In our previous article we mentioned that a customer was inquiring about running their 98% argon / 2% carbon dioxide (98/2) shielding gas on mild steel. This gas is used on stainless as it maintains the amount of reactive gas (in this case CO2) under 3%. Our quick answer was “yes, you can weld carbon […]
The majority of troubleshooting calls we receive regarding the GMAW (mig) process has to do with erratic wire feeding. This problem disguises itself in many forms, from bad looking welds to lack of penetration. Sometimes the effects of poor feeding are obvious and easily corrected. However, sometimes these effects are not easy to troubleshoot and […]
Our previous article discussed the importance of having a specification for weld quality. In this article we’re talking about the importance of one of its basic components: Welding Procedure Specifications (WPSs). Many fabricators don’t have WPSs. They rely in the experience of their welders to select the right parameters. As much as we want every […]
Porosity is a weld discontinuity that is not as detrimental to structural integrity as cracks, undercut, overlap and lack of fusion. However, it is unsightly and when painted it becomes an eye sore. Because it does not have sharp ends, porosity does not propagate like a crack. The reason for limits to the amount of […]
We receive several calls about welding stainless and the beautiful rainbow colors, or lack thereof, on the weld and heat affected zone. Is the tinting an indication of quality? Are these colors acceptable? Do they show that the weld had enough heat to penetrate? Why do they need to be cleaned? The questions are endless. […]
In our previous two articles we talked about categorizing cracks based on when they occur and in which direction they propagate. Today on our third and final article on understanding why your welds crack we look at the importance of location. If you want to review or if you missed our previous two articles simply […]
In our previous post we discussed categorizing cracks based on when they occur. If you missed this you can read it at Understanding Why Welds Crack: Timing. As discussed in this previous article, cracks can and should be categorized based on three criteria: Timing – did the crack occur immediately after welding (hot crack), did […]
Maintenance-related problems are responsible for a large portion of bad welds in every day welding. However, these causes go unnoticed and unresolved because they happen slowly over time. A proper preventive maintenance program for welding machines, CNC cutting tables and other industrial equipment is absolutely necessary. Many of the problems related to maintenance that cause […]
Galvanizing is the application of a zinc coating to a ferrous material. It is done to prevent, or at the very least delay corrosion. The zinc coating can be applied in many different ways including but not limited to hot-dipping, metal spray and electrodeposition. Similar to galvanized steel is galvanneal steel. Galvanneal is the process […]
Cracks on welds are never good. Welding codes always have allowances for porosity, undercut, weld sizes, and even weld profiles. However, there is never an allowance for cracks. Being a linear discontinuity, a crack will tend to propagate through the weld and into the base metal with relative ease, especially in cyclically loaded structures. So […]
