A couple welding questions

[Jerry D]

We have a thermal arc 210 fabricator welder.

I've heard that certain smaller units do better with 0.030 wire compared to 0.035 wire. Is that true?

Does a welder come setup for a certain shielding gas or can they be interchanged? 100% CO2 or an argon mix, can you put either or on the welder and go? What pressure setting is ideal on the regulator?

Thanks

[Trochu]

I generally weld thin stuff, hobbyist in the garage kinda thing, and much prefer 0.025 than 0.030 or 0.035. Also, the welder doesn't care what kind of gas you're blowing through it.

[bloopbloob]

Smaller units will absolutely do better with smaller wire. Takes less amperage to run. Larger diameters can become more difficult to contol/use as well. Your machine does not care about the gas, but the weld will. Depends on what you are trying to do. Light or heavy material? Short circuit or spray? I like high argon % for spray transfer, have the shops at 87-90% currently. 35-50 cfm. Much cleaner.

[Taco]

Tons of good mig welding how to's on YouTube. I've been a farmboy welder for over 45 yrs and I find it very helpful for refreshing my shoddy welding technique.

[Ormachek]

Your machine will have no problem running up to .045 wire. Pick your wire based on the work you do. All exhaust? .023. 3/8" plate all day? .045. For most general purpose set ups i run .035.

Your machine doesn't discriminate against gas but your flowmeter/regulator does. Co2 needs a different regulator than Argon/c25/most blends. 25-30cfh is plenty for c25

[TylerThomson]

Originally Posted by bloopbloob

Smaller units will absolutely do better with smaller wire. Takes less amperage to run. Larger diameters can become more difficult to contol/use as well. Your machine does not care about the gas, but the weld will. Depends on what you are trying to do. Light or heavy material? Short circuit or spray? I like high argon % for spray transfer, have the shops at 87-90% currently. 35-50 cfm. Much cleaner.

Im pretty sure you meant cfh and that was a typo. Why do you run so high 50cfh seems way to high. I run 30cfh and my welds are getting xrayed and phase arrayed. At 50 cfh your increasing your consumable cost considerably and not gaining anything really. Unless you're using a process that requires it which in that case disregard the above.

To answer the original post. No it doesn't matter if you switch gases they all run through the same port on the machine. Select your gas based on the type of wire you use.

The smaller the wire the less voltage and amperage is required to weld at a specific wire speed.

Don't forget to get the proper rollers and tips if you switch wire sizes.

[bloopbloob]

Originally Posted by TylerThomson

Im pretty sure you meant cfh and that was a typo. Why do you run so high 50cfh seems way to high. I run 30cfh and my welds are getting xrayed and phase arrayed. At 50 cfh your increasing your consumable cost considerably and not gaining anything really. Unless you're using a process that requires it which in that case disregard the above.

To answer the original post. No it doesn't matter if you switch gases they all run through the same port on the machine. Select your gas based on the type of wire you use.

The smaller the wire the less voltage and amperage is required to weld at a specific wire speed.

Don't forget to get the proper rollers and tips if you switch wire sizes.

Yes, sorry that was a typo. Cubic feet per hour. Cfh not cfm. Some of our welders DEPOSIT (not a typo or wire feed ipm) 160 inches per minute of weld in our process. For position welding, 30-35cfh is the norm.

Also, just to put in context, I'm talking about a high production shop, about 100 welders, laying 10's of thousands of inches per day. CFH really adds up when you're pushing big volume

[Pioneer2]

Thought it said wedding............Don't !

[Jerry D]

I will try 0.030 wire next time.

We mostly weld 1/8" with it up to 1/4" for the old task.

Offhand I think the gas is a 25% argon mix

[TylerThomson]

Originally Posted by bloopbloob

Yes, sorry that was a typo. Cubic feet per hour. Cfh not cfm. Some of our welders DEPOSIT (not a typo or wire feed ipm) 160 inches per minute of weld in our process. For position welding, 30-35cfh is the norm.

Also, just to put in context, I'm talking about a high production shop, about 100 welders, laying 10's of thousands of inches per day. CFH really adds up when you're pushing big volume

Haha I figured so. All good. Yeah it sure does add up that's why I asked. Sorry for the derail but what kind of process you using that's pouring down a 160 imp? Sub arc? Must be a big machine. Cool stuff though.

Have a good one.

[Bear Ballz]

Originally Posted by TylerThomson

Im pretty sure you meant cfh and that was a typo. Why do you run so high 50cfh seems way to high. I run 30cfh and my welds are getting xrayed and phase arrayed. At 50 cfh your increasing your consumable cost considerably and not gaining anything really. Unless you're using a process that requires it which in that case disregard the above.

To answer the original post. No it doesn't matter if you switch gases they all run through the same port on the machine. Select your gas based on the type of wire you use.

The smaller the wire the less voltage and amperage is required to weld at a specific wire speed.

Don't forget to get the proper rollers and tips if you switch wire sizes.

Your welds get cut out after X-ray anyway Thomson !!!

[TylerThomson]

Originally Posted by Bear Ballz

Your welds get cut out after X-ray anyway Thomson !!!

How else are they supposed to hang them in the office to admire. Hahaha. Hope you're doing good.

[bloopbloob]

Originally Posted by TylerThomson

Haha I figured so. All good. Yeah it sure does add up that's why I asked. Sorry for the derail but what kind of process you using that's pouring down a 160 imp? Sub arc? Must be a big machine. Cool stuff though.

Have a good one.

Nope not sub arc. Just regular old GMAW. O.035" wire on most machines, but up to 0.052". On 0.035" WFS is generally maxed out at 850ipm all the time. 160ipm deposition is on vertical downs, ranging from 1/4" to 14ga material. Usually on rotating 16' or 18' diameter cylinders. Haha makes me laugh about Bpressure days and the daily inch bragging. I have guys laying down 5000+ inches a day. Very different though, I know.

[TylerThomson]

Originally Posted by bloopbloob

Nope not sub arc. Just regular old GMAW. O.035" wire on most machines, but up to 0.052". On 0.035" WFS is generally maxed out at 850ipm all the time. 160ipm deposition is on vertical downs, ranging from 1/4" to 14ga material. Usually on rotating 16' or 18' diameter cylinders. Haha makes me laugh about Bpressure days and the daily inch bragging. I have guys laying down 5000+ inches a day. Very different though, I know.

5000 inches a day. That sounds like a horrible time haha.