Welding Tips and Tricks

Ok I just started a new job with another guy and me and him both had a question. We asked people that worked they but they don't know what spray arc or short circuit means. lol. We are running (I think) a Lincoln Power Waves. We are running .45 solid wire with 95/5 gas and about 29v and 550IPM. I figured this would be considered spray arc but they want us to manipulate the puddle like short circuit and neither one of can decide which category it falls into. Also the steel very from 1/4" to about 1 1/2". Doesn't really matter i was just curious.

BigWill,
I will let the article explain better the processes but yes, you are in spray transfer mode, and you are running pretty hot, around 300 amps I would guess. Keep in mind you need to do what your employer tells you but I advise against whipping motions when spraying, or any process really. When you whip out like that you actually lower the amperage for a second and can have inconsistent penetration as well. Also it can lead to cold lap or lack of fusion.

http://www.thefabricator.com/article/co ... s-for-gmaw

Also Jody has quite a few videos showing the differences and advantages/disadvantages of each process.
-Jonathan

Thanks for the article link. I have seen his videos on the subject. Today I looked to see what we are running. My machine is Lincoln Idealarc CV-400 with a LN-7 feeder running .045 L56 ED032849 wire. I was told today that our parameters are from 25-27.5V. but most people run it closer to 30. They asked for a straight back and forth motion.

BigWill3855 wrote:... I was told today that our parameters are from 25-27.5V. but most people run it closer to 30. They asked for a straight back and forth motion.

I would definitely ask for a copy of the WPS for what you're doing. To have that many people working out of range suggests a major fail in QC.
You need to know EXACTLY what your employer considers an "approved" weld procedure.
I'll bet a beer that the WPS says NOTHING about advance/pause. I've never seen that in a WPS.

Steve S

I asked my supervisor this morning and he dug around for about 30 minutes and couldn't find any.

BigWill3855 wrote:I asked my supervisor this morning and he dug around for about 30 minutes and couldn't find any.

That's good news... It takes the pressure to meet a standard off of you, and lets you do it however it works best for you.

Steve S