MIG Welding for Jewelry

Laser sounds good, I don't know the costs involved. Have you considered TIG instead of MIG? MIG isn't as clean as TIG and it would be much harder to get the ultra clean welds you'd want for jewelry. Not only that, I can't imagine how hard it would be to get spools of gold and silver wire you'd need to operate the welder. I think MIG welding jewelry would be like trying to cut diamonds with a sledgehammer. Just my opinion, of course.

Hi,

Laser welding has a problem that the reflectivity of precious metals is very high below 500°C.

So to achieve a good laser-weld it is necessary either to blacken the surface or use a pulse-forming power-supply that enables a very short initial start with 2 to 3 times the welding power.

I tried on copper with NdYAG, spot welds up to 0.5mm diameter were possible with 3J energy delivered in 1 to 10ms.

Your approach may be better (more cost efficient although many jewelry makers now torn to lasers).

As thin stainless steel tubes are welded micro-plasma burners - ordinary TIG not good - I assume that this will be good for your need too. But equipment is heavy, so have a look.

RHABE

TIG welders are available which turn down as low as 1 amp, we use them for edge welding stainless & nickel steels as thin as 0.1mm. If I get a chance I'll see if I can get a manufacturers name.

MIG is definitely out I would say on cost of wire alone, very wasteful. TIG is possible I would imagine, finer and better controlled I am told, though I have not personally done any....but I am still skeptical, maybe for really huge & heavy gold pieces. Though is the gas needed? Probably not.....

A Fiber Laser might be worth looking at as I am told that with FL, reflection is less of a problem......but if its possible, then its already being done somewhere right now.....but this will be the "far less wasteful" of the precious metals methods, if it actually works that is!

My ex wife was a Jeweller and she had a machine that used (distilled?)water and electricity to make Oxygen & Hydrogen by electrolosis. The gases were burnt together this gave a very hot small flame that fused gold or silver very quickly with little of no color change or other damage. Very controllable and easy use. The amount of current passed through the water gave the size of the flame....The flame could be set from about 2mm long to over 1 cm....

Spot welding may be a futher method that might be good, but the high conductivity may cause problems when making more than one join.......perhaps someone could enlighten us all?

ESAB and Lincoln amongst others produce both mig a tig machines for Jewellery however, a dental supply company can furnish you with a complete range of equipment for the work you are doing including miniature oxy acetelyne and inert gas cabinets ( you will save heaps on gas using a cabinet)