I bought this Lincoln 3200 welder but the only instructions is a video tape. I need a little advice on how to set the controls for Mig welding.



Any input appreciated.

Mark

 

Mark,

Essentially, you have two controls you’re looking at. A-D is your voltage control. It taps your transformer as various stages to control your current. 1-10 is your wire speed. There will be overlap between the taps using your wire adjustment, wire thickness as well as distance between arc and material so there is more then one setting that will work.

It looks like as I attempt to read the data, you've got a 90A welder that runs at a 20% duty cycle. Depending on what you plan on welding, will determine how fast you'll grow out of it. For every 10 minutes, if you don't have auto protection circuitry on it, you need to stop welding after 2 minutes of weld or you risk burning out the transformer (this would be running the unit at the max 90A setting).

General rule to follow for proper penetration is 1 amp for every .001 of material. For example, .125 (1/8th inch) needs 125 amps. I'm not certain if the machine uses .024 or .030 wire...probably .024 I’m assuming. This is fine for smaller thickness material, but .030 will work better for your thicker work.
Wire speed as well as distance will also vary your adjustability.

Each tap is ~22.5A. Your machine is good for 1/16 material, but a bit small for 1/8th; you may need to pre-heat your material to get proper penetration in the material, especially due to the inherent deficiency of cold-start-mig-welding.

A good starting point for 1/16 for example may be set the tap at point "C", and wire speed possibly at "6". There are other variables of what to set the machine at....fillet welds need additional amps, maybe 20%, butt welds maybe 20% less...the material your welding also will effect what amps you need. You're going to have to play with it. If you have someone that can suggest to you by looking at a weld, what to change...that would be a good idea. It may take a good bit of frustration out of welding if your a novice.

Mig welding is a pretty simple process and relatively easy to learn.

Welcome to the world of welding! Get a GOOD helmet that is auto darkening and adjustable. Your eyes will thank you as well as a smoother work environment. Make certain you wear clothes that cover your skin; you can and WILL get good sunburn if you’re not careful. If your not in a well ventilated area, wear a respirator. If you looked at the MSDS's, you may not want to weld without at minimum a good ventilated area. Be especially careful welding w/coated metals i.e. galvanized, lead and cadmium plated as these will release very toxic fumes, you should remove these coatings first.

Good luck and happy welding!

Steve

 

sounds like you have a thing or 2 to learn about welding Steve.........NOT! i'm very interested myself in learning how to weld one of these days. i see it so much on tv now that i just want to dig into it.

Dave

 

moving to proper section

 

Thanks, Steve. I have already used it some with inner shield wire. I have an auto dark helmet. Been practicing in some scrap 1/8th angle I have. I learned to weld years ago with oxy/acetelyne torch so I'm somewhat familiar with what proper penitration looks like. I must say it's a heck of alot easier with the wire feed than using the torch & filler rods. What about line pressure for the gas?

 

Depending on your cup ~15-20 cfh. Next step is tig. Once you mastered mig :-).

We use a miller syncrowave 250DX w/pulser/sequencer and cooler for our tig.

 

Thanks for all the advice. Here's a pic of some practice I did today. The weld in the center was yesterday, straight wire feed welding w/inner core. The outside ones are this afternoon with the gas & L56 wire.

There was a brownish powdery film around the welds. is that ok?

 

It will take practice. Make sure the metal is clean b4 you weld. It looks like it has paint on it or rusty. Need more penatration on the butt weld. The metal may be a bit thick for the welder.

The outer welds you moved too slow or slow down the wire-feed, too much build up, probably not enough penetration either...I can't tell from the picture.

Stick with using gas, not flux.

 

The brown film is the flux from the core of the wire it protects the weld while your welding, flux core is good for anything but has the tendency to blow out a little or cause porrosity in the weld. that welder can weld thicker stuff no problem just turn down the wire speed a little crank the amps up all the way and slow down your traverse. i just welded some 1/4 in gussets onto a spindle a couple of weeks ago i know that thoes things aren't going anywhere. but for the best welds you need to use a TIG which are like $2000 and very complicated to use well.

 

Roll bar time....

 

Not with that machine. I would never recommend welding a roll bar with a 110v Mig welder, not to mention by someone who just bought a new welder and is learning the basics.

While a Mig bead may look good on the outside, it could be a bad weld underneath with poor fusion/penetration. The bad thing about mig is it will put down material even if your base metal isn't fusing properly. While it's easy to point and shoot and THINK your making good welds, I feel it takes a very long time to actually understand the process and truly realize what is a good weld and what isn't.


For roll bars, being a critical safety item, I highly recommend using a 220v machine being used my an experienced weldor. Small 110v machines lack the power for good penetration plus they don't "wet in" the weld start/stops nearly as well. Once you use a really good 220v machine, you'll easily see a difference going back to a small 110v machine.

Now, if you want to fit a cage/bar and tack it in, that's fine, then have an experienced weldor weld it in for good.

Sorry for being preachy for my first post here, but I hate to see bad info given on welding a roll bar cage...your life could depend on the structural integrity of these welds.

 

Where you hangin out now, Tyson? I might need to hookup & get some help. Got a Wolf 6pt chrome moly, jig notched w/swing outs should be here real soon.

 

It's OK on the preachy stuff, I've already come to the conclusion that my skill level & equipment are not up to the task. I can envision (god forbid) situations where the improperly installed roll bar even becomes a safety detrement (tube coming apart & impaling me or something).

 

A Tig welder is very easy to use, you just need a couple steady hands and some practice. Tig welding isn’t always the best choice either because of the thickness of the material or the time it takes to tig vs. mig of stick. When was the last time you saw a bridge being tig welded together?
Good luck with the welding.

F.Y.I. I would DOUBLE check before welding chromemoly, I believe there is a specific filler material that needs to be used.

 

I'm not gonna mess with it, I'll have my man Tyson do it.

 

i meant for these type of applications TIG is the best both structurally and visually, and i know bridges are high arc stick welded with many layers of weld.

 

---------------------------

Hi Steve10,

Any problems with you 250DX ?

Dave k
KTS race Cars