Welding a rack from profiles - what electrodes and welding current?

Question

I would like to make a rack of metal profiles with a wall thickness of 2 mm. Transformer welder max 300 A.
* Which electrodes to buy (what thickness and color, or what company)?
* What current should I set?
* How to start and what to be careful to "measure" it turns out nice?

tomjed · Answer

Haven't you welded before?

logitech55 · Answer

I saw someone welding not only from a distance

tomjed · Answer

I was in the same situation 2 years ago. I bought an invertor welder and tried it from 0. Buy yourself 1.6 2 and 2.5 electrodes and try ... You will have a problem with vertical joints. I still snot them today, because they flow to me. Maybe someone will advise here. Try to weld lying down. Remember to melt the material. There are several tutorial videos on YT. By the way, it's interesting if there will be a good soul who will tell you something ... Personally, I think that amateur welding is nothing terrible. You just need to practice ... 2mm is not too much and you may burn yourself out, but you should embrace it. Good luck...

logitech55 · Answer

Is it worth buying electrodes 1.6 and 2 or larger. They are and have such a description on the well-known portal I do not give a link because it is not allowed, so I am pasting the description: Spoiler: Show

kortyleski · Answer

Go to any steel warehouse and under the saw you will strip a few pieces of steel of different thicknesses. 2.5, pink electrode, current around 80A. Try and learn. There is no other prescription. My only answer is that once you strike the arc, try to draw it from one material to another. The last option is a visit to a local shop and with a good cylinder, a trip to the nearest older welder. In 15 minutes, it will teach you more than we did in a year via the Internet

logitech55 · Answer

I just bought 2 electrodes 2.5 and 3.2 and burns holes on the waste from this profile, when I go faster, it is not flooded again. current about 60-90 A.
It is quite nice on a 6 mm thick flat bar

In the mask with filter 10 you can see practically nothing and I was welding in the dark. I heard that there are other types of glass which number will be brighter

bearq · Answer

You set a slightly lower current and weld from the bottom, the technique is different. If you are welding from the bottom and it flows for you, reduce the amperage

tomjed · Answer

Ok, thank you for your attention. I will try. kisses

bearq · Answer

Electrode 2-2.5 and amperage not greater than 80A, try with a thinner electrode and less current. In case of problems, upload a photo of the weld, you will know what is wrong

mietek440 · Answer

Enter the welding stitches in google, here you have a similar topic

grzeskk · Answer

From my own experience I will suggest that such thin profiles are difficult to weld and I hope that it is not galvanized. Start learning from 4-5mm thick with a 2.5mm electrode. And buy a pack of electrodes, not pieces. Try to ignite the arc and lean the electrode against a flat bar on the cover - let the metal pour onto the material from the electrode - electrode 2.5, current ~ 60A angle of about 20 degrees. And remember that the electrode is not arc-welded - the electrode should be inserted into the pool.

logitech55 · Answer

I bought a pack of 1.6 and 2 electrodes. Those from the description I have pasted above, I hope they will be good. grzeskk You can write more about this account 20 *

janek1815 · Answer

Start with the fact that if you cannot see through glass 10, you will never learn. Buy yourself a 9 or 8 and see which one suits you better. It just so happens that lenses with the same numbers but different manufacturers have different degrees of darkening. The quick cost is 2 zlotys in gusts. As for welding, do not buy electrodes other than 2.5 thinner ones, they are not suitable and you are not very experienced at 3.25. Anyway, for a 2mm wall they would be too thick.

And since you have already bought it, start with a small current and place the weld in the boat in the letter V and slowly, and you will see that the weld will be perfect.

A colleague wrote about the 20-degree angle of the electrode inclination in relation to the material. Holding it at a high angle will burn a hole or a bad weld. A small angle is just safe for you to learn.

mietek440 · Answer

Welding material less than 3 mm thick requires a lot of practice, you will burn thinner material.

Michelson · Answer

In fact, you won't learn much by reading. Buy a few pounds of scrap metal, cut yourself into pieces and practice. Because it is an extremely manual method. Only clean the welded areas with a clean metal grinder. Under the slogan mma welding, you can find a lot of good welding videos on youtube, from which you can learn a lot, but it really is no substitute for training. RUTWELD 12 electrodes can be for such things. The 1.6 electrode is quite difficult to weld, you need to have some practice. For what you wrote, I suggest 2.0mm electrodes, current about 60A. Only the current value also depends on the welder, and you have to choose it experimentally. Good luck.

kortyleski · Answer

I would like to add that you learn on a new material of the same type, e.g. you cut a piece of the profile in half and weld it back. Welding random pieces of scrap metal requires a lot of skill.

grzeskk · Answer

The angle is about starting the arc and holding the electrode at an angle of about 20-30 degrees to the material based on the coating and with a small current the weld will be done by itself. This is a good way to get a fillet weld. I suggest starting the exercises with this. And the base is pure material, no rust, no paint, no scale and no zinc.
Try to put a second flat on the table perpendicularly and make a fillet weld while resting the electrode at their joint. By selecting the current and the inclination of the electrode, you regulate the depth of penetration and the thickness of the weld.

cirrostrato · Answer

I can weld well (my father was a professional welder), I have good equipment, only practice makes perfect. Interesting facts: when thick and thin elements are welded, the arc is held on a thick element, for a thin element you only make (I don't know how to describe it otherwise) trips and again it escapes to a thicker element, thin elements are not only welded with a small (appropriate) current, but you can also stop welding and wait for the elements to cool down a bit (they will not glow) and the pink electrode is more handy.

logitech55 · Answer

What do these pink and yellow colors mean

mietek440 · Answer

pink - this is a rutile electrode

3jk · Answer

I read the whole topic quickly, I met a lot of valuable advice and relevant information, but I did not find a question about the equipment, what kind of welder do you have? - because the selection of electrodes and the possibility of welding anything or just welding to a limited extent depends on it. There is information about the welding current = 300A - if it is 60%, then you have specific equipment for industrial applications, if 10% it is a hobbyist welder. Another thing is what welding current: constant or variable? and so on ... Everything can be quickly explained, a few tips and the matter of welding turns out to be trivial

For starters, buy pink electrodes, these are rutile electrodes, it is best to choose ER146 - this is the symbol of rutile electrodes, which may additionally be marked with a pink dot, but not all companies do this, but the inscription is.
I propose a thickness of 3.25 mm and 2.5 mm electrodes - because it is easier to ignite and conduct an electric arc.

If you are still interested in the topic, please info - I will be happy to help, I also started this way once, but there was no internet

kulbaszon · Answer

Very good introduction osohozi - no specific dimensions. As a beginner, I have been reading the topic for some time and finally something "light" that explains the topic initially.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCnQStwX9JA
Then you can probably learn with Piran, here about MIGomat, but also about MMA (electrode welder):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noLdz6pWSj0
Maybe something will help someone

bearq · Answer

Haven't you noticed that the topic is already 5 years old?

kulbaszon · Answer

Has it become obsolete in any way due to being five years old?

I came here from Google. Probably the same as thousands of other people who have watched this thread so far. I believe that it is worth supplementing it with something substantive.

lukaszp31 · Answer

So this is how I read what you gentlemen write here. They talk about a 2.5 or 3.2 electrode for a 2mm profile. Definitely too thick, it's hard to make a nice weld. There is no need to talk about 3.2. 2.5 will either smoke or the crap will come out. 1.6 e6013 rutile not rutile-basic. Lest you get confused. It's hard to weld, but it's a matter of practice, the ampere is about 55 and it will be a great spread - + 7 amps depending on the welder.

Added after 1 [minutes]:

And so

kierbedz4 · Answer

Welding vertically, then the welding current should be reduced by about 10%. Welding current is assumed to be about 45A per mm of electrode. On each package of electrodes there is a table regarding the selection of welding current for a specific electrode diameter, you can use this table.

lukaszp31 · Answer

In my opinion, there is nothing to take 45a per mm. The ampere is selected for the metal to be welded and for the equipment that is operated. Tables of general principles adopted are good but for this just a start. You have to choose the rest yourself.

Added after 4 [minutes]:

Welding vertically ampere down so that the lake does not flow down. From left to right, depending on the electrode, up to 3 seconds per side and run to the other side. But there is nothing to cheat on, it's hard to weld the 2mm wall vertically. You must also remember to fit the elements. If the elements do not fit properly, it would be advisable to weld the initial welding first. That is, stick the holes more together and then start welding

balcerowicz79 · Answer

Interesting topic, despite 5 years ... I will probably read a few more times.
I just ordered a 140A mma dc inverter welder.
For the first time I see on aledrogo that the manufacturer and the seller write the truth on the housing of the equipment and in the description, real info about the power ... quinola up to PLN 400, of course.
And since these pseudo devices with 250 280 or even 300A from one phase are linden ... so on the electrode did it come out.

Welding a rack from profiles - what electrodes and welding current?

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