johnc Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 From TIG Depot (http://www.tigdepot.com): CAN MY MACHINE WELD ALUMINUM? A considerable amount of our viewers ask about welding aluminum… Do I need AC and a High Frequency box? Well, the answer is no. You can actually weld aluminum with a low cost DC power supply. It doesn’t make it any easier and you won’t be able to weld very thick materials, (typically 16 gauge maximum), but you can attain a high strength, great looking weld using the DC+ technique. This may also be known as DC Positive….Here is the procedure and technique: Set your machine on DC+, (in some cases you need to merely reverse the cables). Place your sharpened (to a point) 1/8†diameter -2% thoriated or ceriated tungsten in your torch, set your argon (100%, not a mixture) flow at about 15-20 cfh. Scratch start and maintain a very close arc distance… ( if you don’t maintain a maximum 1/16†tungsten/ puddle distance you will probably lose the arc). If this happens then re-scratch start… Be very patient as the heat builds up in your part…. These are the characteristics that will happen… A) scratch start and maintain an arc the point on the tungsten will start to ball and then sustain itself.... that’s okay… C) you will see oxides starting to dissipate because you get half a cleaning cycle when your on DC+. D) your puddle will finally form and it is important to visually see the puddle and dab small dabs to maintain control.. Note: Use 1/16" diameter filler (maximum). If you contaminate the tungsten then merely regrind to a point. Welding aluminum is always a difficult task, but if you just have a small project around the house or you want to fix that aluminum water irrigation pipe, then this will work for you and the set-up is less than $500.00. It works well for material thickness of .020"-.062", and if you are having trouble getting a puddle because your machine doesn’t have enough power.. here is an inexpensive technique…. "pre-heat with a paint stripper electrical gun"… place the blower gun in the area you would like to weld and leave it there for 5-10 minutes.. Its amazing how the preheat will help you in aluminum welding and remember… "always use filler material to avoid hot, short cracking"… Good luck, Mister TIG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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