Aluminum

[Antonio Romero]

Hello Andy
First time user. I have a problem when I spot weld aluminum, well actually when it comes back from plating ( alodine ) the area that I spotted is all black, can you give me some input on what maybe causing this.

Best regard

Antonio

[dseman]

Re: Aluminum

Originally posted by Antonio Romero
Hello Andy
First time user. I have a problem when I spot weld aluminum, well actually when it comes back from plating ( alodine ) the area that I spotted is all black, can you give me some input on what maybe causing this.

Best regard

Antonio

Well, I'm not Andy, but I'll see if I can help anyways. The selection of your filler metal must be matched properly with the base metal if you plan to anodize or alodine afterwards. For example, if you were welding 6061 you would want to use a 5356 filler and not 4043--otherwise the anodized weld bead would appear black. What alloy of AL are you welding? Are you tig spot welding by adding a dab of filler, or are you fusion welding? It sounds as if this is for an aviation project if you are alodining. Could it be a 3xxx series alloy?

-dseman

[paulrbrown]

dseman, not to be a grammer expert, but Tig welding is fusion welding, so is stick,mig,oxyfuel,plasma,electron beam,.....I think you were refering to Spot Resistance????Anyway good comment about filler material, what I have read, matching filler for anodizing can be tricky, I am sure others out there will have more info, Antonio, this is a great place to learn lots of good stuff, you may find yourself hanging out here a few times a day, Welcome to the forum, Paul

[dseman]

Originally posted by paulrbrown
dseman, not to be a grammer expert, but Tig welding is fusion welding, so is stick,mig,oxyfuel,plasma,electron beam,.....I think you were refering to Spot Resistance????Anyway good comment about filler material, what I have read, matching filler for anodizing can be tricky, I am sure others out there will have more info, Antonio, this is a great place to learn lots of good stuff, you may find yourself hanging out here a few times a day, Welcome to the forum, Paul

I meant autogenous, as in welding without the addition of a filler metal.