Stick welding is a process that uses a covered electrode that is also called a stick. The full name for Stick Welding is Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) and is more widely used than many other methods of welding.
This works by melting the flux that covers the electrode as the welder welds a work-piece. As this process continues it forms gas and slag and these two things shield the arc and the weld pool of molten metal. What happens when the piece is finally all welded together, there is slag that the welder must chip off. The flux also adds scavengers, deoxidizers and other types of alloy elements to the metal during the weld.
One can find more than one advantage of using Stick Welding . First of all this is one of the most inexpensive ways to weld because the equipment is easy to use, portable and inexpensive. You don’t have to worry about regulating the flux because the electrode does the regulating of the flux. This method is also less susceptible to wind and drafts than other methods, especially the welding processes that are gas shielded. No matter what position you find yourself in when welding, you can use this method in just about any position.
Throughout the world if you were to take a pole, stick welding is used more than any other form of arc welding. It is also versatile, flexible and used by a wider variety of individual. As an example, you can use this method to make small repairs around your home, you can repair equipment and it is used in the erection of still and other commercial types of joining metal.
Sometimes there can be problems with Stick Welding but they are relatively easy to fix. Some of the most common problems you may run into include:
- Spatter — this basically makes the metal look messy and it is expensive to clean. There are many things you can do to fix this and we will talk more about this in the tips article.
- Undercutting — this also changes the appearance of the metal and can weaken the weld especially when it has tension or fatigue.
- Wet Electrodes — if you see that your arc is erratic or it is acting rough, then the electrodes can be wet.
- Cracking — there are different types of cracks can happen in different spaces in the weld, and it can be caused by high carbon or high alloy content.
When you are looking for flux coated electrodes you can find them in many different sizes and lengths. The best way to tell which ones you need is to match the base metal with the properties of the electrodes. You can usually find them in bronze, aluminum bronze, nickel and stainless steel.
Of all the electrical welding methods, stick welding is the most versatile because it can be used to weld more metals together than many of the other methods. It is also one of the easiest to do though it will take practice if you are truly a beginner to welding. However, even when you are a beginner it is quick to learn and with practice you will do a very good weld using this method.
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December 10th, 2008
When you are looking for tips on how to make your Welding better and safer it is important to remember why you are using this method. It is also important to know some advantages and limitations of this method before you get started.
Some of the advantages of using this method include:
§ You can use it with any commercial metals so you don’t’ have to worry about compatibility.
§ You are doing a continuous weld and it pulls electrode wire off a spool.
§ You can perform this method in many different positions.
§ Your weld deposition rate will be higher than any other alternative process.
§ You make more money because you can work faster.
§ You can learn to manipulate the gun fairly easily.
§ You can also adapt the process to other types of applications like mechanical and robotic.
There are a few limitations to this method however. These are things you need to know:
§ You are going to pay more for your equipment and it can be more complex to work with.
§ You might have a little difficulty in hard to reach places because the torch is bulky and has several cables.
§ If you have wind or drafts around while you are using this method you can compromise your gas shielding.
§ You’ll need to dedicate some time to training to get the correct parameter selection.
With these things in mind, here are a few tips to make your welding process better:
1. Remember that most MIG Welding applications will use a direct current polarity. Really the whole process regulates itself so once you set the parameters you won’t have to change another thing.
2.The part that determines the length of the arc you will have when working is called the electrode extension. You have to set the length before you start. The current will flow in the wire and it will heat the length of your wire; then the current will heat your arc.
3. The short circuit method of transfer should be used if you want to weld thin materials or large gaps in a joint. When you are using this method you are getting the lowest range of current and small electrodes. This will insure that you have low head and a small, quick weld pool that will freeze.
4. The Globular method of transfer should not be used if you can get away from it because it is so difficult to control. You can use it on flat services but there are other methods that work better. It also makes spatter uncontrollable.
5.The times that come along when you need to weld at thicker sections its better to have a higher current and higher deposition rate which is what the spray transfer method will give you. You can get a spatter free stream of drops and this method can be used in all of the welding positions.
Finally, when you are purchasing Welding supplies make sure that you purchase them from a reputable dealer. Also check all of the parts to see if they are working before you make the final purchase.
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December 9th, 2008
This process is called by many names and it basically is a welding process that uses an arc to heat metal that needs to be joined. The welder uses a continuous feed filler metal (a consumable) electrode and this is used on the work-piece. Similar to other types of welding a shielding must be used and this is usually a gas or mixture of gases.
This type of welding is also called short circuit transfer. In the MIG process, when the wire actually touches the metal to be connected, it lets go of the metal that does the welding. You want to avoid puddling and this is what helps make sure this doesn’t happen.
Also known as MIG Welding , the MIG(GMAW) process uses a metal gun to provide this service instead of a torch so that you get a direct current going to the metal. You can use both constant current and alternating current systems to also produce this method of welding.
Welding uses four ways to transfer metal. These are:
Globular — this method is difficult and used the least because it has a tendency to spatter because the gun will move to a high heat without warning. There will be flaws on the welding surface if this happens. This method uses carbon dioxide so the electrode tends to produce a ball of melted metal that cases irregular shapes that are bigger than the electrode. They then drop and falls onto the piece you are working on which causes a spatter. This is difficult to control as you would imagine.
Short circuiting — this uses a smaller current than the globular method but it still uses carbon dioxide. Because of the lower current you can actually weld thinner metals together with this method. This method is similar to the globular method because drops of melted metal from the electrode still forms, but it causes the electrode to short circuit instead of the drops falling on the work. This closes off the arc but comes back again because the surface tension pulls the metal goblet from the tip.
Spray — this was the first method for transfer used with MIG Welding and used to weld aluminium and stainless steel. The difference with this process is that the electrode metal passes through an electric arc that is stable and goes all the way to the workplace. What this will do is stop the various spatters which helps you get a weld finish that is a very high quality. You also will watch as the current and voltage increases so you get small, vaporized steam droplets instead of large globules.
Pulse spray — this last one is a newer way of doing this type of welding that uses a continuous current that pulses and melts the filler wire. In each pulse a small droplet of metal will fall.
This also allows the welder to use a lower current. The welder gets a more stable arc and this stops spatter and the short circuiting process. The gas that works the best in this type of slower situation is argon gas, not carbon dioxide gas.
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December 7th, 2008
TSince TIG(GTAW) welding can be difficult there is all kinds of information that will help you understand it better and how to do it more effectively. In order to do the most effective welding using TIG you will need to prepare several things before you start.
What to prepare
The first thing you want to do is prepare the area where you are going to do your welding because you want it to be kept free of contamination. This means that you will have to really clean the area to make sure you have no grease, moisture or dust. You will also want to make sure there are no air drafts in this area because this could bring more problems.
The next thing to prepare is the metal that you are going to use for TIG Welding . You will need to make sure that the joints are as clean as you can make them and you do this by using a stainless steel wire brush. Many welders will dedicate one brush to whatever metal they have so they don’t have to worry about cross contamination.
If have slag on any of the metal you can remove it with a file. Next, you will want to clean the base metal. The reason you want everything to be so clean is that if contaminated, the metal can either break down or make a bad connection. Of course, it depends on the metal which it will do, so cleaning everything can stop this from happening.
Beginning to weld
Everyone knows that their weld can potentially get contaminated by just about anything so you really want to make sure you have a shield gar so you can prevent this as much as possible. Most welders will use Argon because it seems to work best with Welding . By using this gas, you are protecting the area from oxygen which can contaminate what you are doing.
If you are using thicker aluminum, you can also add helium to the Argon because it ionizes hotter than Argon and you will need the hotter temperature in these types of welds. If you need helium you can get these already premixed, this is available with your gas supplier.
A note about suppliers: they are not the same so you will want to make sure you use someone who is reputable. You will also want to make sure you have all the seals checked for leaks before you buy.
When you are checking for TIG Welding leaks as you weld the best way is to use water and soap and a small acid type brush. These together will produce bubbles if there are any gas leaks. All you do is apply this solution of water and soap on the joint to and if you see air bubbles, you know you have a leak.
You will want to check all your supply hoses and gas connections to make sure there are no leaks before you get started. Make sure the torch insulators and your o-rights are fitting properly and that the seals are intact.
Its important to be able to see as easy as possible so as to avoid problems and be more precise and a tool that will help you do this is a gas lens that hooks onto your torch.
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December 6th, 2008
The acronym TIG stands for Tungsten Inert Gas Arc Welding and the acronym GTAW stands for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding this is the same process but it is referred to by these two different names.
In the situation you will be Welder using an electric arc that generates the heat. You then have a tungsten non-consumable electrode that then produces the weld you are attempting to make.
One of the things that have to happen in this type of welding is that the particular metal that you are welding has to be shielded from contamination in the atmosphere or you will get a poor weld. Due to the point that was just mentioned, you will find that the area is shielded with an inert gas that is used with a filler metal where necessary.
Using an ionized gas called plasma that has a constant current to flow across is how this type of welding works. Plasma also has metal vapours within it. You will usually use GTAW if you have to weld thin metals like stainless steel, aluminium, magnesium or copper allows. GTAW also gives the person who is operating the welding process more control of the weld.
In welding terms, this means that this weld is much stronger and of a higher quality than many other types Welding . Many experts say that it is harder to learn, is complex and can be slower than other welding techniques.
Some welders like using a different kind of torch to produce plasma arc welding which is very much like this one but a little different. This type of welding will give a more focused welding arc, but usually this is done through automation.
How It Operates
The reason this welding process is the most complicated or difficult to master is because the welder has to use a smaller arc length; they have to be able to have a very steady hand. If they aren’t able to keep a distance between the electrode and the piece they are working on, the piece can become contaminated and there can be problems with the weld.
This is also a two handed process because you have to be able to hold the torch in one hand and feed a filler metal into the space that you are welding. You can see that this is a very intricate process and one that requires high skill.
There are a few types of Welding that will not require this type of weld and the individual will not have to use filler material these types include: edge, corner and butt joints. These types of welds are called autogenous or fusion welds (Source: Wikipedia).
A welder who is highly skilled in this process is able to alternate between using the torch and then using the filler material in a pretty fast way. As they do this the filler rod can be taken out as the electrode moves forward, and it doesn’t have to be taken out of the gas shied. This highly developed process is really only for those who can do it well and have been trained.
GTAW can operate using several different currents: positive direct current, negative direct current or alternating current. This will all depend on how they set up the power supply in the beginning.
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December 6th, 2008
When you think about Welding you might think that there is only one type of welding. This is a common idea because most people only see the finished product. However, there are many different types of welding that you might find interesting.
Welding is basically taking to metals and getting a tight bond between them by welding them together. There are a variety of bonds that are done depending on the types of welding you use.
Types of welding fit under categories as listed here:
Gas welding
This type of Learn Welding creates a flame from a burning gas and this creates the welding heat that is needed. You will see this in the following types of welding:
Propane torches — people use this when they want to sweat a joint or when they want to solder two pieces of metal together. This is one of the lowest heats and can be used for small things.
Oxyacetylene torch– this heat gets a bit hotter and many people say this is the most universal type of welding tool you can find. This is used when you need a very hot flame. This type of torch will weld a variety of things as long as you have the right metals and tools for it. It is generally used when you want to cut, braze, weld or solder something that requires a higher heat. You have to be careful though because it is a type of heat that can be difficult to control and it can sometimes overheat the area.
Oxy-propane — this type of welding is used when you want to solder, braze or heat something. This is a cheaper form of both of the types of welding that was first listed.
Arc welding
This type of welding creates the heat through the use of an electric arc. The types of welding that are done through this type of welding include:
Basic AC & DC arc welders — when you are looking for a way to weld either heavy gauge steel or cast iron this is the type of welding to use. It uses rods that you guide along the place to be weld and these are made of flux coated steel or other materials.
MIG (Metal Inert Gas) — this is a very quick way of Welding and some say it is easier to do than regular arch welding. It is done through the use of a DC arc and it uses filler metal that is used with a spool of thin wire. You use inert gas instead of flux. This is usually used with steal bodywork and is a good choice when you need to weld sheet metal.
TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) — this type of welding uses an AC arc that is of high frequency and it is combined with a tungsten electrode that is shielded by inert gas. This comes together to create a torch that is controllable. This is a good choice to weld very thin metals together. Really this is going to be the best option when working with stainless steel and Aluminum.
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December 5th, 2008
When you drive your car or look at a light fixture in the street or open your microwave, chances are that there is something in any of those items that has been welded. These products and others have been a part of the process of Welding for more years than you might imagine.
Welding actually started a very long time ago during the Middle Ages. Many artifacts have been found that date back to the Bronze Age. These have been small boxes that were welded together with what is called lap joints; no one is exactly sure what these were used for, but this was important to that time.
The Egyptians also made a variety of tools by welding pieces of iron together. Perhaps this is where Maxwell’s Hammer comes later? Who can say! People of the MIddle Ages then arrived and they were able to make use of blacksmithing for Iron. Welding today only came about from plenty of welding modifications and adjustments.
There were several significant inventions in the 1800s that influenced welding included here:
§ The invention of acetylene by an Englishman named Edmund Davy.
§ Gas welding and cutting became known and a way to cement pieces of iron together.
One of the most popular parts of welding, thanks for the invention of the electric generator, was now Arc Lighting.
The types of welding called Arc and Resistance Welding Start to gain Popularity.
§ Nikolai N. Benardos receives a patent for welding in 1885 and 1887 from America and Britain.
§ C.L. Coffin receives an American patent for a arc welding process.
After the 1800s many more patents and inventions were made in order to create more ways of doing welding but one of the greatest needs would come much later during World War I because this process was needed to create arms. Because of the demand Welding firms became a staple of America and Europe because the war needed welding machines and electrodes to go with them.
During the war people really got a chance to look at how welding worked and it became a very popular way of work. It is agreed upon that one of the first American Welding Societies was created in 1919. This nonprofit organization came directly out of through a group of men who called themselves the Wartime Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (Source: Miller Welds).
The 1950s and 1960s were also a significant time for welding because a Learn Welding process using CO2 was discovered and a variation of this form of welding that used inert gas became very popular in the 1960s because it produced a different type of arc.
There have been a number of improvements in the welding trade over these years and today the process has added two areas, friction and laser welding. These two have created a more specialized field and therefore more opportunities for learning.
One interesting point about laser welding is that those people who use it have found that is a tremendous heat source so it can actually weld both metal and non-metal objects.
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December 4th, 2008
If you are interesting in Welder there are many different terms that you will want to familiarize yourself with in order to read magazines or books on the topic. Here is a list of common terms that are important to know in Learn Welding :
ACETYLENE — this is a gas that you will be working with to do Learn Welding . It is a very flammable gas so you have to be careful with it. This gas is made up of carbon and hydrogen and it is used in the oxyacetylene type of welding process.
AIR-ACETYLENE — this is a flare that you can produce using low temperature. It is created when you burn acetylene with air and not oxygen.
AIR-CARBON ARC CUTTING (CAC-A) — this is a way of arc cutting where you melt metals through the heat of a carbon arc.
ALLOY — this is a mix that has metallic properties because it has at least one element that is metal, but it can have several other things in the mix as long as one is metal.
ALTERNATING CURRENT — a current that goes backward and forward at regular intervals (see DC Current).
BACK FIRE — this is the popping sound that you hear when you turn on the acetylene torch when you connect it with fire. It is created because the flame turns back into the tip for a moment and then comes back out of the torch as a flame.
Backhand Welding — THis is interresting because this is when you point the flame the weld that is already complete.
BACKING STRIP — this is a strip of material that you will use when you need to keep metal that is melted at the bottom of the weld. You may also use this strip to add strength to the thermal load of a joint so you can stop the base of the metal from warping too much.
BASE METAL — this is what you call the metal that you are going to weld or that you are going to cut. If this is an alloy, it will be the metal that you have in the highest amount.
BRAZING — this is actually several welding processes. You will use this when you have a groove, fillet, lap or flange joint that you need to bond. This will require a nonferrous filler metal that has a melting point higher than 800 degrees F (427 degrees C) but less then your base metals. Then, the filler metal will be distributed throughout the joint using capillary attraction.
DIRECT CURRENT (DC) — a current that only flows in one direction — forward.
- Flows in one direction and does not reverse its direction of flow.
DEFECT — there can be defects in your weld after you create it. The main defects you can find are things like cracks, porosity, places where the metal has been undercut, or where you have a slag inclusion.
EDGE JOINT — this is where you set two plates and put them together at a 90 degree angle with their outer edges.
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December 4th, 2008
Wikipedia defines Welding as “a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals.” This is done by melting the part of the materials to be joined and adding some additional molten joining material. When the molten material cools, it forms a strong bond or joint.
Welding is the most widely practiced way of joining metals together due to the efficiency and economy of the process. It has been estimated that approximately 50% of the Gross National Product of the USA arises from activities that are in some for or another related, perhaps remotely, to Welding . As an example, farming may appear to have nothing to do with welding, but the equipment the framer uses to grow and harvest his crops will have used welding in their manufacturing process.
Until the advent of the 20th century, welding was confined to blacksmith shops where two pieces of metal were heated to very high temperatures in a forge and then hammered together until the joining occurred. This is what is called forge welding.
There was a point at which welding became much more easy and cost effective and that point was when we introduced electricity into the industrial world. In the world today, you can narrow things down to 4 types of welding techniques that are used most often.
· The most basic for is Arc Welder where the parts to be joined together are brought into contact with strong electrical current and heated. The molten parts are then joined together to form a weld. Most would agree that this is the cheapest and least sophisticated form of welding.
· Gas Welding is generally used for repair work especially in the case hollow items like tubes and pipes. Hot gas is forced onto the surfaces to be welded. This procedure requires the parts to be subjected to less heat and is suitable for material that may be damaged by exposure to high temperature. For this reason it is used in the jewellery industry which has to work with soft metal with low melting points.
· Resistance Welding requires that an additional sheet of material is used to cover the pieces that are to be welded together. This provides great strength to a weld, but the process requires expensive equipment and also the use of additional material to encase the weld which makes it expensive and not suitable for all applications.
· Laser Welding is the most modern technology available. High intensity lasers can be tightly focused and produce controllable heat on the surfaces to be welded very quickly. This is perfect for material which can be damaged by prolonged exposure to extreme heat. If you want small and accurate welds then you are going to want to use Laser welding as this is what its known for. However, because of the high capital cost involved in purchasing this equipment, the cost of welding is also high.
Although the perception of welding is that of a simple process of heating and joining, it is a high technology industry with huge amounts being spent of research and development to find stronger, more accurate and cheaper methods. The welding process plays a big role in metallurgy with a constant effort underway to find newer and more weld friendly alloys.
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December 3rd, 2008
If you want to learn Welding it will take practice and a little patience to learn to do it in a way that will produce fine welds. This is an important thing to remember although some people may say they never had to practice much.
Welding is one of the basic methods of welding that many students learn as they are just beginning to learn welding. This is also a method of welding that is high in demand because people need this help whether they are working iron, pie, boilers or building ships.
You will find that you will need the skills of all types of positions including flat and horizontal and ventricle or overhead welding. All of these will take some time to learn and some will be more challenging than others.
Here are some tips to help you Stick Welding :
1. The right electrode for the job — many people aren’t sure of the size of the electrode they should use and this is important to know. The size of the electrode will depend on the situation you are welding within. In this situation you will be fighting against gravity if you are doing the weld vertically so you will want to use an electrode that is AWS classified as 7018 because they are low in their powder content.
2. A weld shelf makes a good guide — if you are doing vertical or horizontal welding you will need something that the electrode can follow so you don’t loose any of it to gravity. You can do this by creating a serious of little shelves so you can do a section at a time so that you can continue to work above a weld that you have already laid. This will create a situation where one puddle will freeze in time to hold the next weld.
3. Don’t undercut if possible — this can happen because you have to weave the electrode and sometimes your work may be gouged and not have enough fill metal. When this occurs, you will be working against gravity because it will work to pull your fill metal away from the space you are working. You can reduce your puddle size to help you have more control in this situation.
4.The industry has standardized on certain sizes of metal so its best to stick to these and not get off on odd sizes that aren’t standard. These metals will be easier to find and you can weld them fester. Stick with the ones that are AISI-SAE 1015 to 1025 so that you can be sure that you have what you need.
5. Make sure you know your arc length — a good rule of thumb is to use an arc length that is the same distance from the metal as your electrode’s thickness. As an example, if you have an electrode that is ¼” thick, then have your arc ¼” thick. Also remember that as you use the electrode, you will have to move it closer to the metal.
Following tips such as these will really help your weld be more controlled and much more even.
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November 22nd, 2008