How to: Aluminum welding with Miller 180

[sosoe]

Ive got a Millermatic 180 that I purchased a couple months ago, and I want to know whats needed to weld aluminum with this welder. As in gas(s), wire, and do I need a spool gun as well?
I know It can weld up to 1/4inch(6.4mm) and the minimum of 18ga.(1.2mm) which I found out on that info on the Miller site.
Ill be welding some aluminum at the shop in the near future, but not a lot. More for a hobby on aluminum than anything else. So if anyone can tell me whats needed to start welding I'd appreciate it. TIA.

[turbostang]

I'll start out by saying I've never done aluminum MIG welding, but been around it a few times.

You will need a spool gun - the aluminum wire can't be pushed through long lengths of the liner without binding up and breaking, hence the reason the spool gun is at the end of the liner.

Gas, I'm not sure of, but I bet it comes up on a google search.

As for what the welder says it can weld, like "up to 1/4" - remember those are guidelines and pretty generous in most cases. With aluminum, it's probably way different...again, not totally familiar with a spool gun characteristics.

[Baron Von Crowder]

I have welded aluminum with a spool gun, and found that the difference in globing bubble gum looking welds on and burning through was a very fine line.

The type of machine played a huge difference. The regular welder we used would not adjust fine enough to work well but the body/sheet metal one had several types of adjustments that would help.

[sosoe]

I'll start out by saying I've never done aluminum MIG welding, but been around it a few times.

You will need a spool gun - the aluminum wire can't be pushed through long lengths of the liner without binding up and breaking, hence the reason the spool gun is at the end of the liner.

Gas, I'm not sure of, but I bet it comes up on a google search.

As for what the welder says it can weld, like "up to 1/4" - remember those are guidelines and pretty generous in most cases. With aluminum, it's probably way different...again, not totally familiar with a spool gun characteristics.

Ok cool, So I got the spool gun right, And as well I will Google the gas and ask around where to buy some wire for it. Those guidelines is what it can weld for aluminum, stated on the miller site. I know the thickness is a lot different then welding steel.

[mjm8850]

If you already have the spool gun, the .035 4043 wire will work well on most stuff. If you don't have a spool gun, go with the .035 5356 wire as it is more stiff and will not bird nest as easily trying to feed (you still need to make sure your cable and gun are held as straight as possible). I always run straight argon gas. Pre-heating is a must to get good penetration.

[black50]

i remember using a spool gun to weld aluminum in high school ag class..

Thank god for grinders

[donnie90stang]

You will do fine once you get it set and running good. Just be sure to clean both pieces to be welded really well. I use a stainless wire brush initially, then denatured alcohol to finish the job.

[Up0n0ne]

Looking at the Millermatic 180 or 211. How are you liking the 180?

[sosoe]

Looking at the Millermatic 180 or 211. How are you liking the 180?

It does good. I bought this welder from my pops co-worker who was buying the 211, I think its a nice machine(211) because you can use it as 115 Volt or 230. It does good for what I use it for, But having the 115V would have been cool as well. No regrets on this welder yet.

[gravygraber]

I have done alot of welding with a spool gun. Chevy body shops have to have one now to repair Covettes. They recomend a pulse machine.

Once you have it set up with the spool gun and wire, use 100 % argon for all aluminum. Preheating work for the thicker stuff, but sheet metal it is optional. Be careful on the thin stuff and pre-heating, it can make it to soft and blow out easy.

Setting will vary, you will just have to burn up some metal and see what works best for you. Once you get it set right and practice a bit you can lay down some nice welds.

[futant]

as much as i can totally see this working ok with a spool gun and 100% argon....
seems like borrowing a tig from someone would be so much easier.

[gravygraber]

The spool gun will work much like mig welding. Many find it easier than tig welding. It comes down to what is your comfort level and what tools you have to work with.

[assetuncon]

Most welding machines can be modified to weld just about anything. the basis of a welder is a transformer - from there you can modify it to how you want. In college i helped modify a Hobart Ironman to weld aluminum with a spoolgun - just takes a little time and patience.

If your just starting to learn aluminum, i recommend AC - DC is a bit difficult, but very doable. Your other limitation is going to be your duty cycle, depending on which 180 you have - the ones i looked up have duty cycles of 35% @ 135- aluminum needs alot of heat as it disipates the heat faster than steel.

For your unit, your just going to need the spool-gun attachment and argon - depending on what your welding i recommend a flow between 15-25CFM - dont crank up the gas as if you have too much it will cause air to be drawn into the weldzone and cause distortions or problems. spool guns are great and a lot of fun once you get a little practice with them. they are also great for body work as they work just like a mig gun, you basically make a tack and can work and fill holes as you go.

The main advantage of a spoolgun is speed, when doing any mass producing or anything where there is a lot to weld the spoolgun wins hands down. If your trying to be precise or make it look good, TIG is where you want to go.

Once you get into tig, there are a world of options, you can go as simple as a scratch start modified tombstone, to a wave creating, pulsing, and highfrequency controlled machine with either a foot pedal or hand rheostat.