Minimum Sheet Metal Thickness For Welding

Wire size amperage range.

Minimum sheet metal thickness for welding.

General guidelines are helpful. The minimum distance between tabs is equal to the material thickness or 1 00 mm 0 04 inch whichever is greater. 0 023 diameter wire 30 amps to. Except that the weld size need not exceed the thickness of the thinner part joined.

Base metal thickness essential variable summary. This may help you standardize on one or 2 wire sizes for most of your work. 6 35 mm thick down to about 0 020 in. The main effect of the base material thickness is that as the thickness increases so the speed at which heat is removed from the weld increases.

For asme ix and as3992 if the coupon is thicker than 16mm then the minimum thickness qualified is 15mm. Minimum size for cyclically loaded structure shall be 3 16in 5mm. The pulsed arc method is appropriate for sheet down to 0 048 in. In contrast tig can be used to weld sheet as thin as 0 005 in.

Aws d1 1 also takes a similar approach. The minimum width is equal to two times the material thickness or 3 200 mm whichever is greater while the maximum length is five times the width. You are requested to consult those articles. I had difficulty welding two different thicknesses of metal together i was blowing through the thinner metal so i ran the arc along the thicker metal until it ran and then ran beads until the hot metal touched the thinner metal and made a final pass to stick the thinner metal to the thicker without heating it so much i blew through.

It goes without saying that smaller wire is use for thinner sheet metal while larger diameter wire is used for heavier plate. Mig with short circuiting metal transfer is recommended for steels from about 0 250 in. So if you are welding 12 gauge mild steel with a thickness of 0 100 you would set the machine at 100 amps. You need to stay within these parameters.

Many researchers have reported successful friction stir welding on sheets less than 2 mm.