Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello,

I want to build some 3-D objects with a welding robot. To make this I have to find the right welding parameters. I can not find the right parameters before practice it. But before to practice it, I would like to find suitable welding parameters to build a 3-D object then I can build some objects and I can make list of suitable parameters.

Do you have any idea or information about this? which parameters are the most important ones? How can I find mor information about the welding parameters?

I need help and I want to go on the right way to my goal.

Thank you in advance.

best regards
Widder

Ps: sorry for my poor English.

you do not currently know how to weld? and because of this, you are asking how to set the welder up appropriately for you to be able to use a robot, to sculpt/or weld 3d objects? you have a "robot" or know how to make one, etc? not sure if this is what you are saying, but since there are too many variables as far as setting the welder up, depending on material, thickness, travel speed, etc.. plus with it being a robot/3d and needing to travel up and down, as well as forward backward etc... lots of things to have to consider... and if this is what you are saying.. the best case scenario would be to learn how to weld, or mig weld, first... i have seen some videos of people trying to build a cnc welder, you may want to google that also...

but if i have described something close to what you are asking, then you can start watching Jodys videos on youtube, on mig welding... weldingtipsandtricks

if not, im sorry for the misunderstanding...

Robot welding I've seen is not usually used for one of a kind projects. But is programmed to make the same welds over and over. They used them at one place I used to work. They have lots of limitations to there movements so they were unable to get into real tight inside corners. For there application that meant that the parts had to be removed from the fixture and all the places the robot couldn't reach still had to be welded by hand.

Thank you for your answers Polan308 and LS Customs.

I only welded with a welding robot but I have to practice more. I want to work on how can I use this robot like a 3-D printer. I saw some projets in internet and in Youtube videos. First I need to study on Theorie and then practice and use them in Welding with Robot.
But to weld over and over and only using the welding wire to build a cube or a ball is complicated. I red about MIG and Mag welding but I could not understand so much or they do not explain so much about parameters.
thank you for your answers.

Making a 3D printer that could house a MIG torch is the easy part...

The real difficulty in 'printing' molten metal with such a process is the fact that your resulting part is constantly changing in dimension as the metal cools, solidifies and shrinks/deforms significantly which is very different from the regular plastic printing which is fairly dimension-stable.

Also the process of depositing the (molten) metal in smaller areas can cause so much heat buildup that your part will start to sag/melt under the area where you are depositing metal.

Definitely not saying it can not be done, but it will take a lot of research on how to mimise the distortions, heat input, etc. (and catch that in various algorithms) and the system may also need to dynamically adjust it's deposition rates depending on the result it's getting so some sort of feedback system may be needed like a built-in 3D scanner that makes it possible for the system to cross-reference the actual buildup with the model and adjust as needed.

May even be better to look at existing robotic welding systems that perhaps use more high power arcs, but have the system use these more in a 'pulsed' way to deposit very small 'blobs' very quickly and limit heat imput.. Still need to make sure that each layer fuses completely with the underlying one of course..

It will need to be a much more intelligent system than a plain 3D printer which pretty much tends to run without any feedback loops on the actual model development whatsoever.

So I'd almost say that the actual 'rig a torch in a printer and putting down the molten metal' bit will be the easy part..

Bye, Arno.

The problem with just a 3d printer concept is you're working from the floor up. Technically you could program it to go back down but the key is you're in fixed point from overhead. You need a rotational axis and an exceptionally larger build volume to accommodate just the mechanism that would hold said torch and position it. The positioner would need at least 2 motors to rotate on the horizonal and veritcal planes in addition to the gantry Z, X, and Y axis'.
3d Printing and all it's current design is an extrusion concept so only the gantry Z, X, and Y axis' are used. There is no rotational head because gravity prevents building like that with an extrusion process, at least for what our 3d printers do today.
To run this you'd need more advanced CAD/tool path software than what 3d printing uses as well. I'm sure whatever they use for the 3d laser/welders would suffice but I can't imagine that's cheap, and not something you'd find on PirateBay. But who knows!

Now you've built your bad ass robot, well now you get to learn about automated process welding and you'd have to learn how to factor that into the programming because of what everyone else here's said in regards to the fundamental problems of welding especially in automation.

Without some exceptional engineering skills, some expensive software or a keep software development skill set, and a pro level welder skillset this would be very difficult to pull off and would require a lot of re-design and re-skilling as you go along. If you are an expert in any one of these areas though, then I wouldn't hesitate to say proceed with caution but do it and have fun and hope you have the finances to cover it

Just a random search for a 3d laser cutter and here's the first video I got:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hp_DPEapzg

Here's about as good as 3d printing metal gets BUT this is pretty cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9vTCra47PE