Micro TIG welders

[Blender]

Originally Posted by ddmckee54

Blender:

What gage aluminum were you trying to weld? Lack of penetration seems to be typical with these little welders, but then they are designed to weld REALLY itty-bitty stuff.

I watched a video of a guy repairing a ring that had either been broken or sawn off. He filed a vee in the break almost to the bottom, then started filling the gap with repeated passes using an Orion to weld in a REALLY fine gold wire as a filler. He had steadier hands than mine ever would be.

I'm guessing that because the weld cycle is so short, and you can only get about 1 weld per second, that the heat doesn't have a chance to build up in the part?

Don

1mm .040" 6061 aluminum. No filler since I cant find 6061 wire small enough. Tried Er4043 .030" MiG filler, but it's a bit too big to melt evenly. Best results have a crack across the weld which is super weak and is related to cooling. Been reading a bit and aluminum is one of the hardest materials to weld on these. Stainless is the easiest. I'm going to ask Sunstone if they have any tips for aluminum.

Machine will do up to 3 welds per second. Parts stay cool to the touch since the heat is so localized. Been welding all the parts barehanded while my fingers are within a half inch of the electrode.

1.2mm 18ga low carbon steel at 70J:

Super easy and look very tidy. Couldn't pull the pieces apart even with a partial bead

[9W Monighan]

Welds look very nice.

How about drawing some 4043 wire down smaller in diameter yourself?
Or try to contact one of the wire manufacturers and see if they could run you some smaller. There's a place; Wisconsin Wire Works if my memory is correct. They had some different alloys available when I was looking for the correct Bronze wire I use for mig welding CDA385 architectural bronze.