aluminum welding

Spot weld within portable clamped electrodes.

You need a Spotwelding Machine

mikemahant@hotmail.com

Also PostScript to my post#1,

• You will improve quality of electric Continuity and conductance(DUE TO WELL FUSED SPOT) if you interpose a SS316Lstrip 0.2mm thk in between the electrode and the Al .foil you are about to spotweld to the thick Busbar
• Your spotwelding parameters will be(for 0.5mm Al Foil/sheet)--- Clamping force 130Kgf. Weld Current 22000 Amp RMS for 0.04second i.e. 2cycles at 50Hz.
• Also you should use a small lot of special flux . You will get that from Electric Cable-Crimping Lug/Tool Suppliers. Smear some between the thin+thick Alu. At clamping Pressure excess will squeeze out to the periphery of Electrode tip--ant wait there guarding against Air Oxygen Ingress.
• The Machine should be available from people like SciakyIndia
• If not ,ask me --I 'll tell you where to get onefrom China.

Hey Mike, do you think a soldering iron would be a possibility- since he doesn't have enough room for clamps to spot weld? and if so..should he just use the basic lead solder or is there something else that may work better? I'm trying to keep in mind the least expensive system and the easiest to train production for...including any safety concerns... it may be his answer, but would braising work better...just for conductivities sake and lack of room to maneuver? I wish we could have the situation right in front of us so we could really have a go at it....

:) hint hint lol

Where is the plant located?

Lead solder does not stick to alumium...

There was a low temp solder for alumium about 15 years ago, but i have not heard of it recently....

I liked the welding idea best....sandwiching the foil between two thicker pieces of Alu and then spot weld all together....should work well

Hi there,

If you want to weld small gauge material, don't blow your budget, just head down to your nearest grainger, harbor freight (made in china)lol and get a mig or wire welder. You don't need a really terrific welder that can handle thicker materials, such as anything over 3/8th's of an inch, and anything you buy from $150.00 to $300.00 is only going to handle aluminum foil anyway. :) Make sure you get the aluminum wire for the machine, although it usually comes with a gimme roll it's going to be for regular carbon steel. It doesn't take a certified welder to use a mig, my dog could do rather well with one. If you can melt crayons you can mig weld.

Now, answer this for me....why in the heck are you welding aluminum foil to a buss bar??? Making a po' man's slow blow? lol Hope you're buss bar is aluminum..most metals are picky about mixing. You may want to just braise if you're looking for conductivity...or try a soldering iron as a spot welder...it may work haven't had the need to try it...yet.

Have a friend that has made the comment that he could weld a chewing gum wrapper to a railroad tie in a hurricane....always wanted to see that one pulled off...hint hint.. :)

We've actually done exactly this - gone to harbor freight and got a spot welder - and it works well enough, especially for thin sheets. Got to watch the weld time though, you can blow a big hole in thin material. Good luck!

I have had good success welding .4 to .5 AL with a pulsed TIG machine. It will be difficult welding it to a thicker piece that you specify. If it is just an electrical connection, can you use an aluminum bolt and nut and cover it with no-ox? I would not recommend MIG welding.

dear Sir,

I am using this joint in Transformer winding i cannot use revits or not boalts i have to weld the material by which there will be minimum air gap . can u pl let me know what is TIG M/c and MIG welding .

regards

Pravin

Handy # 9867630001

possien has the best idea so far TIG welding is possible however it takes a skilled welder MIG is easier to run but in this instance will not work good luck

Can you give me one feasible reason why the MUCH less expensive MIG would not work?...Do you weld?

http://www.millerwelds.com/education/tech_tips/MIG_tips/aluminum_mig.php

In response to your question Do you weld? I did go to a two year welding school and have been a welder for the past 33 yrs the aluminum foil they are talking about will melt away long before your filler metal But I would be very interested in knowing if anyone can do this. I also have welded a lot of aluminum in my time.Tig welding is used for a variety of metals but is made for thinner stock not the x ray type thick stuff you refered to.

hmmmm, maybe 30 years ago MIG wasn't a welding option in your academical sector, could'nt really say..They are about the same age as far as inventions go but MIG is so much easier and precise....here see for yourself.

http://www.netwelding.com/History%20of%20Welding.htm

I am going to have to notify a few industrial project managers that the TIG rigs we've been using on the HERSIG's gas plant's we've been installing across the USA with 20 and 40 gauge aluminum, 1 to 30" diameter pipe has been the wrong system to use. Can I get a contact number so that you can help them out too?

ROTFLMAO

:)

Basically what needs to happen is a few of the previous contributors need to be flown to the area where the process is taking place where we can brain storm at the site and evaluate what's needed versus what's not plausible....since we're going to be saving your company so much money, can we come first class with expenses? :) ....ok, coach would be fine, but can we get sushi delivered to the production site where we'll be training the line?

.4? .5? he said aluminum foil....TIG is used mainly for a xray weld dealing with large gauges (can anyone say overkill?)....think about the production line...the bottom line as far as investing in these machines you are suggesting. Mig is SUPER EASY and VERY INEXPENSIVE....easy to spot weld ... Did any body remember that the weld was for conductivity? Try the use of a soldering iron with solder and/or braising with a small tipped torch head...minimal investment and on target with the final picture.

these replies have reminded me of 'Home Improvement' (Arh Arh Arh)

I don't have a pic of my dog welding yet, but I have one of her doing the cha cha while waiting on me to finish a weld. (she was thinking "I could do that")

:)

Why spend so much money when you can just clamp it?

I suggest you sandwich your aluminum foil between two pieces of bus bar. Then ask a person who has a TIG (tungsten-inert-gas) welder to make a weld for you. You can then deterrmine if you like that method. Putting the foil between two pieces of bus bar is a trick to provide better heat balance. Spot welding aluminum can be done but is tricky. Ultrasonic welding, laser welding, and others are possible, but I recommend TIG. Pulsed TIG was also a good suggestion.

Lincoln has come out with a built in spot weld timer on one of there MIG welders.

I think it is on the 180T or 180C. Not sure, but this timer module will have a manual to tell you what to set the spot weld time to based on the thickness of the metal you are using. Call Lincoln directly, their weld engineers may have a better solution for you.

Unclefastguy you've posted the best comment yet. The manufacturers are VERY helpful to thier customers, and I've experienced this firsthand. Awesome idea.

Here's the link to the Lincoln site. The 180C or T have a spot welder kit not a built in one, sorry.

180C/T:

http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.asp?p=42422

If welding is not satisfactory for the materials, why not look into stainless steel or aluminum bands? Many bands come with low-profile clamps so space and aesthetics are not compromised.

Would it be possible to post a picture (or 2) so that we can see the issue first hand? I hear it's worth a thousand words...

Wow! MIG is great and I use it everyday, however, I too have been welding for over 30 years and don't find it useful for thin aluminum. MIG starts out with a cold weld then goes hot possibly blowing through aluminum. Not always but would be very hard to control on this thin to thick scenario. TIG (GTAW) is controlled throughout the weld and with a pulsed TIG machine the current is pulsed and the frequency of the pulse is controlled to make a very nice weld on thin AL. We weld AL skin on boats and trailers and have done down to .020 in for aerospace using TIG. We have even used TIG on jewelry. You can weld down to foil thickness and up to unlimited thicknesses. The spot welding feature mentioned may not work to well on dissimilar thicknesses of aluminum. We do use it for tacking sheet metal, same thickness (all metals) prior to welding long runs. Find a welder certified in aerospace and let them run a test piece for you.

Aluminum pop-rivets.

I cannot post pictures as I am not registered with CR4, but you can see various applications for banding at www.band-it-idex.com. I don't mean to advertise on this site; I use this site to find new ideas for banding applications...