Howdy,
I was talking with a friend yesterday about MIG (GMAW) welding and wire
diameters...
I've got a Lincoln SP-175+ (220v suitcase mig) that I've been running with
.030" wire and 75% Argon/25% CO2 gas. I typicaly weld stuff in the .080
to 1/8" range, with occasional forays into thinner stuff (car body panels)
and thicker stuff ( up to say 1/4").
First off, I still suck at deciding when I change wire speed and when I
change the heat (voltage?) setting. Seems like they're highly dependent
on each other.
A more specific question though... My friend was suggesting that I'd get
less spatter if I went to a .035" wire. The theory being that at the
higher heat/wire speed I'm using for ~.1" material I'm probably running a
bit too hot for the .030 wire, causing it to spatter a lot (maybe nearing
the spray arc range?).
I was figuring on just getting a small spool of .035" wire and trying it,
but wondered if anyone had any advice on this stuff. I'm specifically
wondering if .035" wire will make weld puddle control on thinner stuff
(say 16 or 18 guage) much more difficult.
Any advice?
Mark
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