Cause
Pieces to be welded have different characteristics.
Solution
Carry out buttering before welding.
Cold cracks
Cause
Humidity in the filler metal.
Solution
Always use quality materials and products.
Keep the filler metal always in perfect condition.
Cause
Particular geometry of the joint to be welded.
Solution
Pre-heat the pieces to be welded.
Carry out post-heating.
Carry out the correct sequence of operations for
the type of joint to be welded.
For any doubts and/or problems do not hesitate to contact
your nearest customer service centre.
7 WELDING THEORY
7.1 Continuous wire welding (MIG/MAG)
Introduction
A MIG system consists of a direct current power source, wire
feeder, wire spool, torch and gas.
MIG manual welding system
The current is transferred to the arc through the fusible elec-
trode (wire connected to positive pole); in this procedure the
melted metal is transferred onto the workpiece through the arc
stream. The automatic feeding of the continuous filler material
electrode (wire) is necessary to refill the wire that has melted
during welding.
30
Methods
In MIG welding, two main metal transfer mechanisms are
present and they can be classified according to the means by
which metal is transferred from the electrode to the work-
piece. The first one, defined "SHORT-ARC", produces a small,
fast-solidifying weld pool where metal is transferred from the
electrode to the workpiece only for a short period when the
electrode is in contact with the weld pool. In this timeframe,
the electrode comes into direct contact with the weld pool
generating a short circuit that melts the wire which is there-
fore interrupted. The arc then turn on again and the cycle is
repeated (Fig. 1a).
Fig. 1a
Fig. 1b
SHORT cycle (a) and SPRAY ARC welding (b)
Another mechanism for metal transfer is called the "SPRAY-
ARC" method, where the metal transfer occurs in the form of
very small drops that are formed and detached from the tip of
the wire and transferred to the weld pool through the arc stream
(Fig. 1b).
Welding parameters
The visibility of the arc reduces the need for the user to strictly
observe the adjustment tables as he can directly monitor the
weld pool.
- The voltage directly affects the appearance of the bead, but
the dimensions of the weld bead can be varied according to
requirements by manually moving the torch to obtain variable
deposits with constant voltage.
- The wire feeding speed is proportional to the welding cur-
rent.
Fig. 2 and 3 show the relationships between the various welding
parameters.
Fig.2 Diagram for selection the of best working characteristic.