Pulse VS Short circuit MIG break test.

[LD1]

This is kind of an addition to my other thread, But I thought I'd start a new one.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/220289-school-me-pulse-mig-welding.html

I welded two peices of steel together. 1/4" x 2" bar stock about 6" long.

Welder is a Miller 350P using .035 ER70 wire.

The following pics are of the Short circuit welding using millers reccomended settings of 18.0V and 315 wire speed. The weld bead is ~6-1/4" long and took about 16 seconds to do (just counting in my head)

 

[LD1]

Here is the Pulse weld. Using millers recomended settings of 50 for arc length and 400 for wire speed.

This weld only took 9 seconds to do and is about 5-3/4" long.

Notice the color of the steel on the back side. Appears to have gotten hotter than the short-circuit weld. More penetration???

 

[LD1]

I couldnt get either to break in the vise with a hammer. It was a good big 8" vise but it still kept popping out. So I used a 12T Hydraulic press and layed the peices on their side. The breaks were in the weak direction. Similar to the posts on here a few months ago testing all the stick rods. (I forget wheo did them).

The peices werent easy to break, even in the press, And once folded over, had to be bent back the other way to completely break.

Heres the Short-circuit.

 

[LD1]

And heres the Pulse weld.

I think it is a stronger weld. A LOT more uniform.

Keep in mind that this is 70 series wire which IS harder and more brittle than the base metal. Not to mention that I was breaking them in the weak direction. I think both these welds would have held whatever I intended them to. And IF welded both sides, I think you could bend it back and forth several times and it wouldnt break. I think it would just bend the steel above the weld.

All questions, comments, critisizm, etc is welcome.

 

[slowzuki]

My only feedback is, in a T joint like that, the manufacturers recommendations for settings for a particular thickness for butt welds are not going to be hot enough to single pass weld it. Both did not get adequate penetration.

Reread and it sounds critical, I realize you weren't making a structural weld as there is more wrong than just the settings for it to be a proper weld, I realize the weld was just to compare the two methods using recommended settings.

In that light, the pulsed looks pretty good, a little hotter, vaguely similar to the welds our big miller wirefeeder at school would make.

 

[Shield Arc]

Similar to the posts on here a few months ago testing all the stick rods. (I forget wheo did them).

That fish scale look, (short circuit) is sure popular with the younger crowd.

I've been thinking about upgrading my Lincoln Invertec V350-Pro, with a spool gun, now you have me thinking about the model with pulse.:laughing:


Is this the thread you're talking about?

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/212146-mig-break-test.html

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Thanks for doing that LD, the pulsed sure looks better IMO and is quicker, now I know why my neighbor gave me his old machine when he got a new pulsed one.

 

[LD1]

That fish scale look, (short circuit) is sure popular with the younger crowd.

I've been thinking about upgrading my Lincoln Invertec V350-Pro, with a spool gun, now you have me thinking about the model with pulse.:laughing:


Is this the thread you're talking about?

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/212146-mig-break-test.html

Yep, your threads were the ones. You did all the stick rods too didnt you? 6011, 6013, 7014, 7018??

Forgive me, I didnt catch your TIG test if you did one. How did it turn out?

And that fishscale look, is actually what the two old-school welders perfer that I was talking about in the other thread:confused2:

And slowzuki, I do know that the welds didnt penetrate as well using those settings. That was juat going off the basic chart inside the cover. That way, It would be a fair comparison for the two styles. They dont have different reccomendations for vatious types of welds like my linde at home. Plus a TEE joint IS the hardest to get good penitration on. And migs dont penetrate well anyway. Their strengh mostly comes from the bead. and IF I ra a pass down the other side, I dont think I could have broken it with a 10lb sledge:confused2: All I probabally would ahve done would have bent the base metal.

 

[LD1]

Thanks for doing that LD, the pulsed sure looks better IMO and is quicker, now I know why my neighbor gave me his old machine when he got a new pulsed one.

No problem:thumbsup:

And I like the looks of the pulsed better too. And it just seems to weld nicer.

Also notice there is NO spatter on pulse mode. And especially compaired to shieldarc's mig pass in the link above. It really does leave a very clean and uniform weld.

 

[Shield Arc]

Forgive me, I didnt catch your TIG test if you did one. How did it turn out?
And that fishscale look, is actually what the two old-school welders perfer that I was talking about in the other thread:confused2:

Wow, if you consider them old school, after my statement that the younger crowd liked that fish scale look, in your eyes I'm really old school!:laughing:

Here that Tig thread.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/212234-tig-break-test.html

 

[yomax4]

Very good stuff..I am thrilled to see some Pulse talk on here. Although I have trained with it a lot over the years, ( twin pulse more) I have been enjoying a an RE: to Stick Welding. Never knew it could be so cool.. After all. Anyone can lay a perfect bead with Twin Pulse. Not so with Stick. Guess I like it all..

 

[mjncad]

I definitely like the looks of the pulsed better, and it appears to have penetrated better too.

 

[LD1]

Wow, if you consider them old school, after my statement that the younger crowd liked that fish scale look, in your eyes I'm really old school!:laughing:

Here that Tig thread.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/212234-tig-break-test.html

The guys I am refering to are 61 and 55:confused2: So for me, they are old school.

 

[Shield Arc]

The guys I am refering to are 61 and 55:confused2: So for me, they are old school.

Na, them boys are spring chickens!:laughing:

 

[ptexer]

What gas mixture are you using when mig pulsing. I called lincoln and they told me I had to use 90/10 argon co2.

 

[yomax4]

90/10 at least but many use 92/8 and 95/5. Stainless often is 98/2 or a little Helium in there. 90/10 will work fine. Actually, 75/25 will work in a non cometic application. You may get a small amount of spatter if gun angle is not perfect. Fun Stuff...Try it out if you ever get the chance.

 

[LD1]

Those welds were with 75/25.

All we have at work is the 75/25 and the 100% argon.

The miller chart does say that you can adjust the arc control setting to adjust for different gas mixes.

 

[ptexer]

Has anyone used a gas mixer. They are expensive, but would cut down on bottles and let you vary percentages to fine tune what you are doing.

 

[yomax4]

I have a mixer. It works pretty good. It is the Smith version. Needs to be calibrated every other year or so. I find these used for around $150.00. I guess you can save some money if you need several mixes. I use Argon, 75/25, 92/8 and 98/2 so makes sense to have a mixer. Most people wont need it. Thermal Arc is building a new 252 amp Mig ,Tig, Stick combo in New Hampshire that will run spatter free on CO2. Has a Wire Sharpening Circuit, Inductance Control and more on Mig, Hot Start and Arc Force on Stick, Slope and Trigger lock for TIG. Weighs 60#. Based off of the Thermal Dynamics Plasma Inverter technology I am told. This should be a big deal. They say it will be out in November. Cool looking too. I plan to stop and see it at Fab - Tech.

 

[ptexer]

yomax4 Where are you able to find them used?