ARC WELDING MACHINE AND METAL TRANSFER

Different welding parameters and the forces acting on the molten droplet play characteristic roles with specific welding processes. The case of the coated electrodes, MIG Welding Machine-both with solid and flux cored wires and SAW Welding Machine are of special interest due to the important and extensive use of these processes in the welded fabrications.

Metal Transfer in Arc Welding Machine (SMAW)

The drop transfer is a good way of characterising the mode of the metal transfer for any particular process and as it is relatively easy to measure, experimental data are easily available.

The possible explanation for this is that the transfer may be of the explosive type when insufficient amounts of silicon and manganese are added to the electrode coating and this generates small droplets with high rate of metal transfer. On the other hand with fully deoxidised electrode, the droplets are relatively large, of the order of 1 mm diameter, and the metal transfer rate is low at about 10 droplets per second.

Due to low current densities employed is Arc welding machine, the metal transfer takes place mainly by three modes viz, short-circuit, globular, and projected spray. However, for any given current density transfer from coated electrodes is at a higher rate than that for MIG Welding Machine or SAW Welding Machine which is consistent with the fact that the general characteristics of transfer with coated electrode differs from that with bare wire processes.

In welding machine with coated electrodes it has also been observed the weld penetration is equal to the cavity formed in the weld pool due to the arc forces. In this process the current density is too low to produce an electromagnetic jet, and the gas flow takes place mainly as a consequence of the decomposition of the electrode coatings and to a limited extent due to the chemical reactions of the core wire material at the high temperature of the arc. Also, if the electrodes are baked at a temperature high enough to drive off all volatile material, it renders them unusual which points to the fact that in normal operation the metal droplets are carried across the arc in the gas flow generated by the decomposition of the coating. The intensity of the gas stream in Arc Welding Machine (SMAW) increases with coating thickness such that it becomes quite strong with heavily coated electrodes making them to fit for use as cutting electrodes for metals.

In Arc Welding Machine (SMAW) it is possible to make satisfactory welds with 3 mm diameter electrode at 50 to 120 A while in MIG Welding Machine the same sized wire needs 200 to 250A for its successful operation. The only possible explanation for this anomaly is that the gas flow and hence the arc flow is provided in Arc Welding Machine (SMAW) by the decomposition of the coating whereas in MIG Welding Machine , it is dependent on the electro-magnetically included jet which becomes effective only at relatively higher currents.