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How to MIG Weld Aluminum | Guide & Troubleshooting

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To MIG welding aluminum is not as easy a process at all. It is more difficult than MIG welding steel. But it can be more efficient by deploying the right tools and by following the proper procedure. If you wander about to MIG weld aluminum, then this article is just for you. 

Here in this article, we pen out the bit-by-bit process to MIG weld aluminum.

Procedure to MIG Weld Aluminum

Key Features of Aluminum Welding

Although aluminium is a soft, malleable and light metal with many uses and benefits, along with softness, that metal is more active and react abruptly with other metals and gasses like hydrogen gasses that increase their strength and hardness.

Before trigger to MIG welding aluminum process, make sure that you already have done the MIG welding mild steel. It’s important because the process is more likely to deploy the same gas pressure rate from 20-30 CHF, and the same gun angle. But end up with some similarities too. Due to various characteristics of steel, processing with this metal comes with some challenges, such as distortion and sensitivity to heat input.

Procedure to MIG Weld Aluminum

Keep these factors in mind when you might welding aluminum:

1. Determine the Material Thickness

Before welding aluminum, determine material thickness. The aluminum thickness that you should attempt to MIG about 14-18 gauge and more heavy and the material less thick than that may need specialized TIG equipment.

2. Remove Oxides

Aluminum should be thoroughly clean before the welding process. Clean out all lubricants over the surface. After degreasing, use a stainless wire brush to remove oxides that are specifically used for aluminum.

These oxides create a hard layer over the aluminum surface and create problems during the welding process. If you use a power wire brush, make sure that the pressure is low as it can smudge on the aluminum surface. If you don’t do this, the impurities and oxides stay under the surface.

3. Opt the Best Gas and Flow

As aluminum is non-ferrous and chromatic metal, therefore, it always needs pure argon shielding gas. And the gas flow should be 20-30 cubic feet in an hour. It is an ideal gas rate for MIG welding aluminum.

4. Choosing the Best Gun

Choosing an efficient gun is an important step before MIG welding aluminum. And a spool gun is always a good option for feeding smooth wires. Spool gun more likely avoids the possibilities of bird-nesting as only a few inches of wires is fed. A push-pull system is also deployed to feed the wire. It seems more ergonomic when the power mode is far from welding.

5. Best Metal Filler

For this step, firstly, acknowledge the alloy of your aluminum. For choosing the best metal filler, you can contact your metal filler agent also. You can get the best recommendation from your neighbor welding distributor. ER4043 and ER5356 can be proved ideal metal fillers. It would help if you chose what fits your application. After considering all these factors, the step is to choose the best option to MIG welding aluminum. Here, we come with the best one.

You can also Read - Best Welder for Aluminum

6. Spray Transfer Mode

Spray transfer method is the ideal one for mig welding aluminum. As it is deploying for the constant transfer of the molten metal droplets from the electrodes to the molten pool. While deploying this mode, their is no short circuit . Although the process consists of high efficiency and considerably high deposition rates.

Precautions

  • Be careful as the spray transfer involves the production of a huge weld pool that have good penetration capability.
  • Also, a high amount unit of heat involved. That can be not easy to handle.
  • It can only applicable above 14-gauge thick materials.
  • Make sure all your safety measurements before deploying any process.

Pros Tips to MIG Weld Aluminum

Theses are the following tips you should keep in your mind. Make sure all the processes like gas flow, angles, joint functions, positions are doing in proper way. As it highly influenced in weld-strength of aluminum.

  • Deploy angle of 10 or 15 degree for push travel and set nozzle and RIP in the travel directions. If your angle is wrong that it can make the dirty weld due to the lack of gas coverage.
  • Make an appropriate tip to work distance.
  • It is important to boost the torch travel speed because aluminum surface get head during welding process.
  • Beware of huge wave beads over the material surface

Problems that you will face

  • Production of dirty weld.
  • Overheating can cause burning and melting of base material.
  • Unprofessional machine setting.
  • Wire can be pile up on the gun.
  • Wire can burn in-between or at the end of the welding process.
Read more  - Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP review

Solution to Overcome the Issues

  • Make sure that you choose the best shielding gas and wire alloy type.
  • Deploy the best techniques to clean the base Surface.
  • Keep an ideal distance tip-to-work.
  • Remove or decrease the gaps.
  • Deploy a push angle technique rather than a drag angle.
  • Make sure that the gun liner and contact tip size same in diameter worth the wire you are using.
  • Purchase mig calculators to ensure the good settings.
  • Make sure the pressure on the spool gun.
  • Analyze that the drive rolls match with the wire diameter that you are using.
  • Make sure the drive roll pressure.
  • Change contact tip if you find it necessary.
  • Contact professionals if you find any complex issues.

Final Verdict

Long story short, MIG welding aluminum becomes more easy process when efficient tools deploy. Use the proper and best method to make it more effective. In this modern era, robotic mid welding aluminum is mostly used for more profitable results.

Furthermore, by using this process, you can precise the final results before triggering the process. It is a more time consuming and efficient source to mig welding aluminum. But to mig welding aluminum through spray transfer is also ideal for t the creating best results. Just deploy this way and be the master of the whole game.

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