TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 802/2004
Stephen Mulligan assesses recent developments in MAG power source equipment and the effect on gap tolerances in thin sheet steel welds.
Background
Traditionally, high productivity arc welding of thin sheet steel is performed using the Metal Active Gas (MAG) process operating in the dip transfer mode. Conventionally this is performed using a transformer-rectifier power source. However, there are a number of factors limiting productivity with conventional dip transfer technology on thin sheet materials.
Inverter-based equipment with improved control over metal transfer dynamics and arc stability has been developed which offers the potential for improved characteristics for pulsed and dip transfer.
Objective
To compare a number of MAG process variants with conventional dip transfer for tolerance to gaps in thin sheet steel lap joint applications.