4043AL vs 5356AL

[SoCalTA]

Hey guys..

I have been spending the last few weeks building a tire carrier out of some aluminum that used to server racks. I started off using the 5356 because thats what I had in my MM210 gun for some time now. Midway through I ran out and swithed to the 4043. Can someone answer a few questions for me?

1. What are the differences between the two?
2. Why would the welds using the 4043 come out so much better than the 5356?
3. Why does the 4043 seem to send off such bright sparks?

ok thats it .. thanks for your help.

[farmboy weldor]

all i know is 4043 and 5356 are two different alloys of aluminum, maybe the base metal is actually 4043 instead of 5356 which you were running, that might explain why the beads look better than one another.

as for the sparks , im not sure

just what i know

[sparx]

4043 filler metal is a high silicon wire/rod. designed to weld on heat treatable base materials, like the 6xxx series aluminum. it has a lower melting point than the 5xxx series filler materials, and is more fluid when in the liquidus state. this grade is often preferred when appearance is important in the weld. it will be shinier with less 'smut' when mig welded. This material has a lower strength than the 5356, but is less sensitive to cracking with the 6xxx series base material. They are not suited to welding on Aluminum-Magnesium base materials (5083, 5086,5456) as this will cause lower ductility and increased crack sensitivity due to excessive Magnesium Silicide.
5356 filler is an Aluminum-Magnesium filler material. Originally designed for welding on 5xxx series base metals, and for joining 5xxx series to 6xxx or 7xxx series base materials. The 5xxx series filler material is better suited to Mig welding due to the stiffness of the wire, however this series is unsuited for items with a service temperature over 150 degrees F (65 deg. C)

Hope this information helps.

[SoCalTA]

sure does help .. thanks ....

and here I am thinking I finally got this mig welding AL down and it turns out to be the filler I am using.

Is there some chart that outlines what you just mentioned and how does one know what metal one is up against?

[Paul Seaman]

SoCalTA:
I prefer the 4043. it is actually my favorite. However, in my spoolgun the 5356 feeds slightly better.

My .02 worth,

[sparx]

SoCal.....
Not sure if there is a generic 'chart' outlining this information, but I will see what I can find and post it here.

[ShieldArc]

You can get a lot of info here.

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/results.asp

[sparx]

I have attached some information from a powerpoint presentation for an aluminum seminar that I put on in conjunction with our Lincoln rep for my customers. I copied into a word document. see if it helps...

[sparx]

curiosity got to me.....one of the better links for this type of information can be found here:

http://www.alcotec.com/techpage.htm

just thought one more avenue for information would help...

have fun

sparx.

[SoCalTA]

thank you so much for your time and efforts