a frosty looking band on the weld borders. There isn't much problem using too big a cup, except that area will be larger, and you will have a harder time seeing the puddle. However, too small a cup will not shield the weld and you will get a bunch of black soot and impurities in the weld.

Go to Welding Tips and Tricks and watch all his TIG videos. Some of the best arc shot videos out there, and good explanations of techniques.

[Rambozo]

Once you do get good results at home, you can also bring in your welder to work. Once your boss gets a chance to see what an inverter can do, he might retire that old Syncrowave and get you a nice Dynasty. Especially after he learns how much less electricity they use.

[Michael Ross]

Great help! Can you say more about the cost of electricity?

Mike

[Rambozo]

Great help! Can you say more about the cost of electricity?

Inverters use about half the power of transformers, or less. One aluminum manifold shop said that after switching from Aerowave transformers to Dynasty inverters that it now costs more to light the shop than what the welding machines use.

[GFab70]

I just purchased one too, actually I have been wanting a best bang for the buck welder for a while. I had an opportunity to do an aluminum fabrication job for some prototype equipment and the profits from the job covered the cost of the Everlast Powering 200dv. So my settings are this on the 1" square tubing with 1/16 wall thickness.
I had not welded aluminum in at least 15 years and had to re-learn.
Used foot control
65 max amps
Gray Ceriated 1/16 Tungsten
#5 cup
15cfh
Pulse about a second on and off, faster as I improved
Balance 30, clean much better with Ceriated.
Frequency 30. I needed a flatter weld.
Pre flow 2 or so
Post flow 10 or so
I also want to add this. Give base metal a second or two to heat up and get 1/16 filler metal down and spread between both halves of your but weld and then begin your weld.

Sent from my SM-N910R4 using Tapatalk

[Michael Ross]

More questions...

Can I treat an outside corner weld just like your butt weld?

And then, what would you change to do an inside corner?

[GFab70]

Outside will be the same, just be careful to not get on the heat too quickly and let your puddle drop out. Inside corners are easy if ya can get each leg on a 45°angle to weld. You may have to use more tungsten stick-out and a bit more heat. I would stay with 1/16 tungsten but go up to a 3/32 filler rod. These are things that work best for me. If you can't get each leg on a 45° you will have to concentrate heat on vertices leg and flow it to lower leg.

Sent from my SM-N910R4 using Tapatalk

[Michael Ross]

Gfab70,

Your advice on this is great! I instantly got far better results. Not all that good but I can see myself getting the hang of it with your settings and technique hints.

I am super grateful.

Mike

[GFab70]

Glad it worked out for ya. No voodoo with aluminum and now that ya are getting the feel for it dont be afraid to play with the settings one at a time and see how they react.

My rule of thumb(s) for thin, relatively clean aluminum

1/16 Tungsten

1.No cleaning (balance) added unless needed, then no more than is needed. This allows for a mildly pointed electrode that keeps the arc focused.

2.I prefer to keep the frequency low (30-60) that makes for a low and wide bead.

3.I prefer a pulse rate of about 1 to 1.5 per second, pulse amps at 50% and pulse time on 50%-90%

4. Preflow 2 seconds Postflow until Tungsten cools.

5. 1 amp per .001" of thickness, a bit more if ya are pulsing or until part gets warmer.

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