Miller Electric

If you already own a MIG welder, you may be wondering what it takes to start using that machine to weld some aluminum. Miller® has continued to provide spool gun solutions that are simple and directly connect to your welder for welding aluminum. This makes changing to aluminum faster and less expensive than you may think.

First, you’re going to need a spool gun. Why another gun? Well, the column strength or the amount you can push on Aluminum wire without buckling is only about one-third the amount that mild steel wire can withstand. This causes feeding issues if you try to push the aluminum through a standard MIG torch. Spool guns only push the wire a short distance in a straight line from the drive rolls, so feeding isn’t compromised. The Spoolmate™ 100 Series spool gun is a direct connect option for the Millermatic^® 140 Auto-Set™, 180 Auto-Set and 211 Auto-Set with MVP MIG welders, and the Multimatic™ 200 MIG/TIG/Stick welder. The Spoolmate™ 200 Series spool gun is the entry level spool gun for the Millermatic 212 Auto-Set and Millermatic 252 MIG welders. For the more industrial user, the Spoolmatic^® 15A or 30A guns are a better fit on those machines.

The next thing you’re going to need is different shielding gas. Aluminum requires 100 percent argon shielding gas. Any shielding gas containing oxygen will cause an unstable arc with impurities when welding Aluminum.

Finally, you will need to be sure you have good MIG welding technique.  Aluminum requires you to push the torch to ensure effective shielding gas coverage. Everything else in your technique is the same as welding mild steel, but at a faster pace. Due to the high thermal properties of Aluminum, more heat is required to start a molten puddle. This increased amount of heat then requires a higher travel speed once the puddle is established to prevent burn through. Aluminum MIG welding doesn’t have to be difficult with the appropriate equipment and some practice.

When welding thick to thin or thinner material, concentrate or point the gun more at the thicker material and roll the bead toward the thinner material. This will help with adequate penetration on both the thick and thin piece. Take precautions to prevent warpage. When welding thin material, you may want to place a thicker piece of copper or aluminum behind the weld area to help “sink” the heat away (which prevents warping). This also will help with burn-through. Keep in mind that if you are welding on a table, you’ll want to get one with a thick metal top. A top with a ¼-in steel plate or thicker will not warp while you are welding on it. Do not place a metal plate on top of a wooden table. It will still burn the wood. I know it sounds like common sense, but it happens….

Until next time,

Andy Weyenberg
Motorsports Marketing Manager

Consumable matching is key when welding. If you are running .030 wires in your MIG welder, make sure the liner, drive rolls and contact tips match. Any mismatch will cause feeding and weld consistency problems. It’s also important to pick the right wire size for the job. Don’t use .035 wire to weld 22 gauge steel. As a rule of thumb, the wire shouldn’t be bigger than the material thickness. If it is, you’ll spend most of your time blowing holes in the base metal instead of melting the weld wire.

Gas is technically a material, too, so determine the correct mix before beginning. Miller offers some tips on consumables here. For MIG steel, a 75/25 argon/CO2 mix will give great results. Straight CO2 can also be used to get more penetration, but this gas will also produce more spatter. Typical flow rates are 25-30 CFH. Too high of flow will cause turbulence and contamination. Too low flow will not give enough shielding of the weld area and also produce porosity of the weld bead. For all TIG processes and MIG aluminum, 100 percent argon gas is typically used. Flow rate will depend on cup size with most flow rates being near 12-20.

Until next time,

Andy Weyenberg
Motorsports Marketing Manager

Stephen Christena of Midwest Metal Works and Tom Patsis of Cold Hard Art fabricated unique pieces of metal art in the Miller booth at SEMA. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Stephen fabricated Cam Shaft Cocktail Tables out of automotive parts:

On Thursday and Friday, Tom Patsis fabricated Hem-me Spyders. All of the metal art was included in the SEMA Cares Silent Auction, as well as a “Trashformer” that was fabricated using automotive parts by Patsis pre-show:

When setting up your MIG welder, first take a look at how thick the metal is that you’re welding. Is your welder large enough to weld this thickness? And is the machine set up correctly to complete the weld? With Miller’s Auto-Set™ feature (available on most Millermatic® products), you simply set the wire size and the material thickness and you’re ready to go!

Make sure you use the correct type of gas and that you’ve turned the bottle on. C-25 or Argon CO75/25 is the most common gas used. It should be set for 30 CFH for the best results. And, don’t forget to make sure you have the polarity set correctly for the type of wire you are using.

Lastly, a common mistake is trying to weld a continuous line. Try welding in an X-pattern – upper left, lower right, then upper right and lower left.

Ben Romenesko
MIG Product Manager

When MIG welding steel – you can push or pull, just stay consistent. Changing from a push to a pull during a weld will affect weld penetration and appearance. This is because it normally takes a slight change in wire speed when changing from pushing the gun to pulling it. Also, the angle of the gun determines if the weld wire is hitting the colder edge of the puddle (as in a push angle) or pointing to the hotter part of the puddle (pulling). The pull will give you deeper penetration, so if you are welding thinner material, use the push method to prevent burn through.

When you’re TIG welding, push the torch at a 10- to 15-degree angle, whenever possible. And never pull a TIG torch. This makes sure you have proper gas coverage and cleaning of the weld zone. If you pull the torch, it will cause the weld bead to appear black and contaminated.

Until next time,
Andy WeyenbergMotorsports Marketing Manager

Attending IMIS (Dec. 8-10) at the Indiana Convention Center? Find Miller Welders in booth #2423.

Hands-on welding and cutting demonstrations will be available from the booth. Spectators can test MIG, TIG and Plasma cutting equipment, get their welding questions answered, learn how to take advantage of show specials and also check out the latest offerings in the line of Arc Armor^® welding protection. Don’t miss the new line of Spectrum® X-TREME™ Plasma cutters with XT torch.

And check out some of the Miller Welders off-road vehicles in the Dirt Sports booth #1160 including Scott Taylor’s TORC PRO-2WD Off-Road Race Truck, Dan Vanden Heuvel’s Pro 2 Flying Dutchman and Blue Torch Fabworks’ prerunner owned by Jason Carner.

At the show, Miller Welders will also begin to highlight that we are excited to sponsor the 2012 Griffin King of the Hammers, the toughest one-day off-road race combining extreme rock crawling and desert racing, set against the desert landscape of Johnson Valley, Calif. Miller partner and off-road manufacturer Blue Torch Fabworks will join us to collectively offer free equipment access, weld support and specialized off-road repair to KOH race team participants. The eight-day event which combines a Smittybilt Every Man Challenge, Pit Bull King of The Hammers UTV Race and the 2012 Griffin King of the Hammers will feature more than 225 cars and attract  an estimated 20,000 participants and off-road enthusiasts between Feb. 4 and 11, 2012.

Learn more about Miller’s motorsports presence and existing racing partnerships at MillerWelds.com/RCR.

Once again, Miller will be showcasing some exciting new welding and safety products at the annual FABTECH show (formerly known as the AWS/FABTECH International Welding Show) in Atlanta, Ga. This year’s booth will feature industry-specific products and technologies that offer companies the potential to significantly improve productivity, reduce rework and increase employee safety.

Check out the News Release for a small sample of the exciting new products that will be on display.

If you can’t make it to the show, be sure to check our Youtube, Facebook and Twitter pages for live updates and videos from the show floor!

Summer is still a couple weeks away, but you can get a jump start on it by taking advantage of our new Summer Savings promotion. We’re offering up to $150 cash back on a wide variety of welding equipment and accessories packages, including our most popular MIG and TIG welders, welding generators, plasma cutters and welding helmets.

Visit the promotion page for full cash back details and to complete your cash back redemption form.

Also, Miller has extended its PowerLINE zero-percent, 12-month financing offer for new equipment purchases over $10,000. You can now qualify for financing through December 31, 2010. Visit the PowerLINE page for complete offer details.