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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Millermatic 250

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Jim/IN

07-29-2007 15:59:57




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Okay, I'll admit I'm not the world's best welder. I was brought up on a Lincoln AC225 like a lot of people, and just recently started using a Millermatic 250 at work. Never use a MIG before. The plant engineer looked at a machine frame I was fabricating out of 2" square, 1/4" wall tubing, and declared I was the best welder in the plant. I just have a terrible problem with splatter. It takes me longer to do the post weld cleanup than it does to do the beveling and welding. I've got a feeling that the problem is in the wire speed, but I don't really have much time or material to experiment. Any suggestions? Jim.

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NC Wayne

07-29-2007 21:35:31




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 Re: Millermatic 250 in reply to Jim/IN, 07-29-2007 15:59:57  
Used to work in a shop building truck service bodies and spatter was the worst problem we ever had. We tried different gasses, wires, etc etc etc to prevent it because cleanup took valuable time and appearance was a BIG issue. Nothing we tried ever worked to a big enough degree to make it worthwhile. That said, if your wire speed was too high or low you'd know it by the look of the weld, if you were burning too hot or cold you'd know it by the look of the weld. Since your welds look good enough to earn you the title of best welder in the plant then your settings can't be off enough to be causing a problem like your describing...unless the other guys simply have no clue how to weld and yours welds just don't look "as bad"...LOL.... Seriously, no matter what your welding, MIG in any mode other than spray arc is gonna create some spatter, no way around it and depending on the material your welding as to how much of a problem it's gonna be. By that I mean cold rolled material tends to be "cleaner" and catch spatter more than hot rolled, galvaniel (sp?) tends create spatter as well as to catch it, oils on the metal from production can cause spatter along with various other contaminants. If the items your welding need to have a spatter free finish then your best bet is to hit the welding supply house and get some spray on spatter shield. It won't cut out the sticking spatter 100%, there always seem to be a few pieces that are hot enough to stick regardless, but it'll keep 98% of it from sticking and cut out alot of cleanup on your part. The kind I use comes from National Welders and is in a can with light and dark green markings (sorta like the National logo). Can't remember the name off the top of my head but it's pretty good stuff. Good luck.

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135 Fan

07-29-2007 16:59:14




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 Re: Millermatic 250 in reply to Jim/IN, 07-29-2007 15:59:57  
Is this a new machine? Perhaps with digital meters? A lot of Mig machines will have a chart on them giving approximate wire feed and voltage settings. Look inside where the wire is. What shielding gas are you using? CO2 will have more spatter. If you have digital meters you want around 18 volts and 120 amps as a rough measure if using .035 wire which is the most common. You can fine tune from there. If you don't have meters, one thing that a lot of people confuse is about turning up the heat. Turning up the voltage does not turn up the heat but more voltage makes for a wider flatter bead. Wire speed controls heat (amps). Set your voltage about mid way and just play with the wire speed until you get the smoothest sounding weld. Sometimes just the slighest little change will make a world of difference. Usually that is when you get the least spatter. If it seems like it is just blowing spatter out, turn the volts down. You'll probably have to turn the wire speed down as well as they both affect each other. Also make sure the wire is feeding smoothly and there is some pull on the wire reel. It needs to have a slight drag on it so the tension on the wire stays consistant. Also make sure the nozzle isn't all plugged up with spatter. Set your flow meter to about 30 CFH. Too much shielding gas flow can contribute to more spatter and is wasteful. With MIG always weave the arc side to side to make sure the puddle washes in on both sides. MIG is more prone to cold lap than other welding methods. A MM 250 is a good machine so all it should take is some practice and experimenting. A good MIG weld shouldn't need any clean up. Spatter spray and/or nozzle dip help a lot with spatter as well. Hope this helps. Dave

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Greg_Ky

07-29-2007 16:37:39




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 Re: Millermatic 250 in reply to Jim/IN, 07-29-2007 15:59:57  
Check your gas and gas flow - 20cfh of 75/25 or 80/20. remove the nozzle and make sure that you do not have the gas ports plugged with spatter. Check to see if the wire is rusty and feeding through the gun liner OK. Check gun polarity. If everything is OK play with the voltage and wire feed speed it should have a nice "sizzle" when they are set correctly.HTH



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