welding .040 thick 316 ss

Question

welding .040 thick 316 ss

dmillerr (Industrial)

(OP)

13 Feb 03 13:49

flat plates   040 316 ss    6" X 6".....have to butt weld with fusion technique..................have machine as low as it will go,  lincoln square wave 175  with argon and 1/16th tungsten.....problem is not heat.........but blowing through.

have clamped flat bar below seam for heat sink.....still blow through,  not as much though.

material is actually a somewhat dimpled material so food product passing over it meets less resistance.

have been using .023 304 mig wire as a filler rod when necessary.

any suggestions other than  'keep plugging away'?

Weldmedic (Mechanical) · Answer 1 · 2003-02-14 04:36:30

Try switching to .040 tungsten. This seems to help when you get down to the thinner section thicknesses.I have a Miller Maxstar 200 setup with a WP-9 torch and finger tip amperage control that does a pretty good job. Also Tempil industries makes a heak sink product similar to caulking that may help you as well. With this setup I have sucessfully welded.062 to .009 sheet. Although Im not familiar with the Lincoln, does it have a pulsing feature? If so, it may help with the problem. Good luck.

jr32 (Mechanical) · Answer 2 · 2003-02-14 11:13:21

For a 0.040 SS sheet pulse may not even be required. A steady hand , short arc gap and .040 tungsten will do the needfull. The power source whether its miller or lincoln will not make a difference.

CWIC (Specifier/Regulator) · Answer 3 · 2003-02-14 15:22:54

The amperage range of that Lincoln welder goes well below what that material and thickness would require (<10 amps). You mentioned it was set "all the way down". What range are you in that amperage still remains a problem?

This thickness is often welded without backing in the aerospace/aircraft industries, I suspect there maybe other factors (such as the deformations) in the material. The material may be thinner at the areas of deformation.

Texured materials or materials that have complex shapes (i.e.: wrinkle belly) are often difficult to weld due to the thinner areas that have been hot/cold worked during the material processing.

eralph61 (Petroleum) · Answer 4 · 2003-02-16 12:55:39

try a backing flux, and move just a little faster, but still use the backing plate as a heat sink... we have a fab shop and admit thin material is tough....

gascupwalker1 (Mechanical) · Answer 5 · 2003-02-16 15:10:24

Hey,dmillerr. You recieved many great tips.I've had good luck on the thinner stuff by not sharpening my .040 tungsten quiet so sharp,perhaps some what blunt.This also controls unwanted heat at the work and prevents blow thru.

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welding .040 thick 316 ss