Arc welding mig and tig entails fusing a filler metal with the materials being joined.
How to tig weld sheet metal without warping dvd.
Then as the bead cools and solidifies it contracts but by this time the metal pieces are fused together.
The weld wants to shrink as it cools to room temperature but is restrained from doing so by the adjacent cold base metal.
When welding steel this weld bead is laid down at around 2 500 f 1 370c.
Learn why mig pulsed mig tig and pulsed tig are the ideal choices when welding sheet metal.
How to weld auto body sheet metal with a tig welder.
Ditch a 1 8 inch tungsten electrode for something much smaller like 1 16 inch tungsten.
Keep in mind during the welding process it is important to direct the arc right at the center of the weld puddle and don t do movements like whipping or weaving as it may cause warping and burn through quickly.
If you re welding thinner materials like automotive sheet metal it is more critical that you keep the heat to a minimum when welding.
In this video i did a bunch of weld tests on sheet metal to see how much it would warp by the different styles of mig welding.
This restraint creates high residual tensile stress that causes the weld to act like a stretched rubber band with the workpiece holding the ends figure 1 for this reason when the clamps that hold the workpiece are removed the base metal is allowed to move or spring.
Tack welds stitch welds then.
The best two electrodes for welding auto body sheet metal is either ceriated tungsten or thoriated tungsten.
Tig welding is an excellent example of the less is more premise producing strength without adding mass and mess.
Tig welding is preferred where practical because it is neater and cleaner than mig welding which introduces new material into the weld joint.
Top ways to keep metal from warping when welding.
When welding thin metal the main objective is to avoid warping burn through and excessive heat affected zones while still ensuring the weld has enough mechanical strength for the application.
Mattm warped metal when welding is a constant struggle we all deal with regardless of thickness of the material.
The more metal inserted into a joint the more susceptible it is to distortion.