Tig Cast Aluminum

[floyd1662]

3/8" Cast Alum. Hinge for a Rail Road Bell Cover. What Filler Rod? Would I be Able to weld it with a sny.180 sd? Still New at welding alum. Any Help would Be Nice...Thank You.....Floyd

[ASKANDY]

Not all cast aluminum is the same alloy but most will take to the 4043 filler. Now 3/8 is a bit on the thick side for the 180 SD. YOu may have to preheat the casting some or add helium to your gas mix.

Andy

[rb455ho]

Floyd, I had never welded cast Al until last week. I had a 5/8" thick and 2' long U clamp that cracked in two pieces. I just cleaned the [email protected]#$ out of it and ground a good size V-grove on both sides, and it welded fine. A little dirtier than ****** 6061 but has not broke yet. I did use 50% He & 50% Ar gas mix and the syn350 because of the thickness. Some additional input referenced tinning the surface check my post on tigging cast aluminum. Good luck

[Brass Monkey]

welding cast aluminum

Well this is right up my alley.I use a syncro 500 with pure argon to tig cast aluminum.I weld it all day long.I repair and tweak molds for the plastics industry.Most of the work I do is in cast aluminum.Mostly a356 aluminum.
4043 is generaly the best overall rod that I have used.But as Andy said not all castings are made from the same materials.I find a good manual clean a good v grind and a acetone wash or laquer thinner if you dont have acetone will do.Just remeber that depending on the material it is cast from it could become brittle around the weld area.I would weld that piece at 3/8ths thick at / pure argon set to 20/18 sec post flow/high freq on start at 50/start current at 2/current control at 185 to 225/polarity straight/in ac mode/ac balance on 3/crater fill set to in/with a 5/32nds zirtung or 2% thoriated tungsten/with a 1/2 to 5/8ths cup.
I use a foot pedal so I can control the heat better when using high current.
Aluminum castings can go either way, weld nice as pie or weld poorly or sometimes not at all but you will know soon after you start to run a bead.
P.S. I welded (tig) cast aluminum propellers for 12 years before I got into the molding industry.So most of the 18 years ive been welding have been on cast aluminum. I posted 2 pics of what cast aluminum(A356)welds like with 4043.But I have had castings that wouldnt weld at all too. UNLESS YOU KNOW YOUR MATERIAL USE 4043.JUST MY OPINION

[Brass Monkey]

color

Just A Little Note About 4043. If You Have Concerns About The Color of The Welment 4043 Will Be Very Bright If Ground Down It Has A Very Shiny Finish To It When Ground Down

[floyd1662]

Thanks For All The Feedback. The Pic. Were Nice Mr. Monkey. I'm off To Welders Supply To Get 50% He and 50% Ar Gas Mix. Going to Preheat Piece and Turn My Little Syn 180 Up All The Way To See If I Can Do It.