Gas Welding Aluminum Tubing

This rule of thumb is only a guideline and is governed by many other factors such as arc length travel speed joint configuration and how much surrounding metal is available to dissipate heat. You can weld aluminum pipe joints using an open-root technique but its more difficult to do than it is with steel.

How To Tig Weld Aluminum Square Tubing Arxiusarquitectura

When aluminum tubing is welded outdoors it has been customary to enclose the work area with tarpaulan windbreaks or with a tent to prevent excessive loss of the inert gas.

Gas welding aluminum tubing. Above ½ in thickness operators may add anywhere between 25 to 75 percent helium to make the arc hotter and increase weld. For both TIG Welding Gas Tungsten Arc Welding or GTAW and MIG Welding Gas Metal Arc Welding or GMAW use pure argon for aluminum materials up to ½ in thickness. To prevent the aluminum tubing from oxidizing during the welding operation the welding has been performed by a method in which the welded area is kept flooded with an inert gas usually argon or helium.

Aluminums high thermal conductivity means that the weld pool is larger than it is in steel. So if youre looking at a job where you need to weld aluminum. Flow rates of 20 to 30 cubic feet per hour are recommended.

Getting the tubing hot enough may take 4 to 5 minutes. The weld pool also is more fluid so its harder to control the molten pool. Tungsten inert gas TIG welding also known as gas tungsten arc welding GTAW is best suited for welding aluminum and stainless steel.

Aluminum Gas Tungsten Arc Orbital Tube Welding NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena California JPL has been hand-welding aluminum tubing for decades in support of flight programs and ground support equipment including thermal plates and shrouds. This type of welding typically has faster travel speeds and higher deposition rates than TIG welding affecting the weld quality. Check out this video as Bob shows you how to stick weld aluminum.

Thicker sections of aluminum pieces may need some mixture of argon and helium for thicker sections where high heat input welds are being deposited. The rule of thumb when welding thin aluminum is to use about 1 amp of current for every 0001 in. In TIG welding a non-consumable tungsten electrode is used because it has the highest melting temperature among pure metals at 3422 C 6192 F and therefore doesnt contaminate the weld by.

However unlike these oxy-acetylene or arc welding is much more widely used since it is relatively inexpensive and has equipment that is typically much more portable than TIG or MIG welding plants. Weld and Cut in one kit with this torch from Eastwood thats Made In The. Choose the right gas.

When MIG welding aluminum the desired mode is spray transfer. Generally you will be using a pure argon shielding gas when you are MIG welding aluminum. Learn the tricks to Gas Welding aluminum sheet metal with Mike from Cobra Torches.

Setting Up The Shielding Gas. I bought anodized 6061-T6 extruded tubing and have been trying to gas tungsten arc weld GTAW if but the results so far havent been satisfactory. Welding anodized 6061-T6 extruded tubing 7075 series aluminum.

Because aluminum is a non-ferrous metal it requires a 100 percent argon shielding gas. Open-root welding almost always is performed using GTAW. Gas metal arc welding GMAW commonly referred to as metal inert gas MIG welding is another common method used for aluminum welding.

Clamp up the tubing and start heating the aluminum with a propane torch. This process is a very smooth transfer of molten metal droplets from the end of the electrode to the molten pool. Head over to our Website and become a member.

What process should you use. Im an experienced welder and Ive welded aluminum before but Ive. Aluminum will start to melt at 1200deg Fahrenheit but the brazing rod will melt at around 700deg so we want to get the aluminum hot enough to melt the rod without melting the tubing.

The welds look black and porous. Other welding techniques that are effective for aluminum include TIG tungsten inert gas welding and MIG metal inert gas welding. That means about 50 amps for 0050-in-thick aluminum.

Pure argon is the preferred shielding gas for welding thin sections of aluminum.

Aluminum Gas Welding The Basics Weld Guru