rI

T\{/I

wot

THE \TELDING L\STmJTE

SECTION12

._tI

TWI

w7{

TH: WELDTNG UCS

IT|LT:

ilJ?.i Jlit;:;:'le[

t""::i':::":':'ti"l atte
mpteda]terati
on in arcIensth

i isniricant ;;.;s;';; #; iil i :":l-'"?fl

li,(J:l?.TI:|:;.,.J
i" ?lit J,
aolustlng arc,,.
A ',FLAT'ARCpRocESS (CONSTANT)
' VOLTAGE

MErAL'ruE^rno5
lnarcl

f Uii

6un noztl.

6at

y:,,i,1:i:,,".::lylcr;
co,;Metar.ar
sasshielded;CrrlnW

(o9p.r aonlaal
luba
r aonn.clad lo the
toJ.? tupplf unll )

tNatd

Elaatroda rt a

Typjcaldefectsassociated
with this
process:
tncomplete
penetration.
Excessivepenetration.
. Undercut

Co.pI.t.d

J.(d

Type of Operation
Manual,mechanised
or automatic.
Mode of Operation
An arc is maintained
betweenthe end of
b..rg wire electrode
and the *o;k:;"
.lh.u j.d
at.aconsiantspeed,
setectedto
:l: ]:
p]::^l: requiredcurrent,and the
arc
controtJed
Oytir. po*"r-r-or"r"..
,_:i:
n operatoris not
tfrerefore."";;;;.
.r
w-rthcontrollingthe
arc tength
concentrareon depositing and can
ln .the correctmanner_ rn" *"ia i_r"or

#Ji"ffi:rTrbe

opherated
athish

Excessive
spatter.
Cracking.
. Porosity.
.Lack of rusion.
Strayffash.

In mechanisedMIG and submerged

arc welding the process may also
be operatedusing constantcunent
or drooping arc characteristics.

''
;n*retorm
oi-a",;;l:T,ffi:J":1?::",
technique
is confined
.:::T,Tt"T,this
wcrorng
in,rheflatandhorizontal to
ooJriln.
ror vertjcal and
overhead*"ldi";;;;.;r;

j::lY*"1,
techniquesmust De used,
,.e.
transferor pulsedarc.
The
.r.
,.orp'pool
"nj-.
werd
are shieldedby a stream
of gas.
The electrodecan be

solidor fiux cored.

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
Issue 0191
12_1

T\^/I

wof

TT{E WELDTNGTNSTIT TIE

GAS SH I E LDE DMETALARC WELDING

Welding sets

Wbe rec!

Setsare manufactured
in a rangeof sizes,identified
by current,similarto
metatarcwerding'currents.beiow
2o0A;;nrt
fiu" ,aipt.un"r"i"of,"rltion,
suitable for welding
steel only.

Larger sets may have the wire reel and

motor as a separate unit, so it can be
placed near the job. "."T:j:
th: set a_djustouipur vortage and may altow
a
choice of inductance:the wire :l
speed controi wit be on the wire feed unit.

17.2

WEAING TECHNOLOGY
lssue Olgl
:

T\VI

THE WET.DING TNSTTTLJTE

Electricalinput is from singie_phase24OVmains for

sma sets, or three_ohase
''-"
4.15v for rnediumsize upwards. output is a,ways
oc *itn " irit "ripri-"
cnaracteristic(semiautomatic),droopingoutput (mechanised).
Sets often have a built-inholderfor a gas cylinder.
A set will usuallybe suppliedcompletewith a suilablegun:
atso see
'Accessories'
below. Heavy duty guns may be water cooteo,and the
set may
have a water tank and coolingradiatorbuiit in.
Gas noa.k
(opaanr rcnovable)

Vl'se

I nsulating b osslocatinz
nozzla ac

Conua dp
(opaaror rcpbcalbl.)

Swan-ncck

Gaspa.ssage
Trigga switch
Handle
Hose: Onc-piecc or
separae innqs in
Iusc slccve
- Wclding cable
- Wtc condtit
- Gashqc
- Triggo switch conaection

Whenweldingaluminium,
the wireis soft, and tends to kink when pushed
througha hose- a gun carryinga small reel of wire -'reel-on-gun, obviates
this.

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
tssue 0191

1?.3

TWI

WT

-fi

WELDTNG I}.TSTr|IJTE

Sets.whichsupplycurrent.inpulses(at 40_200per second)give

improved
resultson somejobs:as this'purse-MrG'
would
increase
tne
number
of
,synergic,
controls,.anelectronic
controlsystemvariesajl the pafametersin
stepto simplifyadjustments.
Accessories
Weldingcables
set
::_T-e:t:!s
:o
urampsor cltps

l
) simitarto manualmetatarc: one set usuailyinctuded
I

Gun and connecting

hoseassembry
to suit current,usua|ysuppriedwithset;
also see 'spares,below.
Gas regulatorsand hose,connections
to suit.
Vaporiserfor carbondioxidegas on industrialsets.
Cylinderstand
Spares
The followingpartscomeintocontactwith the wire- sparesare needed
to
replaceworn parts,or if wiresizeor type is changed.
Inletand outletguides)
) on driveassembly
Driverolls
)
wre co_nduit
liner- springsteelcoir,rikecurtainwire,for steererectrode
wire,
or plastictubefor aluminium.
Contacttip in gun - needsfairlyfrequentreplacement.
Gas shieldingnozzlefor gun - varioussizesto suitdifferentiobs.

17.4

WELDINGTECHNOLOGY
l
Issue0191

T\ryI

Wg

THE WEI.DINC INSTMJTE ' -

MIG/MAGWELDING
PROCESSCHARACTERTSTICS
The heatsourceusedto mertthe parentmetaris obtainedfrom
an eiectrcarc
whichis formedbetweenthe end of a consumabre
erectrodewireand the
work-piece. The arc mertsthe end of the erectrodewire which
is traisieneo
to the moltenweld pool. The electrodewire is fed from a spool
"
attachedto the wiredrivingsystemand passesthrough...rot il;
roris-'wnicn
are
drivenby a variabrespeederectricmotoi. By varyinglthespeed
oithe motor
we can adjustthe reverof the werdingcurrenl nigi iire reeospeeo-'gives
high
werdingcurrent. The arc rengthcan ajso be varied by aitering
the vo-rtage:
nigh
voltagesgive longerarc lengthsand vice versa.
rn orderto preventthe air reactingchemicallywiththe molten
metara shierding
gas of either CO, or argory'CO2
mi)atureis passedover the weldzone from a
nozzreaftachedto the weldinggun or torch. This protectstire
mortenoroprets
passingacrossthe arc and the moltenweld pool.
Electricalpower for the processis a direct curent which is obtained
from a
transformer-rectifier.The werdinggun or torch is connectedto
po"itiu"
fl.r"
pole of the powersupplyunitand eiectricalcontactto
the wireis.obtainedas
closeto the arc as possibieby meansof a coppercontacttip or
tube.

flrtrde

vin

Cdllocl lip

Shielding
gos

fleld p@(

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
lssue 019l

12.5

T\vI

Ttof

THE \TE[.DIN6 NSTITrJTE

QUESTIONS

MtG MAG AND CO, WELDING

(METALTNERTGAS WELDTNG)

Q1

State the main weldingparametersand variablesof the process.

4\

al

b)
d)

e)

lltt angte

s)
Q2

What polarity is normally used for welding applications ?

Q3

State the modes of transfer

4l

b)

c)

Spraytransfer

d)

Q4

State three (3) items of importancewhen inspectinga wire to be

used for MIG weldino.

05

Whichdefectcan be quitecommonwhenusingthe shortcircuiting

modeof transfef
a)
b)
c)
d)

Lackof penetration
Undercut
Lackof fusion
Porosity

os11