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mig welder for aluminum
- Thread starter amk
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A 140A will work with thin aluminum, probably won't be able to weld anything over 1/8" with any quality. But with the spool gun, that should work ok.
Good luck!
Good luck!
I used a Hobart 190 to do some work on 1/8" flat material. It was all that it wanted. Really needed more heat but it worked for what I was doing. If both materials were 1/8" it did ok. If I had to weld 1/8 to 1/4 or similar, it needed help. Preheating for one and even then it was a little tough.
Spool gun makes it easier; but is not required. You will, however, want a plastic liner as the soft aluminum wire tends to wad up in the standard flexible steel liners that generally come with the welder. And use the biggest possible wire. If your welder can handle .045, use it. Mine wouldn't go bigger than .035 and it was a little rough. It had a tendency to wad up if I wasn't really careful. Also it won't carry quite as much amperage as .045 will, and with aluminum it takes more heat to weld the same thickness stock as it does with steel. A lot more. And it's got to be squeaky clean, and use 100% argon shield gas....or Helium. I've had better welds with Ar but have done ok with He, although He seems to weld a little hotter which could be important on a smaller machine that needs all the help it can get.
Spool gun makes it easier; but is not required. You will, however, want a plastic liner as the soft aluminum wire tends to wad up in the standard flexible steel liners that generally come with the welder. And use the biggest possible wire. If your welder can handle .045, use it. Mine wouldn't go bigger than .035 and it was a little rough. It had a tendency to wad up if I wasn't really careful. Also it won't carry quite as much amperage as .045 will, and with aluminum it takes more heat to weld the same thickness stock as it does with steel. A lot more. And it's got to be squeaky clean, and use 100% argon shield gas....or Helium. I've had better welds with Ar but have done ok with He, although He seems to weld a little hotter which could be important on a smaller machine that needs all the help it can get.
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