Miller Electric

Many people ask…why or when should I use a gas lens? The main reason is to allow you to flood the area you are welding with the best possible gas coverage to ensure you are reducing the possibility of oxygen contamination. Another great use of the gas lens is reaching difficult areas that need to be welded. A good example of this is a tight cluster of tubing that you may encounter on many of today’s sport utility and race vehicles. By this, I mean that it allows you to stick out the tungsten much farther while still maintaining gas coverage to access these hard-to-reach areas (see photos).

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

If the plasma arc extinguishes while trying to cut, it could be that the arc has not transferred and the plasma cutter still thinks it is in pilot mode. While in pilot mode the plasma cutter will limit how long the machine is on for safety reasons.

In order to ensure that the arc transfers to the workpiece and into cut mode, make sure that there is a good connection from the work clamp to the workpiece. Grind off any rust or paint in a small area, and hook up the work clamp to that spot. The plasma arc can cut through paint and rust, but the work clamp needs to have contact with bare metal.

Also remember that electricity is lazy and takes the path of least resistance. Make sure that the torch is close to the workpiece. All Miller plasma cutters come standard with a drag shield on the torch, so go ahead and drag the shield on the piece you are cutting. The drag shield provides the optimized standoff height for cutting.

Brian Brown
Engineering Technician, Plasma Products

Already made your New Year’s resolutions? Why not add one more…

Give your welder a “once over” checkup.  This is something you should be doing on a regular basis, but usually gets overlooked.  While you have a little time before the race season starts up, these are the most common and easiest things to look at to keep your welder happy.

• Inspect and tighten all cables including the ground clamp.
• Inspect gas hoses and connections.
• A good blow out will keep your machine running cool and prevent conductive metal dust from messing with internal connections.
• Check the condition of the gun cable on your MIG welder for cuts in the rubber casing.
• Check and tighten the contact tip and adapter.
• Check the gun liner by making sure the wire pulls through the gun freely when the drive roll tension arm is released.
• Check the drive rolls for wear and alignment with the wire/groove.
• Inspect the torch cables and back cap on your TIG welder for cracks, and check the o-ring.
• Check, add or change your TIG coolant if you’re gun is water-cooled.
• Stock up on all your consumables now instead of when it’s too late and you need them.

Until next time,

Andy Weyenberg
Motorsports Marketing Manager

When TIG welding steel, grind your tungsten to a point using a fine grit grinding wheel dedicated ONLY to tungsten. Grinding anything else on that wheel can cause the tungsten to become contaminated. Make sure that both the weld joint area and the filler metal are clean, since dirt can cause arc instability and contaminated welds.

You have a variety of TIG tungsten types to choose from, each color-coded for easy identification. You can find a more detailed description of tungsten types and their uses here, but it’s important to remember that Ceriated tungsten can withstand higher temperatures. A 2 percent thoriated (red band) is ideal for use with steels and pure (green band) is ideal for aluminum. This is true UNLESS you have an Inverter type TIG machine. Most Inverter-type TIG units can run a sharpened two percent Thoriated or Ceriated (orange band) for EVERYTHING.

Until next time,

Andy Weyenberg
Motorsports Marketing Manager

TIG welding is considered a bit more difficult than MIG welding but with a few tips, like the ones below, you’ll be making some good looking beads in no time at all!

With the Miller Diversion™ 180 TIG welder, you must first set the machine for the material to be welded. Check the thickness by color code and set the amperage for that material size.

Common mistakes include attempting to begin the weld before you have a puddle, the filler rod is too large for the material being welded and failure to use the correct tungsten size and type for the material.  Last but not least is the improper joint fit up of the base material.

Check out the TIG welding calculator available at MillerWelds.com/mobile for suggested settings. Note that all suggested settings will be approximate. Welds should be tested to comply to user specifications.

Brad Hemmert
TIG Weld Engineer

Sometimes when TIG welding, the tungsten will draw some contaimination which causes hard starting. Here, we show you one easy way to fix the problem and get a better arc start!

Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2_kWSG0RBg

Thanks,

Andy Weyenberg
Motorsports Marketing Manager

Before you fire up your plasma cutter, you have to set up the machine correctly for what you’re about to cut. First decide what power you have available; 110V or 220V. One common question we hear is, “Do I drag the tip or not?”

On thinner material, yes – you should drag the tip. On thicker material with the Spectrum® 375 X-TREME™ Plasma cutter, hold a slight gap to insure full capacity. Machines equipped with a drag cup should always be used in the drag position.

If you can’t cut through the material, you may be going too fast or you don’t have the machine turned up enough. If you see sparks going through the bottom side, you’re probably running at the correct speed.

Using a template when dragging makes cutting shapes easy, but remember that using and electrically conductive template can cause the arc to lose cutting strength or double arcing causing degraded parts life and poor cut quality.

If you’re cutting too slow the arc may go out which means you’re not completing the circuit.

Steve Hidden
Plasma Product Manager

Remember to take some time up front to identify the projects that will occupy the biggest percentage of your welding activity. This will help you determine the specific thickness of the metal you likely weld most often, and ultimately select the most suitable welder model.

Do you intend to restore an old muscle car in your garage? Will you need to weld 4130 chromoly on your race car?  Does the motorcycle you bought years ago require some fabrication?

The type of welder you use should be best suited for the specific functions you require as well as the projects will you will be working on the most. Think about your end goal and consider opportunities to expand the usefulness of your welder.  In other words, will you need more power and amperage in the future? Or, would it be best to job-out a few repairs or projects that are beyond the capabilities of your existing skill-set or the machine’s capacity?

When considering your budget, don’t forget to include costs for accessories and supplies you’ll need to operate your welder. This includes welding protection (helmet, gloves, jacket, etc.) as well as gas and consumables.

Until next time,

Andy Weyenberg
Motorsports Marketing Manager

Let’s face it. Safety is important, especially when welding. Below are a few tips to keep you safe and comfortable for those long nights in your garage.

Make sure you have a pair of welding gloves and I highly suggest sleeves, too. A pair of these will protect you from burns, hot parts, flying metal and arc rays. The rays from a welding arc will burn you faster than sitting on the beach.

Eye protection is also a must. Invest in an auto-darkening helmet for welding and have a pair of shaded safety glasses on-hand for plasma cutting. Anyone with a bad case of welder flash can tell you they would rather take a mixture of salt in the eyes.

When welding, it can get warm quick. There are some nice fresh-air breathing accessories on the market now. The Miller CoolBand™ is an integrated headgear cooling system that optimizes airflow under the hood, making it up to 8 degrees cooler while welding. I often use it when I am working long events and race tracks where we provide welding demos and offer free repairs on participants’ racecars. You wouldn’t believe the difference that fresh air makes.

In addition to the CoolBand, wearing a welder cap or beanie is nice too for soaking up sweat. A cap also adds extra protection from sparks or flying spatter when you’re welding out of position, like overhead, for example. Some of the nice beanies even cover your ears!

While multiple brands offer welding protection and accessories, you can visit MillerWelds.com for safety products like the CoolBand and other items mentioned.

Until next time, stay safe and have fun welding.

Andy Weyenberg
Motorsports Marketing Manager