Set the welding machine correctly
After buying a welding machine, it is not possible to simply start immediately. First of all, all important safety precautions should be taken that are necessary for welding. A spark-proof environment must be created. Safety should also not be underestimated on the welder himself.
What’s important here:
- a welding gogglethe right safety clothingGlovesafe shoes
The preliminary work
Before starting work, first of all the workpiece must be cleaned from rust and dirt.
Adjusting a welding machine
Now the welding machine must be adjusted as the work progresses. The MAG welding machine is used here as an example. This requires a gas mixture for welding. The first thing to be connected is the pressure reducer, which is attached with an open-end wrench. Then the gas hose must be connected to the pressure reducer and the main valve can be opened. Sometimes a wire must be used, which is threaded through the wire feed knives.
The hose package is also attached to the central connection. Now connect the ground cable to the unit. Now the unit can be switched on and the welding step switch can be set to ten. With a simple push of a button the wire is now fed through the hose until it sticks out at the front of the torch body.
Select correct gas quantity
The amount of gas to be used depends on the thickness of the threaded cable. This means that for low-alloy steel, approximately 10 litres of gas must be used per millimetre of wire diameter. Furthermore, a distinction must be made as to whether two-stroke welding is required, which is suitable for short seams, or whether four-stroke welding should be used. Also the wire speed can sometimes be adjusted. Here it is specified how fast the wire runs out of the gas nozzle at the front.
Gas settings
In the next setting the gas pre-flow time must be configured. This is to prevent the formation of pores on the workpiece. It is recommended to use 0.1 second pre-flow time per meter of hose package. The gas post-flow time must also be set. This should be set to one to two seconds. A final setting is the wire burn-back. Here the material should not be joined to the wire from the welding machine.