worms and porosity

[buds207]

First time post, and unfortunately I wish I it was to say look at these awesome welds, but that is not the case.

I am currently doing a job for a tooling company that needs heat treat baskets. The material is normal cold rolled 14 gauge (.078) steel that is perforated .25, .5 on centers.

The problem is that the welds suck! I have tried voltage and wire speed up and down the dial, and I have checked gas flow. Here are some specs...
Gas Flow at 25. Wire speed-35, Voltage-3, I am using er-70s (.035) wire, and my welder is a Miller (is there any other?) 175. I did the trouble shooting on the website and none of the solutions seem to help. You can actually watch the weld puddle solidify and everything looks great until the last tip of the puddle hardens and that is where I get porosity or tracks.

I know that I shouldn't be using .035 wire for such thin metal but the job came in and I didn't have time to get other wire, but I really don't think that is the porosity problem.

I have included pics. Thanks for you help guys, I know that you love to trouble shoot I have learned a lot from others problems, I just didn' want to be one of those guys.

[crawler]

When you get to the end of the bead, let go of the trigger for a second and hit the trigger once to fill in the hole. I hope this makes sense.

[abprt]

Porosity in welds

First time post, and unfortunately I wish I it was to say look at these awesome welds, but that is not the case.

I am currently doing a job for a tooling company that needs heat treat baskets. The material is normal cold rolled 14 gauge (.078) steel that is perforated .25, .5 on centers.

The problem is that the welds suck! I have tried voltage and wire speed up and down the dial, and I have checked gas flow. Here are some specs...
Gas Flow at 25. Wire speed-35, Voltage-3, I am using er-70s (.035) wire, and my welder is a Miller (is there any other?) 175. I did the trouble shooting on the website and none of the solutions seem to help. You can actually watch the weld puddle solidify and everything looks great until the last tip of the puddle hardens and that is where I get porosity or tracks.

I know that I shouldn't be using .035 wire for such thin metal but the job came in and I didn't have time to get other wire, but I really don't think that is the porosity problem.

I have included pics. Thanks for you help guys, I know that you love to trouble shoot I have learned a lot from others problems, I just didn' want to be one of those guys.

Try going to a smaller wire for welding. You might be using too much voltage on the work just to melt the .035. There might also be dirt on the underside. Travel a little faster could help too.

[pullerguy]

Try pushing the puddle rather than pulling it. That should help you out.

[arrowside]

Your either not getting adequate coverage from your shielding gas, or else that material is contaminated from the oils used in the punching process, or both. Are you sure that there isn't a draft taking your gas away? Are you sure that your regulator is o.k.?


Welding on that perforated stuff can be a nightmare because even though you dusted off the surface, every little ledge on every little hole is still holding oil from the punch. If you determine that your gas flow is o.k., try taking a torch to the seams before you weld them, to cook off the oil.