TIP TIG Welding is always better quality than TIG and 100 to 500% faster with superior quality than TIG - MIG - FCAW.

MIG Equipment and Weld Consumables.



Wriiten by Ed Craig www.weldreality.com.
Please press refresh as updates are frequent.

You can pay a $1000 or $12000 for a MIG power source
and produce similar MIG weld quality and productivity.

Next time you consider paying $6000 to $12000 for that
MIG power source, keep in mind that sound MIG welds
could be made with two car batteries and a wire feed gun.

MIG Wire Facts Without Sales Advice:The E70S-6 wires and high energy argon CO2 mixes can benefit spray welds on plate with mill scale. Mill scale has a higher melting temperature than the steel and if enough scale is present, sluggish welds can result, impacting weld fusion and porosity. A high energy gas mix helps to reduce the sluggishness. Increased silicon in the S6 MIG wire not only provides increased deoxidizers the silicon also provides an increase in the weld fluidity which can be a benefit or detrimental possibly creating undercut. If the mill scale is causing weld issues, consider eliminating the scale with grinding or shot blast before welding.

The E70S-6 wires also benefit MIG spray welds on plate with excess rust, as 70S-6 wires have additional de-oxidizers = oxide scavengers, howeve keep in mind that gas shielded, flux cored wires are preferred for applications that provide excess scale, rust or other contaminates.

Weld Fact: On plate which has the weld area ground clean, plate that is sand blasted and cold rolled steels, irrespective of what your friendly sales rep informs you, the E70S - 2 - 4 and E70S-6 wires provide no weld benefits. The E70S - 2 - 4 - 6 typically can result in weld defects such as slag islands and undercut. When welding clean materials with mill scale or rust, or welding any multi-pass welds, the best MIG wire choice is the E70S-3 wire as it provides superior weld pool control and will produce less porosity.

NOTE; THE NUMBER ONE WIRE CHOICE IN THE AUTO - TRUCK INDUSTRY IS THE E70S-6 WIRE, THIS HAS ALWAYS
BEEN THE INCORRECT MIG WELD WIRE CHOICE.

If manual or robot welding colled rolled steel parts < 3/16, or welded any parts that suffer from excess weld heat, a benefit of the E70S-3 wire (less fluidity) is this wire will have less propensity for weld burn through or for weld undercut, than that which would be attained with the commonly used E70S-6 wires.

If manual or robot welding on clean parts with "multi-pass welds", the weld heat build up and its influence on the weld fluidity needs consideration. The use of the E70S-3 wire for these welds limits the silicon and manganese build up in the multi-weld passes maintaining the desired weld mechanical properties. Using the E70S-3 wire also helps in keeping the inter-pass weld slag to a minimum. Best results for multi-pass carbon steel welds comes from argon 8-10 CO2 and E70S-3 wire.

If welding on galvanized or aluminized, or any coated carbon steels use E70S-3. Avoid higher silicon wires like the
E70S-6 wires as the silicon / zinc oxide reactions can cause hot micro-cracking in the welds.

If concerned about the weld surface from a paint perspective, keep the weld slag oxide formation on the weld face to a minimum by using the E70S-3 rather than the E70S-6.


LINCOLN & IT'S NONE USA MANUFACTURED MIG WIRE ISSUES.

I was assisting a large weld manufacturing plant in S. Dakota. This company utilized robots and
was a large user of Lincoln L50 and L56 wires, two wires which I typically recommend for MIG
carbon steel applications. While at the plant, the manuafacturing manager who like many inexperienced managesr was focussed on weld consumable costs instead of weld deposition rates and arc on times. The manager asked if I would look at two different (lower cost) new MIG wires they were evaluating from Lincoln. One wire was the Lincoln Easy Feed wire and the other the Lincoln Super Arc wire.

When I tested the new Lincoln Easy Feed wire on the robot, I noted that in contrast to the L50 - L56 wires, the Easy Feed wire was very "voltage sensitive". To maintain spray arc stability with the Easy Feed wire, I noted the weld voltage on the Lincoln power source had to be constantly changed and fine tuned. This voltage adjustment was on a robot application in which the wire stick and arc length out was constant. The weld voltage (arc stability) sensitivity was again noted using short circuit transfer with the Easy Feed wires. When wires are voltage sensitive it typically means inconsistent or poor wire chemistry and it means you simply cannot trust the weld wire manufacturer.

Also notable with the Easy Feed wire was the spray transfer weld plasma generated with this wire was narrower than normal and favored the center of the 6 mm fillet weld puddle with less control on the weld pool edges. The Easy Feed wire weld performance was a real contrast to the superior L50-56 wires which were noted for their arc consistency and a wider plasma coverage of the weld. A wider plasma provides greater coverage and control of the weld puddle surface. The narrower plasma resulting from the Easy Feed wire produced poor wetting of the weld edges, resulting sometimes in convex weld beads with scalloped edges. This factor increases potential for lack of weld fusion issues on specific applications.

IF THE CARBON STEEL MIG WIRE IS NOT MADE IN AMERICA DONT BUY IT. IF THE WELD WIRE DOES NOT PROVIDE YOU THE STABLE WELD RESULTS YOU DESIRE, ASK FOR A REFUND AND THEN CHANGE THE SUPPLIER FOR TREATING YOU WITH NO RESPECT.

I found that the Lincoln Easy Feed wires also were inconsistent in the slag island production. Sometimes on clean plate (ground with no mill scale) the Easy Feed S3 would produce much more surface slag islands than the Easy Feed S6. This slag result, was a surprise as there is supposed to be more slag producers in the S6 wire.

THE EXCESS SLAG IS THE E70S-3 WIRE WAS A DEAD GIVE AWAY THAT SOMEONE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND OR GIVE A DAM ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY LIMITS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO MAKING THE WIRE.

By the way I carried out the Lincoln MIG wire test welds manually and with a robot. All the welds were made on ground clean plate using optimum weld parameters with fixed wire stick out in extremely controlled weld conditions.

As to the so called Linoln "Super Arc wire. I found nothing super about it. When I tested the Super Arc wire I found
it had similar weld traits to the Easy Feed wire. Both these wires were far inferior to the USA manufactured Lincoln
L50 - L56 wires.

SOMEONE MIGHT ASK WHY DOES LINCOLN WANT TO PALM OFF INFERIOR PRODUCTS OFF TO THE IT'S NORTH AMERICAN CUSTOMERS. IF YOU CANNOT FIGURE THAT OUT GIVE ME A CALL.


The questions that could come out of this Lincoln MIG weld wire test.

[1] Was the Easy Feed and the Super Arc the same wire in two different packages?

[2] Where were these poor MIG wire made and what was the Easy Feed wire and the Super Arc wire called before it was given the new Lincoln brand names?

[3] If a company has asked the weld distributor for a traditional Lincoln L50 or L56 wire, and that distributor provides them with the Easy Feed Lincoln product or any weld wire product that provides weld issues or is outside the AWS MIG wire specs, that weld shop has a perfect right to be upset and should consider legal action against both the wire supplier and wire manufacturer.

[4] Was Lincoln concerned about the inconsistencies or the consequences of the wire chemistry and the
silicon and manganese content of the wires under discussion?

[5] I have tested MIG weld wire for approx. 40 years. The once completely American made Lincoln L50 - 56 wires were for decades the best and most consistent MIG wires in North America and I am aware that the US plant that made these wires was often stretched to it's wire production limit. If you examine the side of the Lincoln MIG wire boxes or drums you are using, you may note that the MIG wires may have been produced in many third world locations around the globe. As a company that holds a USA monopoly position in the weld consumable market, it's obvious that Lincoln was not insisting of uniform global MIG wire manufacturing standards that were comparable with the L50 - L56 MIG wires it produced in the USA.

[6] In times when Mc Donalds gets sued because its coffee is too hot, should Lincoln customers who have more serious weld liability consequences and concerns expect the highest MIG wire quality standards from Lincoln, standards that at least are identical to the L50 - L56 products?

[7] Is the reality that Lincoln believes that the average MIG weld wire purchaser is simply not qualified to analyses MIG wire welding differences, so they can get away with selling chicken wire quality instead of
MIG wire?

[8] Should any weld shop have to waste time and money testing MIG weld wires that are causing weld issues?
The company had to pay me for the day I spent testing the Lincoln MIG wires that did not perform in the
way the company expected wires from a reputable USA wire producer. There was also the costs associated
through the loss of robot weld production and the resulting weld clean up and repair issues.

Note. One of the great benefits of using a robot or automation with optimum MIG weld data, is the
automation will quickly show the inconsistencies of a poor quality MIG wire.

Weld Question: Ed, who makes the best carbon steel MIG wires in North America and why?

I have tested and used numerous MIG wires from all over the world, and the Cleveland
made Lincoln copper coated L50 (E70S-3) and L56 (E70S-6) wires that have been sold for
decades, are MIG weld consumables that can be considered optimum.

In North America. I also like ESAB (Linde products) for carbon stl wires, and Sanvik for alloys.

When you order a MIG wire from Lincoln, if you use pulsed or spray transfer and want their best product, don't order an E70S-3 or E70S-6 wire or one of their special Super BS wire deals, be specific, ask for an"L50 or the L56 wire; and while this industry likes to be guided by weld salesmen, don't let that sales rep sell you anything different.

As for the wire size. Irrespective of what a sales rep informs you, the best MIG wire diameter for short circuit and spray welds on parts 0.060 to 3/16 (1.6 to 5 mm) is the wire I have been recommending since the nineteen eighties, the 0.040" wire. If you cannot get the 0.040 wire the second choice is the 0.035 wire. For all pulsed welds use the 0.045 wires. And for all welds on parts over 1/4, and single pass fillets to 5/16, the first choice is the 0.045 wire. For large single pass horizontal 3/8 fillets with robots I would use a
1/16 metal cored wire.

If you are having problems with inconsistent welds at high speed > 30 IPM, and you have determined it's not caused by that inconsistent pulsed MIG equipment you just purchased, try a Lincoln L50 wire against the wire you are using for comparison.

Fishing for weld solutions. Salesmanship & MIG wires. If you don't know how to control a MIG weld, its likely you will be looking for a weld crutch such as a unique MIG wire or magic three part gas mix. If you read or hear or read BS like this;. Try our new "Super MIG Arc Copper Coated wire" Try our new "Super MIG Glide Bare Wire" (free of Copper coating). Try our new "Micro Finish Premium MIG wire." Try our new "P MIG wire" developed for your sophisticated pulsed equipment. Try our new M3 wire. The MIG 3 wire was developed for three part gas mixes. And you buy into the above crap, I would suggest you look to another industry for employment, possibly you should consider a career with McDonalds. If you want to pay an unnecessary MIG wire premium, the marketing and sales teams from the MIG wire manufacturers and the never ending weld distributor sales reps will be glad to reel you in. Always remember with a length of chicken fence wire, a two part gas mix and two batteries, you can make a weld that's just as good quality as most stick welds. As a weld pro, you should be less concerned with the advertising marketing adjectives that describes the new wonder steel MIG wires and three part gas mixes. When evaluation that wire, examine the arc stability and consistency with a MIG spray weld. If it's consistent with spray you know its consistent with pulsed. By the way its difficult to test a MIG wire in the pulsed MIG mode as the majority of pulsed MIG equipment does not provide stable - consistent pulsed droplet transfer. Once you like the MIG weld transfer characteristic with the wire you use, keep your eye on the weld wire cast / helix with each batch of wires delivered, also check the way the wire is wound, the wire surface cleanliness and the quality of the spool (avoid wire spools as the damage to easy) the wire is wound on. My first choice stainless MIG wires, Sandvik products. My two choices for steel MIG wires, Lincoln L50 / ESAB E70S-3. My first choice aluminum MIG wires Alotec. The MIG wires I would rather not have to work with are products from National Standard and Hobart. With the Hobart wires I frequently found inconsistent wire chemistry (inconsistent arcs), excess helix. From NS. I did not like the excess weld fluidity in the spray welds due to the high level of deoxidizers they use even in the S3 wire, or the poor winding and poor wire weld splices. Note: If you ever have to use self shielding flux cored wires from Lincoln or Hobart, its time you shut the weld shop and opened a burger stand.

Spray Transfer & MIG Wire Burn Backs to the Gun Tip.

Ed, I work at Monroe, we are one of the largest producers in North America of auto - truck Shocks. Each of our many robots weld on average 200 to 400 parts per-shift. At some plants we average 2 to 5 burn backs per robot per shift. The burn backs requires that we replace the MIG gun contact tips. As the robot down time and time required to rectify the problem takes on average 5 - 10 minutes per burn back, you can imagine the weld production consequences. What is the primary cause of this common robot problem? Also why does this not happen as frequently with our manual welders?

The most common reasons for carbon - stainless MIG wire burn-backs to the contact tip:

Wire burn backs due to the use of oversized MIG wires in which the weld current cannot be used in the spray mode, so the welds are made in the "globular mode". The excessive weld spatter globs block the contact tip orifice and restrict the wire.

Wire burn backs caused by the use of globular weld data at the robot weld start or weld end data. Wire burn backs caused at the robot " weld starts". At a weld start the wire may not have enough forward feed momentum caused by any number of causes.

Wire burn backs " during the weld". One common cause of burn-back during a weld is when the MIG wire is restricted in the liner, or the tip or from lack of sufficient wire tension from the drive rolls. Restricted gun liners or a robot axis issues in which the gun cable is twisted are a frequent robot causes for wire restriction. These problems frequently result in a wire burn back which can melt the end of the contact tip. These problems can occur at the arc start or during the a weld.

Robot Issue. When welding with a robot especially when using an 0.035 (1mm) wire, sometimes the robot arm over twists the gun cable restricting the wire. This is noted more with the small wire diameters and specifically when the burn back consistently occurs at a single weld location.

Why the common wire burn-back problem occurs.

Many factors other than wire feed issues can influence a wire burn back.

1. Wire stick out length too long and the wire almost touches the part at the start. A wire burn back variable that can be adjusted on most equipment.
   
   
2. Robot program, poor arc start data. Programmers will benefit from the data found in my books.
   
   
3. Lack or insufficient shielding gas at the weld starts.
   
   
4. Wire feed restrictions in liner, cables or tip.
   
   
5. Weld parameters set in the globular mode.
   

The following weld data and much more is found in my books & training programs. Click here:

Wire Stick-Out (ESO) influence on burn-backs.

As the robot starts an arc, the robot control sends a signal to the power source to open the contactor to energize the wire. When the wire makes contact with the work, the wire feed should be feeding forward with full inertia. In all instances the electronics work quicker than the mechanical feed and the high start current available during the wire short circuit can melt the MIG weld wire before it can be fed forward at it's full speed.

Many robot personnel are not aware of the influence of their wire burn back data on weld start issues. They may set the "wire burn back" data in the weld program so the wire stick out is approximately 12 to 15 mm at the weld completion. As this long wire extension makes contact with the grounded work at the next weld, before the wire has a chance to be fed forward the weld current and voltage is delivered creating an explosive short circuit. The wire short circuit depending on the start voltage utilized can produce very high current causing the weld wire to disintegrate or melt back to the contact tip.

The MIG wire stick out at a weld completion is controlled by the "wire burn-back control data". The wire stick out at the weld completion should always be kept as short as possible. The wire burn back should be set so the wire stick out is approx. 5 - 6mm from the end of the nozzle. A normal nozzle to work distance should 1/2 to 3/4 (12 - 18 mm) depending on the welding circumstances. With spray transfer, the contact tip should be recessed inside the nozzle 2 to 4 mm.

Important. At a weld start there should be sufficient Wire to Work Distance, at least 3 - 6 mm to ensure the wire is feeding forward before the wire makes contact with the work.

DON'T BE THE WEAKEST LINK ON YOUR WELD TEAM, FOLLOW THIS
LINK TO ED'S MATERIALS ON BEST WELD PRACTICES AND PROCESS CONTROLS.

Contact Tips Stick-Out. A few years ago thanks to the MIG process ignorance by MIG gun manufacturers, the standard robot MIG gun produced in North America had the contact tips located either flush with the end of the nozzle, or "sticking outside the nozzle"

BOTH OF THESE CONTACT TIP POSITIONS CAUSED NUMEROUS ROBOT WELD ISSUES.

The major MIG gun manufactures who delivered their robot guns with the contact tip sticking outside the gun nozzles simply did not know better, then again I suppose we should not expect MIG gun manufacturers to be aware of the fundamental weld process requirements, after all they still classify their automated MIG guns for use with straight CO2 when less than one percent of robot MIG welds are carried out with straight CO2.

Lets face it when it comes to MIG gun manufactures and process expertise they are no different than the companies who make MIG equipment, the robots and weld consumables. At most of the plants I visited that were using spray transfer on parts > 1/8, >3 mm, the robot MIG guns would be welding with the contact tip stuck outside the nozzle creating short wire stick outs and numerous contact tip issues would occur during the shifts. As the company rarely had shorter tips available, I would tell the people on the floor to cut 3 to 6 mm of the contact tips.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you stick a MIG gun contact tip too close to that spray weld, that requires high weld parameters and produces high weld heat and spatter, you will increase the potential for contact tip issues. As for that pulsed weld, if the contact tip extends outside that nozzle that typically means less wire to work distance is available to create that unnecessary,y small weld drop and allow it to transfer across an arc gap without being in contact with both the wire tip and work.

Many factors influence arc start with robots, "electronic time" has extensive influence. All MIG robot programmers should be aware of the factors that effect arc starts, and aware of optimum start welding parameters of each available mode of transfer, for each wire diameter used. This data is in my books and robot process control training resources.

How many companies are aware that pulsed welding is much more prone to wire burn back then traditional MIG weld spray transfer.

The primary reason there is a contact tip concern with pulsed welding and robots, is with the pulsed process there is a time factor and arc length concern required to create and transfer the pulsed weld drop that provides no steel weld benefits. For a spatter free weld transfer the pulsed weld droplet has to keep to a minimum size, then cascade across an arc gap into the weld without contacting the wire tip and weld at the same time. If the pulsed weld drop makes contact with the work and wire at the same time an explosive short circuit in the pulsed weld drop will occur. The pulsed drop short circuit explosion will cause spatter and disrupting the controlled formation of the next weld drop which can effect the weld and fusion consistency. The pulsed mode requires a longer arc gap than that is necessary for spray transfer, two to three times the length. The longer arc gap means a shorter wire stick out from the end of the contact tip. The shorter wire stick out increases the potential for wire burn backs. Want a 100 pages of why pulsed can cause weld issues you won't get this data from Lincoln, Miller or ESAB, you will get it from my 600 page "Managers and Engineers Guide to MIG book"

 

You can not control a MIG weld with a
contact tip bore like this.

How many manufacturing companies do you think will daily manual - robot MIG weld with contact tips in which the tip bore diameter is worn to twice the diameter of the MIG weld wire?This condition is typical and the solution is simple, start each day with a new TIP and if using high wire feed rates and long weld cycle times, start each shift with a new contact tip.

Robot Weld Travel Rates:
The robot or automated weld speed rates for fillet welds are obviously first determined by the weld size which influences the utilized weld deposition rate. Another restriction is the weld fusion requirements. Travel too fast with that robot and irrespective of the weld current or weld mode utilized you will have a weld fusion issue. The weld surface condition, the weld length and the shape of the steel (round components are more sensitive to lack of fusion than plate), will also influence the weld speed and weld fusion.

 

How fast does a manual welder weld? Typically manual MIG welds are made in the 8 to 30 in./min speed range. How fast does a robot weld? In contrast single wire robot MIG welds are made at typical weld travel rates from 10 to 60 ipm. Note using my extended WSO techniques in My Management Engineers Guide To MIG book, I have attained robot weld speeds of over 80 inch/min.

Lets hope your Shock welds are OK.

Many years ago Monroe a major USA shock manufacturer requested my assistance as they could not get their robot spray welds on their shock bracket welds to qualify for a Chrysler weld - shock load test specification.

Chrysler engineers required the bracket welds on the shocks absorb at least a 13,000 lb test load. After robot welding the steel brackets with 5 mm fillet welds on shocks that were only 2 to 3mm thick, Monroe found that the shocks bracket welds would fail prematurely, typically in the 7000 to 9000 lb range.

The Chrysler weld spec for the shock bracket welds required that the welded brackets should pass a test load of 13,000 lbs. It took me less than two days of manual welding and testing on the shock bracket welds to reveal that any test load of less than 19,000 lbs indicated lack of weld fusion in one of the four bracket welds.

There were three reasons the Monroe shocks could not meet the minimum shock weld test load requirements.

[1]The robot spray transfer welds were made on cold rolled round parts.

[2] The robot weld speeds were set too high.

[3] The robot weld lengths on the brackets "were to small.

After I figured out the weld problems, I changed the weld wire size to a smaller wire which increased the weld current density. I reset the spray parameters, extended the shock bracket weld length by another 3 mm. The shocks bracket weld than average a load test of 21,000 lbs.

How fast, or slow should a robot go?

Many robots today are either welding too fast or too slow. It's not just the lack of weld process expertise or lack of information on robot weld speed potential that proliferates throughout this industry, a common problem is that the MIG wire size may be wrong, or maybe it's because pulsed, globular or short circuit is being utilized when spray would be superior. Maybe the weld issue is the part design, joint type, part thickness or ridiculous gaps many auto / truck companies present to the robot weld cell. Optimum weld speeds for all applications and weld compensation data for potential weld issues are covered in my books.


WHY PAY A PREMIUM FOR MIG EQUIPMENT?:

MIG equipment can be simple or complex and the low cost simple equipment can provide the same or superior weld results than the more costly complex equipment.

A complete 350 - 450 amp Pulsed MIG equipment package including the wire feed control is available in North America in the typical price range of $6000 to $12000. Where as a conventional CV unit in the same amp range would be approx $4000. What do you get for that $8000 difference? When selecting MIG equipment for the weld shop, the weld shop decision maker has many opportunities to throw good money out of the weld shop window and in the last three decades, thanks to process ignorance, hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted on unnecessary, costly bells and whistles..

<2010: Pulsed MIG equipment has in the past two decades caused tremendous issues for shops that robot weld common carbon steel and stainless applications. For approx. 40 years I have been evaluating MIG equipment and after years of painful, slow pulsed equipment development, I have found two pulsed MIG power sources (mentioned later) that while they are not necessary for steel and stainless welds, however they can provide "limited" application weld benefits for some specific applications.

Note Pulsed MIG has always benefited the heat sensitive aluminum applications.

Most of the pulsed weld issues that are provided at this site are not with the logical pulsed mode of weld transfer. The pulsed issues are with the pulsed weld equipment manufactures who were responsible the following.

[a] Two decades of unqualified, exaggerated pulsed weld process hype that added to the global weld shop confusion.

[b] Providing faulty pulsed equipment to the welding market and providing no pulsed product recalls. The bottom line is numerous, global weld shops were left with erratic performing equipment that in many instances negatively affected both the weld quality and productivity.

[c] Weld equipment manufacturers who produced pulsed MIG equipment that is extremely costly to repair, equipment that rarely made it through it's product warranty period.

WHEN WE LEARN FROM THE WELDING PAST, WE CAN AVOID THE WELD MISTAKES AND
WELD COST CONSEQUENCES THAT WILL OCCUR IN THE FUTURE.

MILLER WELDERS - PULSED EQUIPMENT. THE GLOBAL BS THAT STARTED IN THE 1980s.

 

1980s. MILLER ELECTRIC. THE INTRODUCTION OF THE MILLER PULSEDSTAR MIG WELDING EQUIPMENT AND THE NORTH AMERICAN BIRTH PLACE OF PULSED BOVINE FECAL MATTER.

In the nineteen eighties, the largest technical college in Vancouver Canada purchased Miller's first pulsed MIG power source, the Miller "PulsedStar". This pulsed equipment cost the college approx. 400% more than a traditional CV. MIG power source.

The Vancouver technical college was exited about it's investment in new weld technology. For many weeks the instructors at the college tried to get the Miller pulsed power source to produce a simple vertical up fillet weld with an 0.045 (1.2mm) MIG steel wire on a 6 mm steel plate. All position MIG weld capability was one of the prime features touted by the pulsed MIG equipment manufacturers.

(Note: Vertical up welds were not attainable from regular MIG equipment using spray transfer).

As the weld process control training manager for Linde, (Union Carbide - PraxAir) Western Canada, I was considered an expert on the MIG process, I was also a strong advocate of Miller welding equipment. The Vancouver college asked if I would visit and see what I could do with their costly pulsed MIG package. I was exited to work with the so called new pulsed technology and scheduled a day to weld with the Miller PulsedStar.

I set that PulsedStar power source at every possible wire feed, voltage and pulsed frequency combination possible. The PulseStar simply could not provide a suitable wire feed / pulsed parameter combination to MIG weld a common "vertical up fillet"and to add insult to injury, the pulsed welds made in the flat and horizontal weld positions were vastly inferior to those made when the pulsed mode was switched off and the traditional spray transfer was utilized.

For many years after my introduction to the Pulsed Star I went around North America turning the pulsed mode off and teaching the disgruntled Miller customers how to set traditional spray and short circuit with this equipment.


It's important for the reader to note, that in the nineteen eighties, up to the development of pulsed MIG equipment, that without question Miller built some of the world's best MIG equipment.

The Miller Delta Weld product line, was for decades and still is my first choice for customers who want the world's best performing, traditional, CV, MIG equipment.


AFTER THE USELESS MILLER PULSEDSTAR, MILLER FOLLOWED WITH THE PULSED MAXTRON and this unstable pulsed MIG power source does not deserve one positive line in this web site.

WHO COULD ENVISION THE PROBLEMS WITH THE NEXT PULSED POWER SOURCE FROM MILLER, THE INADEQUATE MILLER INVISION:

After the Miller Maxtron which provided no cost or quality weld benefits for carbon steels or stainless welds, steel welds, Miller provided the pulsed Invision. This power source went through more E-Prom changes than I have had pints of Guinness.

And then the Miller Accupulse. If you used this equipment on robot steel / stainless applications using pulsed and the adaptive arc mode and you had the weld process expertise necessary to evaluate a weld arc / transfer, you may have noticed the arc instability, arc ignition issues, crater problems, arc outages or wire burn back issues to the contact tips.

Note: Many of the pulsed adaptive arc issues that Miller had on their <2004 equipment were similar issues they had on their pulsed equipment made a decade earlier.

July 30-2004. E Mail. Ed. Your pulsed MIG description of arc sensitivity with high speed welds is is exactly what I am experiencing with our robots and the new Miller Accu-Pulse process / Auto Axcess. Our new auto bumpers are thin gage, 1/16 1.6mm HSLA and martensite. I tried to weld above 40 IPM with the Accu-Pulse and could not do the weld due to weld skipping and arc instability. We went to an .035 1 mm wire and could not get the travel speeds. We changed to .045 1.2mm wire and had to run the pulsed arc with the arc length buried in the part, this resulted in extensive weld spatter also the part could not handle the pulsed weld heat and we would have holes all over the place. With the disappointing pulsed weld results we now use high end short circuit CV with the 045 wires and are attaining 40 IPM travel rates. I have no spatter on the part and have no arc stability problems with the short circuit. I hate to admit it but this is is another pulsed failure in my book and I wished we had read your book before purchasing this weld equipment. I could get these short circuit weld results from a CV power source for half the costs..

Regards G S.

2007 From Ed: Keep in mind for the last two decades, pulsed MIG equipment was typically sold to weld shops where traditional, low cost, none pulsed CV MIG equipment was utilized. The approx. $2000 - $3000 CV equipment provided great MIG and FCAW application potential, good arc stability and for many weld shops the CV equipment lasted ten to twenty years.

It's logical to wonder why the MIG equipment manufactures you are loyal to, do not seem to thoroughly test their pulsed MIG welding equipment before selling it their customers.

For those weld shops that purchased pulsed MIG equipment before 2005 and noted arc instability, weld end crater issues and wire burn back issues (especially on robot welds) and welds with short weld lengths, the MIG equipment manufacturers are not likely to compensate you for their poor performing, over priced MIG weld equipment. Rather than listening to a sales rep, It's beneficial that all weld decision makers be aware of the potential short falls and idiosyncrasies of the pulsed equipment purchased.

2003: MILLER - WHEELS AND PULSED MIG WELD DILEMMA. A USA tier one wheel supplier, asked that I analyze it's numerous automated MIG weld process issues. The management had purchased over 100 Miller Invision 11, Pulsed MIG units. The MIG weld equipment was required for the companies new robot lines and manual weld repair stations. After three months in production the shop found it had become impossible to produce consistent, MIG weld quality. There was welding chaos at the plant and the daily automated weld repair rate was over 60%.

The plant management and engineering team had no doubt what the cause of the welding problem was, they had placed the responsibility for their weld issues on the shoulders of their shop floor workers.

After evaluating the numerous weld issues, in my report I spelled out that the majority of weld faults were not caused by the automated equipment or by the workers. The weld issues predominately were caused by the Miller weld equipment.

It's a pity this tier one company management and engineers had minimal expertise in the equipment vital to their manufacturing These managers lacked MIG weld process control expertise. and did not understand the meaning of equipment ownership.

If the management had purchased Miller or Lincoln's "none pulsed" lower cost, more durable, CV MIG equipment, they would have saved the plant approx. $600,000,00 on the MIG equipment purchase and with a little MIG weld process expertise found in my process control training resources, the management could have got their daily weld repair rates to less than 5%.

 

MIG Welding equipment. Why pay more than you have to?

Before 1990, the best, traditional CV MIG welding equipment in the world was manufactured and built in the USA by three companies,
[1] Linde. (Union Carbide).
[2] Miller.
[3] Hobart.

For those of you that think I forgot Lincoln, some of the pre 1990 Lincoln MIG equipment that I evaluated, I believe was on par with the substandard MIG equipment you would typically find today, manufactured in some third world country.

Welding Steel Plate and Rational Weld Equipment Selection:





The Miller "PipePro"

JAPANESE BEST MANUFACTURING PRACTICES RARELY INCLUDED MIG WELDING, THIS WAS TRUE IN 1983, IT'S STILL TRUE IN MOST JAPANESE AUTO / TRUCK PLANTS TODAY 2013.

One reason for the bad welds in Japan. In contrast to North America, Japan had few industrial air separation plants. Without access to reasonably priced argon and argon mixes, Japan was stuck with CO2 as it's primary MIG welding gas.

The CO2 would of course not produce spray transfer. This weld gas also provides a limited short circuit weld parameter range. If you want to weld parts with traditional MIG equipment and those parts are > 1.8 mm, the 180 plus amps with straight CO2 produces erratic "globular transfer."

For decades in Japan you carried out this practice. First you MIG weld the parts, then you grind off the poor weld profiles and excessive weld spatter. Hopefully you are all aware of the negative aspects of the "globular weld transfer" from the highly reactive CO2 MIG process.

The CO2 weld transfer mode at weld currents above 180 amps produces erratic weld transfer, fusion concerns and extensive weld spatter. Globular transfer can also occur with argon mixes and poor weld parameters.

As MIG weld robots evolved in Japan in the 1980s and the British did development work on the pulsed process, the Japanese weld industry had minimal experience with the world's most popular spray transfer weld mode. Japan with it's domination in robotics addressed the lack of argon gas in it's country and it's poor CO2 MIG weld quality by developing sophisticated electronics for its manual and robot MIG welding equipment. The weld results from this equipment in the eighties and in 2007, were and still are rarely ideal.

The ironic logic. When the USA MIG equipment manufacturers saw the Japanese robots and erratic Japanese pulsed power sources selling well to the Japanese auto manufactures in North America, many US companies who lacked "weld process fundamentals expertise and believed that anything to do with manufacturing from Japan must be first class, quickly got on the weld train and purchased from Panasonic and Motoman, erratic, poor performing, sensitive, costly MIG equipment .

Note: Many auto/ truck plants in North America daily weld with erratic globular weld transfer, the reason has nothing to do with the weld equipment, the reasons are the general management and engineering lack of weld process expertise, incorrect wire size selection, and inappropriate weld parameters.

Panasonic weld equipment issues
and common lack of weld process expertise:

 

Ed. The company I visited welds 6xxx series, extruded aluminum, thin gage parts. They had purchased a Panasonic VR OOGAL 11robot, with a Panasonic 350 amp Panastar RA 350 pulsed power source. For the welds they used an 0.046, 4043 wire and argon. The MIG wire spool was mounted on top of the robot, and they used a regular four-drive roll feeder with a water-cooled gun.

The problem robot welds were short lengths, 5/8 to ¾ long. The robot welds are made on aluminum square tubes 0.070 thick. The 6xxx tubes are welded to a thicker alum part 3/16 thick. Since they purchased the robot the completed welds never look consistent over their short lengths. All the thin tube welds were made with the same weld data, yet in the same locations on the parts, some welds look fluid while other welds look cold. Most of the welds ended up with a black and dirty appearance yet the push gun angle is correct. These welds caused so many issues the company was ready to give up the robot and go back to manual TIG. For the rest of the story, click here.

2007. ARTIFICIAL INTELIGENCE MIG POWER SOURCEs TYPICALLY MEANS ARTIFICIAL STUPID EQUIPMENT. I cringe every time I am asked to resolve Panasonic MIG weld equipment issues and that request comes too often. I cringe because the problems are often with the equipment and unless you change the equipment you don't completely resolve the issues.

Typically the individuals who purchased and use weld equipment from companies like Panasonic and Motoman simply lack the weld process expertise necessary to make a judgment on the weld equipment . It's my belief that the Panasonic MIG equipment I had to work with was likely developed by electronic engineers who may have had more expertise in designing CD players or TVs than with the development of MIG welding equipment. Its hopeful that in 2011 improvements have been made then again then again maybe not.

THE WELD INDUSTRY BOTTOM LINE. OVER PRICED, MEDIOCRE PRODUCTS THAT PROVIDE LESS THAN OPTIMUM WELD PERFORMANCE WILL ALWAYS HAVE A PLACE WITH WELDING CONSUMERS THAT LACK WELD PROCESS AND APPLICATION EXPERTISE.

In the one hand, we have had North American manufacturing envy for DUBIOUS Japanese weld manufacturing practices and an unbridled admiration for any Japanese electronic equipment.

In the other hand, we have the North American weld equipment manufactures realization that the electronic chips, bells and whistles in MIG welding equipment create a gravy train in which they can charge ridiculous prices for pulsed MIG weld equipment. Combine both hands with an apathetic weld industry that is too frequently attached by an umbilical cord to a weld equipment supplier and you can understand why many companies end up with overpriced weld equipment that causes many weld issues

BEFORE YOU WASTE YOUR DOLLARS ON PULSED MIG EQUIPMENT FOR WELDING CARBON STEELS TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEXT PICTURE:

MIG welding 1/4 (6 mm) fillet welds at a weld deposition rate of 13 lb/hr. On the left we have a pulsed weld made with a $12.000 pulsed power source. On the right, a spray transfer weld made with $3000 traditional CV power source. Both welds were made with the same 0.045 1.2 mm wire feed rate, using an argon - 10% CO2 gas.

Carefully examine these two welds, you know which is the best.

It's understandable that a global industry that lacks fundamental weld process control expertise could be influenced to purchase useless, costly, inconsistent pulsed MIG equipment for it's steel / stainless robot weld applications. What is difficult to understand is when you see companies like John Deere and Caterpillar buying into the same useless electronic bells and whistles.

After more than four decades of evaluating MIG equipment and more than two decades of watching failure after failure of Japanese and European E-proms, micro chips and circuit boards, I have come to the following conclusion which I am sure many of you will disagree with.

2007. When MIG welding carbon steel, none pipe applications > 4 mm, I have yet to find a measurable, practical, cost effective weld benefit from the over priced Japanese, European or USA Lincoln / Miller Pulsed MIG equipment. In reality the pulsed arc plasma profile and stability is inferior to the traditional MIG spray transfer mode for many common MIG applications.



It seems that when it comes comes to MIG welding steels, weld shops from Michigan to Georgia, from Dakota to Louisiana, from California to Florida are prepared to pay up to $13,000 for a pulsed MIG power source to weld carbon steel and common alloy steel applications. The weld reality is that the majority of the welds produced could be made at the same or superior quality and productivity with process expertise and a CV power source you could purchase for $2000 to $3000.

This low cost, single phase, 250 amp, multipurpose (MIG - TIG - STICK) power supply made by ESAB can when welding steel applications outperform many sophisticated, electronic MIG power sources sold by ESAB and other weld equipment manufacturers.

 

E Mail to Ed 01/ 05.

Ed I have a 220 amp stick welder which I love and am looking for a a recommended MIG welder (either 220 or 110) to use in my home shop for steel frames trailers etc. There are so many products out there and a lot of crap too - but I want to invest in something durable that gives me good range to weld various thickness. I'm told that flux-core material allows me to penetrate a bit thicker but have an Argon tank and could go that way too.

Any direction you could provide would be appreciated.

Regards,
Chris Escobar.

 

Ed's Answer.

Chris, any traditional Lincoln. Miller or ESAB CV power source AS SHOWN IN THE PICTURE ABOVE will do the job. Consider either a single or three phase unit as they will surpass your needs. Try and get a power source that provides at least 250 amps at 60 % duty cycle. (Spray transfer with an 0.035 (1 mm) steel wire will come in around 180 to 200 amps and an 0.035 or 0.045 gas shielded flux cored wire can weld almost any application in the 120 to 250 amp range. Purchasing a power source with a built in wire feeder is logical.

QUESTION: Ed I believe you need different guide rolls for different MIG wire types what's recommended. JH. Manchester UK.?

 

Ed's Answer:
[] For solid hard wires use a "smooth VEE groove" built for the wire OD.

[] For flux core wires use a vee groove with at least on roll providing a serrated surface to improve the grip. Be careful you do not apply too much drive roll pressure to these wires.

[] For aluminum wires a U groove with smooth surface again don't use excess drive roll pressure. With aluminum ensure minimum gaps between the inlet, drive rolls and outlet guides to avoid buckling.

Have you met the cool weld dudes yet?,

The Pano Man. movie2

A WELD EQUIPMENT REALITY:

Irrespective of the weld quality or code requirements, irrespective of what the weld sales rep or equipment manufacturers tell the welding industry, ninety percent of all manual and robot, (none pipe) carbon steel / MIG welds "do not benefit" from costly, sophisticated, electronic pulsed MIG equipment.

However ninety percent of all welding equipment manufacturers and distributors do appreciate the additional revenue and profits generated from the sale of the pulsed or electronic MIG is equipment.

Dear Ed. I am welding engineer and I live and work in Bulgaria. I want congratulate on your WEB site. I found it 5 days ago and I can`t stop reading it, well done.

Krassimir PANAYOTOV
E-MAIL panaya@abv.bg

Practical MIG Gun Advice: Water cooled guns are used for many robot installations while the weld reality is lower cost, easier to maintain air cooled MIG guns would work just as well and reduce both maintenance and down time. If your robot weld application utilizes < 260 amps, and the weld lengths are short and the arc on time is moderate, consider a 400 to 600 amp air cooled gun.

Both Tregaskiss and Binzel make excellent robot / manual MIG guns. I try to avoid Bernard or Lincoln guns even when given one free with the purchase of a power source.


Weld Gun Contact Tips. I believe that many of the contact tips sold today in North America are made in countries that have very low labor costs and very little concern for maintaining the tip bore dimensions as provided by the original tip design.

During the last decade, I have seen a dramatic decrease in the quality of weld consumables. It's very common today to find 0.035 and 0.045 tips that have undersize bores, add this issue to the common, poor quality over size weld wire and you have found another reason why you are having erratic weld results, burn backs and bird nests at the drive rolls.

 

Spray / Pulsed Transfer and Contact Tips. With high weld current applications, ensure the spray contact tip is recessed 1/8 to 1/4 (3 - 6 mm) inside the gun nozzle. The higher the current get closer to the 1/4 recess.

Recessing the contact tip extends the contact tip life as less spatter and heat will get onto the tip. The recessed tip provides a longer MIG wire extension which can reduce the high weld current that will result from high wire feed rates. The weld current reduction can assist in weld puddle control and a longer wire stick out reduces wire burn back potential. Also with spray transfer consider the purchase of heavy duty, wider nozzles for your guns.


Short Circuit and Contact Tips. For applications that use less than 180 amps, stick the contact tip outside the nozzle about 3 mm. The tip outside the nozzle allows the use of the lowest possible voltages. Also the benefits of a short wire stick out adds to arc stability with low current applications. For short circuit or globular transfer have the contact tip flush with the nozzle.

CONTACT TIP SIZES:

08/07 E-mail: Hello Ed.

I recently purchased your "A Management and Engineers Guide to MIG Welding". The book is everything I had hoped it would be...and then some!

The company I work for has a handful of welding engineers scattered throughout North America. Over the past few months I have had a growing number express satisfaction with using 0.030 tips with 0.035 wire. My issue is this, no one has given me a specific engineering or scientific reason for the tip change. Simply, "So-and-so told me to try it. It works for him so I do it to." (I believe the original idea came from a suggestion from a weld sales rep.) This concerns me. I foresee a number of problems including increased uneven tip wear, restricted wire feed, spatter blockage issues, etc.,and I don't see where current flow would be influenced significantly.

Am I missing something?

Ps: Thank-you for having the motivation and courage to make this kind of information available. I have not yet come across an opinion that I did not share or a concept I did not admire.

Regards. Fraser Rock. Welding Eng:

Ed's Reply: Fraser: Thanks for kind words. I have found in many plants that a common issue like this is usually a distraction or crutch for plant people who frequently lack the ability to get to the real root cause of their daily weld issues. Most tip issues typically result from burn backs, poor start and end data, incorrect wire stick outs or wire helix issues.

A contact tip needs to be approx. 0.007 to 0.010 larger than the MAX wire diam. Keep in mind the wire will expand slightly during welding. When you purchase smaller tips than those recommended , remember that with today's inconsistent weld wire quality the weld wire OD is frequently on the plus side.

If robot operators or weld personnel manually run the wire through the tip and it snags, the wire is too large or the tip is too small. If the wire is manually fed through the tip and makes consistent contact its fine. If the tip bore is not the correct size, (check with drill gauge), change your tip manufacturer. If the wire OD is too big, change the wire manufacturer and for god's sake get rid of weld distributor that provides you with poor quality products and provides bad advice. There is the possibility is the tips you purchase are made in China or Timbuktu. There are many quality issues with off shore, substandard weld consumables.

Good luck. Ed:

 

2005: NORTH AMERICAN LAMENT.

MIG Wire Feeders and "Dual Weld Schedules".

Without question one of the greatest benefits derived on manual MIG wire feeder is the ability of the welder while welding to flick a switch or trigger on the MIG gun and go back and forth between two separate weld schedules.

Dual schedule wire feeders have been around for at least two decades, (Linde DigiMig was one of the first). As with many other practical weld products, the global weld industry has been slow to differentiate from the useless bells and whistles and purchase real world practical equipment such as dual schedule wire feeders.

Two great tools a welding company can use to optimize their manual steel or stainless
MIG welds;

[1] Provide employees with effective "weld process control training".

[2] Provide the MIG bells and whistles on the "wire feed controls". such as "two preset, pre-approved" weld schedules.

Today in Ford, GM, Chrysler, Japanese auto plants and tier one suppliers, we will see manual weld repairs being made on the robot made welds with pulsed MIG equipment. The repair welders will typically use only one weld setting to fill weld burn-through holes or place welds on top of welds on parts from 1 to 6 mm. The correct equipment of choice for manual MIG weld repairs is a low cost 250 - 300 amp CV power source. Use an 0.035 (1mm) wire for the weld repairs and it's logical to use a dual schedule MIG wire feeder that with a flick of the switch would give the repair welder either a low current short circuit weld and higher current spray setting. Of course if your company was really on the ball, you would provide those repair welders with MIG process CONTROL training as found in my self teaching MIG process control books, click here.

The "dual weld schedule" MIG wire feed control, is one of the most practical pieces of MIG equipment that has been available for two decades, that's why the auto industry and most weld shops have shown little interest in it.

You can spend $8,000 to $12,000 and purchase the worlds most sophisticated pulsed MIG power source for your shop. You would then have to invest another $2000 - $4000 for a wire feed control. However if you really want to get consistent, optimum MIG quality and productivity, purchase a low cost, < $3000, 350 - 450 amp Miller, ESAB or Lincoln power source, then invest another $2500 on a dual schedule wire feed control.

WAVE FORMS? WHILE SOME WELD EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE MILLIONS OF WAVE FORM ADJUSTMENT ON THEIR SO CALLED UNIQUE MIG EQUIPMENT, BE AWAE THAT ALL IT TAKES TO MAKE ANY WELD IS FOUR SIMPLE WELD SETTINGS:

WELD SCHEDULES? WELD EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER MAY WISH TO PROMOTE THEIR COSTLY MIG POWER SOURCE WITH 90 WELD SCHEDULES. HOWEVER WHEN YOU USE THE WELD PROCESS INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN ED'S BOOKS, YOU WILL LEARN THAT ONLY FOUR SIMPLE WIRE FEED AND VOLT SETTINGS ARE REQUIRED FOR A GIVEN DIAMETER ELECTRODE TO WELD ANY STEEL / STAINLESS APPLICATION.



Once the weld decision maker has purchased that dual schedulewire feed control and decides on two optimum settings for the manual welders in his shop, all that is required is to dial the two settings into the dual schedule wire feed control, turn a key on the control and the two optimum set of weld parameters are locked in.

Both Lincoln and Miller offer dual schedule wire feed units priced $2,000 - $3000. Both these units are a good choice and are logical with a 300 - 450 amp, traditional CV power source. From my perspective the dual schedule feeder control and conventional CV equipment is a much more cost effective and , practical approach to MIG and flux cored welding, rather than purchasing a costly poor performing Inverter or a pulsed power source that offers limited benefits for most steel and stainless welds.

WARNING: Give careful consideration to the effectiveness, position and durability of the dual schedule MIG "gun switches" found on many MIG guns, it appears making a quality, durable, dual schedule MIG gun switch is a big deal to many MIG gun manufacturers.

That new, pulsed MIG power source may provide four million wave ~~forms~~, however please note, costly "artificial, electronic weld equipment intelligence" can never compete with human weld process intelligence. That's the process intelligence that is available in my MIG weld process control books and Training CDs. There are only four weld settings for any MIG or flux cored wire, if you work in the weld industry its beneficial if you know these settings. do you know those settings?


Weld Equipment Bells and Whistles keep getting more
ridiculous yet weld shops keep buying them.

I was staggered at the AWS weld show to find one MIG weld equipment manufacture providing a "remote control" for the MIG power source. The control is similar to the one you use for your TV.

I can imagine a situation where the weld supervisor asks the welder why he is hanging around and not welding? The welder replies,"he cannot find the remote".

For more than a decade, Japanese robot and MIG power source manufacturers get the first prize for;

[a] unnecessary robot weld program complexity,

[b] poor robot / MIG power source communications,

[c] ridiculous electronic options in weld equipment.
It's a pity North American MIG equipment manufacturers are working hard too keep up.

Spain 2008. Ed finds out what a stupid waste of time it is to set
wave forms with the useless Miller Axcess palm pilot.

MIG Welding Wires.

Ed'd BEST MIG WIRE CHOICES;

BEST MIG WIRES FOR ALUMINUM WELDS. Alcoa.

BEST MIG WIRES FOR STAINLESS. Sanvik.

BEST STAINLESS FLUX CORED WIRES . Kobelco / Alloy Rods (ESAB)

BEST CARBON STEEL FLUX CORED WIRES, (ALL POSITION) ARGON / CO2 MIXES. For the best gas shielded, flux cored wires, I have always recommended Alloy Rods, "Ultra sold by ESAB" Tri Mark products sold by Hobart and Kobelco products. I have never recommended Lincoln Electric gas shielded flux cored products as I found the ones I tested had many issues.

In contrast to the Alloy rod or Tri Mark wires, the Lincoln E71T-1 gas shielded wires I tested provide a smaller optimum weld parameter range, instability with the arc, and too many worm tracks. The bottom line the Lincoln wires were provided less weld deposition rate potential and the last time I tried these wires, the vertical up welds had so much porosity and worm tracks in the weld it looked like a cheese grate.

BEST CARBON STEEL FLUX CORED WIRES (ALL POSITION) USING STRAIGHT CO2.
My first choice, Kobelco.

Self shielded flux cored wires. These products do not belong indoors and so far only the inexperienced auto / truck industry has pushed their use. Any company that uses these products for indoor weld applications is not concerned about weld quality, productivity or the health of their workers.

BEST STEEL MIG WIRE. My first choice of carbon steel MIG wire is still the Lincoln L- 50 wire manufactured in Cleveland. However it seems today that some Lincoln MIG wires are produced in strange places like China or Timbucktwo. If you purchase Lincoln products that are not Cleveland manufactured, for robot SPRAY OR PULSED applications you may find the arc sounds change every few seconds. My second choice of MIG wire is ESAB 70S-3

THE WORST MIG WIRES: While providing process improvements across the USA and Canada, the carbon steel MIG wires I had the most robot weld issues with were made by Hobart, (inconsistent chemistry). I also had extensive problems with National Standard MIG wires which had too many cast or helix,and silicon issues, and their E70S-6 wire provided too much weld fluidity (excess silicon) leading to undercut on some applications and burn through on thin gage welds.


2004 National Standard MIG WIRES AND THE PULSED MIG WELD BOVINE FECAL MATTER WAS REALLY FLOWING.

I was amazed to read an advertisement in the Nov. 2003 Weld Journal from National Standard for the new N-S Pulse PLUS steel weld wire. NS claims that with there MIG wire and the pulsed process you will get less spatter , less fumes and reduce the need for grinding. NS claims that there pulsed wire is supposed to have a wider operating range.

I guess that $12000, useless pulsed power source you just purchased that's loaded down with electronic bells and whistles to control the arc now has nothing to do with the pulsed weldability. This type of ridiculous product advertising is what adds to the mountains of Bovine fecal matter that has helped destroy the technical credibility of toady's welding industry. It's a shame a reputable magazine like the Weld Journal, a magazine that represents the American Weld Society allowed this form of advertising.

ED MADE THIS SPRAY 5/16 FILLET WELD WITH A E70S-3 MIG WIRE, A TWO PART GAS MIX,
AND A MIG POWER SOURCE AND WIRE FEED UNIT THAT SOLD FOR LESS THAN $3000

E Mail Nov 04. Ed. I spent 33 years with Esab India Ltd, selling MIG, TIG and Plasma equipment. Your web site is a wonderful observation of the global weld industry and how the pulsed MIG weld equipment manufacturers have for decades fooled the so called weld industry experts.

T.K.Bandyopadhyay.

FroniusTwin Wire 2004:

 

While the twin MIG wire process claims unique real world benefits from pipe welding to high speed automotive. Keep in mind two torches and two robots can also do what the twin wire process can achieve.

The Fronius Twin process shown above is a "tandem" welding process. This is one of the most sophisticated twin wire systems available. With the Fronius equipment there are two digital pulsed power sources working together. The Fronius Twin Digital machines produces a separate arc. A synchronization unit regulates the interplay of the two arcs. Too see the Fronius Tandem process on pipe, click.

Please note nine years later this process which I critized for its poor performance in 2004 is today in 2013 almost none existant. Thats less useless bells and whistles for this sad industry.

MANAGERS BEFORE YOU CONSIDER COMPLEX AND SOPHISTICATED WELD EQUIPMENT LIKE THE TWIN WIRE PROCESS, IT'S FIRST LOGICAL TO OPTIMIZE THE EXISTING PROCESSES YOU ALREADY OWN.

When using the "single wire" MIG process, how many managers encourage their weld team members to evaluate the robot weld program, the process, the consumables, the parts, the design or the weld fixture to ensure they have done everything possible to attained the highest potential weld efficiency and deposition rate from their existing robots?

Irrespective of the weld equipment purchased, you cannot optimize robot welds without weld best practice and weld process control expertise.

For those managers, engineers and technicians that are prepared to read and involve themselves in the MIG process, please note, there are many things that can be done to greatly increase the traditional, single MIG wire, robot weld travel rates. This unique information along with robot weld process control information is available in my "Management Engineers MIG Book".

 

ELECTRONIC, WELD DATA MONITORING EQUIPMENT
CAN ONLY REPORT WHAT IT READS.

THE FOLLOWING IS A WELD PARAMETER GRAPH TAKEN FROM A MONITORING DEVICE USED ON A PANASONIC PULSED POWER SOURCE WHILE WELDING. THE CURRENT LINE IS BLACK THE VOLTAGE LINE IS RED. THE WIRE FEED AND WIRE STICKOUT WAS CONSTANT. NOTE THE LARGE CURRENT HIGH AND LOW SPIKES. NOTE HOW THE VOLTAGE DROPS TO ALMOST ZERO NUMEROUS TIMES. THIS ERRATIC WELD RESULT WAS ALSO TYPICAL FROM THE PULSED MODES WITH THE LINCOLN POWER WAVE AND MILLER INVISION.

 

THE LOWER GRAPH SHOWS THE SAME WELD WIRE AND WIRE FEED RATE AS USED WITH THE PANASONIC EQUIPMENT SET AT THE SAME WIRE FEED RATE. THIS WELD PARAMETER GRAPH IS FROM AN "UNSOPHISTICATED" MILLER DELTA WELD WHICH COSTS CONSIDERABLY LESS.

NOTE THE FAR GREATER ARC STABILITY WITH BOTH THE WELD CURRENT (BLACK) AND VOLTAGE (RED). THIS STABILITY AND SUPERIOR OUT PUT FOR CONTROL OVER WELD FUSION COMES FROM THE MUCH LOWER COST, TRADITIONAL NORTH AMERICAN CV POWER SOURCE.

FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT GET FRUSTRATED WITH THE WELD PERFORMANCE FROM YOUR SOPHISTICATED ELECTRONIC MIG EQUIPMENT, ESPECIALLY ON HIGH WELD SPEED APPLICATIONS . NOW YOU KNOW WHY.

WELD REALITY: FOR MIG AND FLUX CORED WELD STEEL AND STAINLESS WELDS MADE IN THE FLAT AND HORIZONTAL POSITIONS, A MILLER OR LINCOLN TRADITIONAL, 300 - 450 AMP CV MIG POWER SOURCE CAN OUT PERFORM ANY ELECTRONIC POWER SOURCE TODAY SOLD IN NORTH AMERICA.

With the Lincoln power source I found that the best way to attain
stable, high speed steel welds was to switch the pulsed mode off.

The Weld Journal reports on Lincoln Electric F355i

Lincoln Electric's F355i pulsed power source communicates directly to the robot controller through an "ethernet system". This eliminates some of the intermediary hardware and software usually required between the power source and controller and according to Lincoln, makes the entire system operate faster.

What the Weld Journal does not report is when I used this equipment I found that the Lincoln pulsed power source provided high speed pulsed welds that were extremely arc length sensitive. This sensitivity made the equipment's pulsed mode unsuitable for many high speed weld applications.

A few years ago, you could purchase a Miller "electrical interface" for the robot and power source. With correct consumables and weld data communication speed was not an issue. When something went wrong with this electrical equipment any electrician could quickly identify where the problem was and then repair it. I could duplicate any weld made today by the state of the art, Lincoln "ethernet system" with equipment developed two decades ago. I know I cannot hold back the tide of fecal matter that is now flowing through weld shops however I can point out what is BS, and products that provide no real world weld benefits. If you have to ask a salesman or weld equipment rep about MIG equipment, be prepared for product bias and a great amount of exaggeration.

If you don't see through the bovine fecal matter that has surrounded the pulsed equipment, you may want to start to teach your weld personnel Latin so they can pronounce the marketing names that will be describing the future weld equipment bells and whistles.

 

The weld process fecal matter continues. The Weld Journal reports. "The Panasonic Factory Automation's soon-to-be introduced B1 power source features a "32-bit RISC microcomputer" that gives it a level of intelligence more sophisticated than most welding robots and its data will run 125 times faster. The result is the use of inverter technology for waveform control of short-circuit GMAW.

Ed's comments. The graph on the RIGHT is taken from a Panasonic power source made in 2003. This oscilloscope volt amp graph was taken by a frustrated engineer at a Canadian automotive weld facility. He wondered why his costly, electronic MIG equipment provided inconsistent weld results.

The electronic pulsed MIG equipment may be advertised as "intelligent", however someone needs to show the MIG equipment manufactures that weld parameter, (volt-amp) stability is one of the most important functions of a MIG power source. After evaluating the so called intelligent power sources for almost two decades, I have yet to see one that can provide practical, cost effective, measurable welding benefits.

One could ask why make a power source more intelligent than the robot? The robot pendant should clearly spell out the weld data and time commands and the power source should simply respond. We don't need MIG weld equipment that "thinks" we need equipment that responds.

The bottom line is weld equipment manufacturers have yet to figure out the necessary electronic communication relationship between a robot and a power source. The weld equipment manufacturers seem do their thing and the robots manufacturers do theirs. It often all adds up to unnecessary electronics in the robot cells.

 

Weld Journal reports. Thermal Arc is shifting from the use of teach pendants to controlling the power source using a personal computer as with the Power Master 500P. "We see this as something we'll be doing more of," Wiseman said. "You can do more with a PC than with a pendant." To make it easy for the customer to use, the company made sure there was "nothing unfamiliar about the software" he said. "It looks like a normal Windows screen."


Ed's comments. Are these people REAL, for five decades this industry has struggled with two simple MIG controls, now they are talking about using a computer. Give a weld decision maker a conventional MIG power source and with three simple parameter settings per wire diameter, as shown in my books and training CDs, and that person will instantly set optimum MIG weld quality and productivity on any application in North America. The last thing any weld shop needs is a computer.

Weld Journal reports. ESAB has begun introducing machines with a special "switching technology" a technology that produces efficiencies similar to inverters but at a cost more like conventional power supplies, Fernicola said. In addition, the company's new Aristo MIG 400 model power source utilizes a "BUS system" that enables the power source and wire feeder to communicate in much the same way as an automobile's computer communicates with the rest of the car's systems.

Ed's comments. Does this mean we can drive it?

You hopefully are now getting the big BS picture about MIG weld equipment. In the weld equipment game of one up-manship. Each of these weld equipment manufacturing companies looks like it's dedicated to adding unnecessary costs and complexity to the welding industry.

E Mail to Ed 02/ 05. Ed. I absolutely love the website, its fantastic and has a lot of advanced information that a professional welder like me loves to read. I have been working at Bobcat for the last seven years making the excavators and attachments for the skid steers. My plant in located in Bismark, North Dakota. This is a multi million dollar plant that invests heavily in fanuc robots, lasers, and anything else that is the latest craze. I really took note on your section about pulsed MIG.

Six years ago, I was working in the cab/canopy cell. We had three shifts, four jigs and could always stay ahead of the weld production schedule. There were approximately 10 people that worked in that cell on all shifts. For a few years we used the CV Miller Deltaweld 451 machines. One day I came in and found that half of our Miller power sources were replaced with small Panasonic Inverter pulsed machines.

The sales rep who bought in the Panasonic equipment told everybody just starting my shift that these were demo machines and go ahead and use them and tell him how they worked out a week later. The first problem was nobody knew how to set them up to weld. After playing around we figured them out. Even when set right they would spit and sputter during the welds, then they would go from a controllable weld to a weld that was way too hot.

My weld production went from one canopy per hour to 6 in 8 hrs. Try like hell I just could not get back up to the weld production I had attained with the CV miller equipment. At the end of the week we had 9 people out of 10 saying take these S.O.B.'s out. they SUCK! The sales rep response "we need to train you guys how to set them so we will all have a class". They never provided the class and we got stuck with equipment.


Six months later we get another visit from the Panasonic salesman, you would think this guy was running the weld shop. This time the sale rep was pushing the new Panasonic HM 500. At this time I started to get into the robot side of Bobcat. I was working in a cell that had a fanuc RJ2 and Miller 451 power source. It was nice MIG weld operation, STRAIGHTFORWARD AND LOGICAL with minimum weld issues, however but it wasn't meant to last.


The engineers in our plant replaced all the robot cell weld equipment with the Panasonic HM 500's. Because of the way our robot cells were setup, we had 1000 pound spools of wire on the outside of the cell and the wire would have to be fed through 60 feet of conduit to get to the wire feeder. With the miller equipment in the robot cells there was no problems, because of how their drive roll setup was designed. (four interlocking gear meshed rollers). The first thing that happened with the new Panasonic equipment was extensive burn back to the tips because of the how their feeder was designed. (one drive roller and then an idler). Again the problems generated was "our fault", yet we were told we need to learn how to use the Panasonic equipment. To get the Panasonic equipment feeding the wire in a more controlled manner, we had to reconfigure the cells so the weld wire was closer to the robots. Once closer to the robots the weld heat must have affected the Panasonic equipment as on average they seemed to burn up every 4 months! We actually had one power source that burnt up within 30 minutes after it was installed. About the time that Bobcat was ready to pull out, somebody leaked to our friendly sales rep that we were going testing both Lincoln and a new Miller model. The rep came back and told us that we should wait on changing over because Panasonic was releasing their HM 500 II machine and that they were much better machines. The salesroom gave the usual BS and demonstrate a machine to management that had more had more control than the cock pit in an airplane. There was of course an extra price to pay for the extra knobs but our gullible management again bought into the sales pitch.

Bobcat used to like to keep its weld equipment for at least 15 years before they changed them out. We had the Panasonic equipment for less than 48 months when the management decided it had to go. I am back to welding with the Miller 451 and making some pretty sweet weld beads. I absolutely love welding but when you get people that come in and they don't know what they are talking about, it makes a McD's job start to look pretty good. Ed your website is great and I look forward to soaking up more knowledge from it. Best regards and thanks for your time to read this novel.

Note from Ed. This e-mail had it all. Lack of process expertise from both management and engineers. Lack of equipment ownership from management. The consequences from weld sales influence. Frustrated weld personnel. Over priced pulsed MIG equipment and an industry that looks to useless bells and whistles as a crutch for it's lack of weld process expertise.

 

MIG Contact Tip MIG weld Question.

Ed MIG contact tip issues is a prime cause of robot down time at our plant. We make steel auto / truck shock components. I figure we are loosing over one hour of robot production per- robot due to the contact tip issues. I have read about special alloy tips and their influence on tip longevity and seen different tip profiles. My question is should we be doing more work on tip evaluation?

Signed. Frustrated robot weld tech.

Ed's reply.

Thanks to different alloy additions to copper of course some contact tips will offer different properties that can affect wear or conductivity. The shape of the tip is rarely relevant, thicker is typically just a little better than thinner. The real issue in most weld shops that utilize arc welding robots is to first recognize the process root cause of the contact tip failures. The vast majority of contact tips require replacement due to the following;

[a] Wire burn back due to poor robot weld start / end data.

[b] Use of oversized MIG wires causing the use of globular weld transfer. The large globular droplets quickly block the contact tip bore.

[c] Spatter caused by poor weld parameters.

[d] Wire cast or helix issues.

[e] Tip in wrong position or nozzle to close to weld.

[f] Pulsed or spray parameters that create a short wire stick out.

The resolutions to eliminating all major contact tip problems are spelled out in my robot process control training resources, click here

Contact Tip Facts. Copper has been the material of choice for many decades, primarily because, after silver, it displays the second best electrical conductivity amongst all metals. Due to it's face centered cube crystalline structure, pure copper is naturally ductile. Copper for contact tips is strengthened by a number of strengthening mechanisms including cold work, solid solution, precipitation hardening and dispersion strengthening.

The most popular and inexpensive copper alloy used in North America for contact tips is CDA C12200 P deoxidized copper). Precipitation hardening alloys such as C18100 (Cu-Cr-Zr), C18200 (Cu-Cr), C17510 (Cu-Be) have been common for high performing tips since generally they tend to have higher physical wear performance than C12200. Unfortunately, as most strengthening mechanisms, precipitation-hardening can compromise the electrical conductivity of copper. Plant experience with these alloys has been mixed; however keep in mind most plants do not correctly analyze the root cause of the tip problems and even fewer plants will take the logical process corrective actions. I found good tip data at www.finn-tips.com/copper-alloy-tips.htm. The bottom line if you are having contact tip problems the problems are typically not with the tips.

Craig Fourro Brisbane , Australia.

Is your hunting dog a member of the NRA?

click here for Ed's weld process control self teaching - training materials.

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[] Two pulsed power sources I did not want to see in a robot cell. [] The worlds best MIG power source is? [] Good old Linde, [] More Lincoln Power Wave issues. "MIG EQUIPMENT EVALUATION PART 2