Welding aluminium can be a tricky business. It takes a combination of simply putting in the time to set the equipment up correctly and to get the heat into the metal.
The BOC EWM Picomig 180 Puls is a great little machine for mild and stainless steel and aluminium. This machine, as the name suggests, can produce a maximum 180 amps, which is excellent for sheet metal up to about 5mm aluminium. The EWM Puls feature reduces spatter and makes it easy to weld aluminium sheet down to 1mm. The Picomig can also perform DC TIG lift arc and MMA welding. We teamed up the Picomig with a BOC F3VIPR argon cylinder to put it through its paces. Being smaller than the G-sized cylinder makes it much easier to get around than its larger relatives as well as offering greater safety and protection of the regulator.
Good Ideas
A great feature of the Picomig 180 sits inside the door, where a chart displays the Job-list with Job numbers for mild, stainless steel, aluminium, MIG brazing with silicon bronze and gasless FCAW. This chart will take guesswork out of setting it up. Once you have selected the Job number, just dial in the material thickness and you are ready to weld.
EWM has included an important override function which stops Picomig 180 from exceeding a specific circuit breaker current when running the machine at full power and the machine runs well on generators or long extension leads.
Heat
Due to aluminium’s high heat conductivity, you need to weld it hot. The thicker the material, the more amps you need to do the job. The best advice I can give for welding aluminium is to use the correct liner and contact tips and use U-groove feed rollers top and bottom. Make sure both parts of the aluminium are cleaned before welding with a stainless-steel wire brush, especially if the material is old. For 1 to 3mm aluminium use 1.0mm wire on Job 75. For heavier aluminium welding use Job 188 or 1.2mm on Job 76. BOC has a great range of hotter shielding gases to provide faster welding speed and deeper penetration.
Last but not least, always wear the correct PPE – a P2 dust mask will take care of welding fume.
For all your gas and welding needs call BOC on 131 262
For more information visit http://www.boc.com.au