Main types and categories of filler wires for semi-automatic welding

Photo of welding wire

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Welding of steel grade 12X18H10T

Electrodes

12x18n10t electrodes are often rods made of high-alloyed metal with a basic coating, which also contains alloying components. The composition of such electrodes is in many ways similar to the composition of stainless steel itself. Therefore, the seams are of sufficient quality and durable. But this is not the main advantage.

The correct choice of electrodes can not only be supplemented, but also slightly changed the chemical composition of the deposited metal. Do not forget that when melting, the electrode mixes with the base metal in the weld pool, so it is possible to change the composition of the weld.

Therefore, electrodes for welding stainless steel must be selected with special care. Indeed, with their help, you can significantly change the operational characteristics of the weld

Fluxes

A few words about fluxes. They are also used in stainless steel welding. The most commonly used fluoride fluxes. They should be used in combination with high alloy filler wires. In our opinion, the most optimal flux for welding steels of the 12x18n10t type is ANF-5. It not only protects the weld pool from oxidation well, but also alloy the weld metal. Since titanium is also present in its composition.

ANF-5 flux prevents the formation of pores in the weld, which is often found due to the large amount of hydrogen. Also oxide-based fluxes can be used instead of fluoride fluxes.

Modes

Now that you have selected the electrodes and flux, it's time to think about the welding mode.

The main thing to pay attention to is the amount of heat input. Heat input is the speed at which current is transferred from the welding arc to the metal.

In the case of stainless steel welding, the heat input should be low.

It is also recommended to form thin seams with a small cross-section. This can be achieved by using a small diameter filler wire, up to 3 mm. Please note that stainless steel has a reduced electrical conductivity. So that this feature does not become a headache for you, reduce the stick out of the electrode by one and a half to two times compared to the stick out for welding carbon steel.

Technologies

Let's move on to the most interesting thing - technologies. When welding stainless steel, you can apply the technology of semi-automatic welding in a shielded atmosphere, resistance welding technology, welding with a non-consumable electrode and welding with stick electrodes. The most commonly used shielding gas is argon, a mixture of argon and carbon dioxide, and sometimes helium. Let's take a closer look at two welding technologies: argon arc and non-consumable electrode welding.

Argon arc welding using consumable and non-consumable electrodes is used most often in professional production.To do this, we recommend setting reverse polarity and boiling with direct current. As a protection, as it is not difficult to guess, argon gas is used. You can use either pure argon or a mixture of it with carbon dioxide or oxygen. The use of mixtures will stabilize the arc burning, simplify the formation of the weld and reduce the likelihood of pore formation.

If you decide to use non-consumable electrode technology, then set the polarity to direct and weld with direct current. Use tungsten electrodes. The use of alternating current is possible, but not always advisable. If the metal contains a large amount of aluminum (which is rare), then you can use "change".

Let's also add a few words about stick welding. This method is considered unprofessional and is only used at home or in small businesses where the quality of work is not critical. This method is good if you are a garage welder and do not want to spend money on additional equipment. You just need to have a simple inverter and pick up the electrodes. But if you are applying for a decent quality of seams, then we recommend that you still opt for welding in a shielded gas environment. And for such work, you need a semiautomatic device, a gas cylinder and a welding wire or electrodes. This is the minimum set for more or less high-quality welding in a workshop or even a garage.

4 Key provisions of Gosstandart 14963–78

GOST 14963–78 regulates the subtleties of the production of alloyed round wire for the manufacture of springs, which, after winding, are quenched and tempered. Such wire products can be produced in standard form (without surface finish) and with the surface layer removed (with finish). Alloyed wire according to the 14963–78 standard can be used for cold or hot winding. It is divided into two classes. PP of the first type is used for the manufacture of critical products, the second - for general purpose springs.

Alloy wire products have a diameter in the range of 0.5-14 mm. It is made from alloyed steels 70S3A, 60S2A, 51HFA, 65S2VA.

PP is subjected to the following types of additional surface treatment:

• grinding;
• polishing;
• stretching without grinding and polishing;
• pulled after roughing, turning or grinding.

Alloy wire products

The roughness of the surface of finished products after polishing should be no higher than 0.32–0.63 µm, depending on the type of wire, and after polishing, no higher than 0.63–2.5 µm. For drawn products, the roughness value is not given in GOST 14963–78.

Decarburization for PP with finishing is not allowed, for products without finishing, partial decarburization with a depth of not more than 0.03 mm (wire with a cross-section of 4.8 mm) and not higher than 0.025 mm (cross-section up to 4.8 mm) is allowed.

GOST 14963–78 excludes delamination or cracking of alloyed wire products with a cross section of less than 0.6 mm for cold winding after wrapping it around the rod for five turns. The tensile strength of such a wire cannot exceed 105 kgf / mm2.

Spring wire GOST 14963–78

Checking the finished PP in accordance with GOST 14963–78 is carried out according to the methods that are used for wire in accordance with Gosstandart 9389 (we described them above). Heat treatment of alloy wire samples is carried out according to the following scheme:

• hardening (temperature about 850 ° C);
• cooling (oil must be used as a cooling compound);
• vacation (about half an hour) at a temperature of about 400 ° C;
• another cooling in hot water or in a heated oil composition.

Alloyed PP with surface treatment in accordance with GOST 14963–78 is produced in bars. For one meter of their length, curvature of up to 0.5 mm is allowed. At the request of the customer, wire is also produced in bars without processing. In other cases, it is produced in skeins weighing from 0.25 to 7.5 kg.

Bars according to the requirements of Gosstandart 14963–78 are assembled into bundles. If the length of the rods is more than five meters, they are allowed to be wound into coils. When completing coils with products of the same section and type, it is allowed to collect them in coils, which are treated with a special lubricant that protects products from corrosion.

Main characteristics

L63 marking means:

• L - brass;
• 63 - mass percentage of copper content in this alloy.

Foreign analogues

International marking (exact and nearest analogs) of brass l63:

• С27400 - USA;
• С2720 - Japan;
• CuZn37 - Sweden, Austria, Poland;
• CZ108 - England;
• P-CuZn37, P-OT63 - Italy;
• 2.0321CuZn37 - Germany;
• U-Z36, CuZn36 - France;
• CW507L, CuZn36 - European Union;
• 423213 - Czech Republic.

Chemical composition

According to Interstate Standard 15527-70, brass of grade L63 (according to ST SEV 379-76 - CuZn37) refers to pressure-processed copper-zinc alloys and is a simple (double) brass. In accordance with this GOST, the l63 material has the following chemical composition:

• copper - 62-65%;
• lead - 0.07%;
• iron - 0.2%;
• antimony - 0.005%;
• bismuth - 0.002%;
• phosphorus - 0.01%.

The total amount of other impurities is 0.5%. The main alloying component, zinc, accounts for 37.5 to 34.5%.

The approximate calculated density of L63 brass is 8.5 g / cm.

The physical and mechanical properties of l63 brass are established by standards for a particular type of product or are stipulated in an agreement between the manufacturer and the consumer.

2 Operational features

Welding carried out with the use of flux-cored wire is now widely used.

This is due to the undeniable advantages of this consumable. For example, when carrying out conventional flux-cored welding, some difficulties may arise associated with the impossibility of directing the electrode to a hard-to-reach welding spot.

In addition, monitoring the seam formation process will also be difficult. Quite often, such difficulties arise in the process of semi-automatic welding.

This welding method has many advantages.

Unforeseen difficulties can also arise when the process is carried out using protective gas, for example, the gas flow can be disturbed by a draft.

Under these conditions, it is most expedient to use the so-called flux-cored wire. This is due to the fact that this product combines such positive qualities of electrodes as:

• alloying;
• high degree of protection;
• metal deoxidation;
• high level of performance.

In addition, flux-cored wire does not need a gas cylinder, additional hoses, reducers, flux equipment and, in fact, flux.

When carrying out the welding process, it is possible with a considerable degree of ease to produce the direction of the electrode to the groove.

In this case, there is a good opportunity to observe the process of forming the resulting seam.

2.1 Types of flux-cored wire

The design of the presented consumable can be of several types:

• simple;
• tubular;
• with shell folds;
• two-layer.

Bends are created so that the wire has the required degree of rigidity. In addition, the folds prevent unauthorized pouring of powder during the squeezing of the material by the feed rollers of the semiautomatic welding machine.

Flux-cored wire construction (sectional view)

The powdery filler contains a mixture of ores, ferroalloys, chemicals and minerals.

Its immediate task is to reliably protect the metal from exposure to air, ensure the stabilization of the arc discharge, deoxidation, alloying and formation of the weld structure.

According to the classification of the composition of the product, there may be:

• rutile;
• rutile organic;
• rutile fluorite;
• carbonate-fluorite;
• fluorite.

For their intended purpose, products are divided into two types:

1. Self-shielding - they weld without additional gas shielding.
2. Products for welding in carbon dioxide environment.

When using wires with self-shielding properties, the welding process is greatly simplified. This is due to the disappearance of the need to use bulky gas cylinders.

If flux-cored wires are used, which are in an environment of carbon dioxide, then the mechanical characteristics of the seam will be significantly increased.

2.2 Features of welding technique

The presented flux-cored wire when welding involves the use of a semiautomatic hose.

Since the weld will be constantly available for review, the technology for welding butts and fillet joints is practically indistinguishable from welding using consumable electrodes.

There are times when the slag formed on the upper edge of the surface of the resulting weld can enter the gap that was formed by the two edges.

When welding, which consists of several stages, all already formed seams are intensively cleaned in order to get rid of excess slag.

It is known that flux-cored wire does not have high parameters of mechanical strength and rigidity.

For this purpose, it is imperative to use a special mechanism that provides continuous automatic wire feed. The mechanism provides a limited increase in the compression ratio using feed rollers.

2.3 Semiautomatic welding using flux-cored wire (video)

Armature portal »Mesh» Wire »Advantages of flux-cored wire for a welding machine - semiautomatic device

Classification and labeling

Before choosing the type of filler component, you should clearly understand what materials will be welded. There are several groups of wires that contain alloying elements.

This classification includes:

• additives containing a small amount of carbon;
• filler materials containing a small amount of alloying metals;
• high-alloy additives.

The marking of the welding wire depends, first of all, on the grade of the steel to be welded and the atmosphere in which the work will be carried out.

Steel filler wire is one of the most popular and demanded wires.

Filler rods for welding.

In accordance with the state standard, depending on the diameter, the welding wire is divided into:

1. Diameter from 0.3 to 1.6 millimeters.
   Copper-plated wire with this cross-section is used when welding metal parts with a semiautomatic welding machine in a protective atmosphere.
2. Diameter from 1.6 to 12 millimeters.
   A similar variant of filler material can be used to create welding electrodes.
3. Diameter from 2 to 6 millimeters.
   This type of wire is used during flux welding.

The filler material identification number is required to indicate the composition of the filler.

According to the national standard, the wire additive is marked as follows:

• the first digits are diameters in millimeters;
• the letters following the numbers are the purpose of the additive;
• further indicator shows the carbon content in fractions of a percent;
• the fourth block of designations is an indicator of alloying components;
• the fifth block carries information about the use of the additive, for example, the letter E means for the electrode, and the welding additive is indicated by the letter O.

1 Features of mesh and wire

The chain-link mesh is a special type of mesh made from braided wire. The wire is taken thin, up to 3 mm in diameter. Most often, samples with a cross-sectional size of 1-1.5 millimeters are used.

The wire is knitted on a special machine, interwoven into a mesh with rectangular cells of certain sizes.

The convenience of using a chain-link mesh is obvious. Its weight is quite low, you can mount the structure yourself.Wire consumption is comparatively small, easy to determine and not expensive.

At the same time, the fence fulfills its tasks. Its dimensions are sufficient to qualitatively protect the site from the street, thereby protecting your space from unwanted guests, animals, etc.

Plain fence made of chain-link mesh

They use it for a wide variety of tasks, ranging from fencing enclosures with animals, and ending with full-fledged fences at security companies.

The wire itself plays an important role. It is the only and main component of the mesh, therefore its characteristics, dimensions and thickness have a huge impact on the final result.

In terms of the diameter of the section, as we have already noted, the samples are selected rather thin, their thickness rarely exceeds the 2 mm mark.

For a large-sized mesh, the use of which is reasonable in army or industrial facilities, models and thicker can be used, but in civilian conditions there are no particular advantages from it, and the cost of producing a thick mesh of the chain-link is much higher.

1.1 Coverage

The second point is coverage. The coating of the wire affects how long it will last under the operating conditions.

By the type of coating, the wire for the fence the chain-link is:

1. Black.
2. Galvanized.
3. Polymerized or plasticized.

Black wire is a wire for a fence that has not been processed by anything. It is cast from standard grade rough steel. This steel is very good and is perfect for fastening a fence, if not for its weak resistance to corrosion.

The fence mesh made of a black wire sample will begin to rust in a few years, and after a dozen it will completely rust. Not that this is a very big problem.

The fence will not crumble due to rust, but will lose its presentation, as well as the initial strength indicators.

Polymer Treated Wire

Galvanized wire mesh is the simplest and most effective solution. Galvanized mesh withstands the influence of external factors longer, less likely to corrode.

However, galvanized products will also begin to deteriorate over time, but much later. But it is more durable, is not inferior to the first option in strength and does not cost much more.

Polymerized or plasticized mesh is the most popular and convenient option. Here, steel wires are coated with polymer compounds, forming a kind of protective sheath.

Corrosion is unknown to polymers, so the mesh is protected from all sides. For a fence made of polymer-finished wiring, a period of 50-80 years is far from the limit of possibilities.

Varieties of wire for semiautomatic devices

The selection of welding wire for semiautomatic devices should be carried out for a specific type of metal to be joined. The use of an additive consumable material significantly improves the quality of the seam, prevents the formation of pores and irregularities in the joint.

The main advantages of using the additive in welding are presented:

• acceleration of the welding process;
• ease of use in the industrial field;
• a significant reduction in the likelihood of defects due to the lack of additive coating;
• a large selection of consumables, allowing you to select the optimal additive for each specific case;
• low level of slag formation during welding.

Disadvantages of using a filler component when welding:

• the need for constant protection;
• difficulty in storing large skeins;
• difficulty in selecting the optimal diameter of the additive;
• the need to constantly use flux.

Wire grades table.

All types of welding wire are generally divided into:

1. Copper-plated.
   This type of wire is used for welding carbon and low alloy steel parts. Copper-plated steel fillers ensure a good weld and low metal spatter.
2. Powder.
   The filler components of these grades are made in the form of a hollow tube made of mild steel. Deoxidizers and slag-forming substances are placed inside the tank, ensuring comfortable use of semi-automatic welding without shielding gas. Flux-cored filler wires help to significantly reduce slag formation and shorten the processing time of the weld.
3. Solid section.
   This type of wire differs from the usual one in that welding electrodes are made from it.
4. Non-copper plated.
   Additives of this type are used primarily for working with low-carbon steel products.
5. Activated.
   Powder additives for carbon dioxide welding.
6. Gas welding.
   For carbon and mild steel grades, it is best to use gas welding consumables.
7. Aluminum.
   One of the few wire types suitable for welding aluminum parts. When working with an aluminum additive, the porosity of the welds is low. Such additives are actively used in the shipbuilding and dairy industries.
8. Stainless steel.
   The filler component allows welding stainless steel products and prevents corrosion of the resulting weld.
9. Flux.
   This type of filler wire is widely used for joining medium carbon, low carbon and carbon steel grades. Due to the presence of a built-in flux, such additives can be used when welding without shielding gas.
10. Doped.
    One of the best components for welding in any gas mixture and with any kind of metal.

Selection and configuration of equipment

Semi-automatic welding machine for aluminum

Welding of aluminum with standard MIG machines is conditional, i.e. you can cook with it, but you should not expect a good result.

The optimal solution in the choice is a semiautomatic device for welding aluminum with a pulse mode. The pulses pierce the oxide film, reduce overheating of aluminum and reduce the likelihood of burn-through.

DC Pulsed Aluminum Welding

Synergetic pulse-arc devices equipped with a special program make the task even easier. The welder needs to decide on the choice of alloys to be welded and select the appropriate program. Next, set the current value with the push-button regulator. The selection of the rest of the parameters is carried out by the microcontroller automatically.

I would like to note that these semiautomatic devices are not a cheap pleasure and are justified in professional use. At home, it is quite possible to do with equipment without fancy programs, however, the quality of the weld will be incomparable.

When buying a universal welding semiautomatic device in the price range up to 40 thousand rubles, designed for welding non-ferrous metals, incl. aluminum, you can take a closer look at the following models:

• Svarog REAL MIG 200 (N24002)
• Svarog PRO MIG 160 SYNERGY (N227)
• Svarog PRO MIG 200 SYNERGY (N229)
• Grovers MULTIMIG 200 SYN
• Aurora PRO OVERMAN 180

Semi-automatic wire

When welding aluminum with a semiautomatic device, certain requirements are imposed when choosing a welding wire

Important points to pay attention to:

• the melting temperature of the wire should be comparable to the temperature of the metal being welded. Less spread - the welding process is easier;
• optimal wire diameter 1.2-1.6 mm;
• larger diameter - easier feeding into the welding zone.

Common types of aluminum welding wire are ER4043 and ER5356. Designed for welding and repairing products made of aluminum and its alloys with a silicon content of no more than 5%.

Welding modes for ER4043 and ER5356 wires

ER 4043 Aluminum Welding Wire

Welding torch

The welding torch uses a Teflon guide to reduce the friction of the wire. It is desirable that the sleeve for aluminum welding is intended only for welding aluminum and not too long - 3 m.

Push-pul- torch

The contact tip must be designed for welding aluminum (in addition to the wire diameter, the AL marking is stamped on them); simple ones used for welding ferrous metals and stainless steel are not suitable. This is due to the strong expansion of aluminum during heating. The diameter of the hole should be about 0.4 mm larger than the diameter of the wire, and at the same time not too large, in order to ensure good electrical contact.

It is difficult to use an aluminum wire with a diameter of 0.8 mm due to the ductility of the metal and the complexity of broaching. The solution to this problem can be the use of a Push Pull welding torch. A special built-in mechanism will improve wire feed and allow longer torch length.

Wire feeder

Due to the increased ductility and softness of aluminum wire compared to steel, the feeder must have a number of features, such as:

• four-roller feeder. Necessary for uniform pressing of each pair of rollers;

• U-groove feed rolls specially designed for aluminum wire.

Shielding gas

The most commonly used shielding gas is argon, which has a good cleaning effect and good penetration into the weld pool. When welding aluminum alloys with a high magnesium content, mixtures of argon with helium (up to 75% helium in the mixture) are used as a shielding gas. Such mixtures prevent the formation of magnesium oxides.

Here the question may arise, how to cook aluminum in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide or without gas at all, because argon is quite expensive?

The cheaper carbon dioxide used for welding low-carbon steels will not work in this case. CO2 is an active gas, it will protect the weld pool from air, but at the same time it will react in aluminum, preventing the formation of a strong joint. Therefore, in this case, it is the inert gas that is used.

Welding with a semiautomatic device without gas is possible using a special flux-cored wire that protects the weld pool.

Classification

When choosing the necessary welding material, you need to understand for what kind of work it will be used. To facilitate the selection, several types of classification have been developed. Initially, groups are distinguished concerning the amount of alloying elements in the chemical composition of the wire, there are three main groups:

• with a small amount of carbon;
• with a small amount of alloying components;
• with a large amount of alloying components.

A separate group includes flux-cored wire used for automatic welding and showing the required quality of the welded joint.

Filler wire structure

Another classification method determines it by the material of manufacture. In this case, the products are divided according to the main material. For the manufacture of welding wire used aluminum, copper, stainless steel, steel, etc.

For welding parts made of ordinary steel, the following grades of welding material are used:

08G1S - it consists of a material covered with copper, it is used when working with steels and materials with a low content of alloying elements. Carbon dioxide or argon mixture is used as a protective medium. It is used for welding on semi-automatic equipment.

Flux cored wire

It is used when joining parts made of low-alloy, medium-carbon, carbon steels. An important aspect of a successful operation is the absence of gaseous media. Another name for flux-cored wire for welding - fleece - is due to the fact that the product does not consist entirely of metal, but only partially, inside it is filled with powder (fleece).The content of the latter is 15-40%; the specific value is indicated in the certificate for consumables.

The advantages of using this material are the quality of the connection, ease of removal of slag deposits, a stably burning arc when joining parts.

• organic rutile (for low-carbon steels; for example, grade PP-AN1);
• rutile fluorite (welds low-alloy steels; PP-AN4, PP-AN9, PP-AN20);
• fluorite-carbonate (low-carbon and low-alloy steels of critical structures; PP-AN11, PP-AN17);
• fluorite (in terms of features - something in between the second and third type; PP-2DSC);
• rutile (medium-carbon steels; PP-AN8, PP-AN10).

Flux cored wire is often confused with steel. For example, the esab (esab) welding wire is called steel by some manufacturers, while flux cored by others, which misleads the consumer. It is more correct to single out the flux analogue in a separate group. The reason is that the use of flux significantly increases the possibilities of semi-automatic welding. Moreover, flux-cored wire guarantees a better connection than conventional steel.

The quality of welding of metal products is largely determined by the characteristics of the selected consumable element. The recommendation of experienced welders to use universal elements (the same esab welding wire) is valid, but not always. For example, it is not very good when working without the use of protective gases, as the experience of specialists shows.

Which of the famous metal welding wires have you used? Share your experience in the discussion for the article.