Anything welding

So, I wanted to get all your input on this and see what advice was had.

I went to weld up a set of gussets for a buddy during this "stay at home" situation and I'm not happy with the amount of splatter I'm getting. I just recently started using this welder and have had the same issue both times. Trying to figure out the problem.

I can lay a weld with it no problem and the voltage settings work fine as far as penetration goes but the splatter ruins the finished product. I've messed with voltage output, wire feed, gas flow... Kind of irritating me at this point. Any thoughts? Using Mig mix with .035" wire.

First attempt


Second attempt with the voltage turned up.

 

One of the things that I overlook is the contact tip. I don't think about them being bad. I change the tip just because its been so long since I changed one.

I'm amazed at the improvement of weld presentation. A new tip will improve the weld.

 

Just changed the contact tip the first time I used this machine. Only been used for one job.

 

Might sound silly but is the polarity set up correctly?

Have you tried using anti spatter spray? That stuff works wonders for me

 

Not so much. My dryer is 3 prong, and the lights work on 120. Its just a matter of connecting the neutral and one of the legs. Driers can be wired to a 4 or 3 prong plug, its just a difference in wiring at the back of the drier.

The fourth wire is ground, and its there for safety.

The important thing here is to make sure that if the welder has a dedicated ground wire that it is wired to ground, because it was designed around the assumption that the ground wire is grounded. It won't matter during normal operation, but if something goes wrong, you'll want it connected.

 

Not silly at all! That was one of the checks I did do. I did try the spray, and it does seem to work for splatter but the surrounding area to the weld get idk, burnt? Nothing a layer of paint can't fix.

 

yeah man, weird. Can’t really think of any other reason that would be happening

 

I did a little reading and was thinking wire feed could be an issue. Tried a few different settings with little noticeable effect. Maybe the wire I'm using isn't worth a damn?

 

Have you tried pulling the contact tip cup out a bit? Maybe some weird gas deposit thing going on?

 

Just what machine ??

Just what brand wire ?

Has your gas cylinder been sitting long enough the blend separated and your drawing straight CO2??

 

what kind of wire?

 

The contact shield did seem a bit short for the setup. I messed with it a little and it almost seemed to get worse. Maybe I can try a different cup next time.

 

I would be looking into the how the wire is feeding and wire speed. What are your settings at now?

 

Prostar S6 .035"

How the wire is feeding? Like if the wire cable is not allowing the wire to feed well?

Ranged from 6/55 to 5/45. I have noticed that I like to run my wire feed a little slower (45) for most applications. Obviously depends on what I'm working on.

 

same wire I use and it doesn’t give me problems

 

Interesting. So it's not my welder. It's a friend's who was letting me use it but the first thing he said to me when I originally set up was he's always had this issue with that welder. I was hoping to figure it out so I could pass the solution along to him.

 

Is the liner running from the machine to the mig gun kinked? Did the cable get run over, something dropped on it or is it just bend tight?

 

Kinda looks to me like its not getting hot enough - maybe there's a high resistance connection somewhere in the circuit limiting the current. How does the ground clamp look?

 

I honestly don't have an answer to that as I don't know the history but... not that I noticed. Everything checked out. I've had feeding issues before and this is not that. It burns well and consistent, just doesn't look good after.

That is something I haven't looked into. Ground clamp looks pretty rough actually. Not as bad as some of the pics I've seen on here but it's definitely had better days. Could that be something that causes splatter?

 

Could it be as simple as too much stick out?