Gathering tools and supplies Welding stainless steel specifically using MIG method requires particular tools and materials to finish the task. Welding machine — this machine is essential for producing reliable and solid stainless steel welds.
For a MIG welding machine , it is vital to look for parts such as welding gun and sample welding wire. Welding gun — as mentioned above, welding machines usually come with a welding gun. For finer control and specific tasks, the welding gun can be upgraded. Gun liner — this tool protects the welding gun. It also allows welders to switch between various types of metal wire for particular welding jobs.
Wire feeder — this device is only needed if the project requires a lot of welding or if someone is working in a specialised facility. Welding wire — an appropriate welding wire for stainless steel should be used. You should check the welding machine or dedicated wire feeder to know what welding wire to be used. Cleaning brush — to help prepare the workpiece for a better and durable weld, a metal cleaning and scraping brush is needed.
Shielding gas — a combination of argon, helium and carbon dioxide can be used as shielding gas. Tips for welding stainless steel To ensure a safe and long-lasting stainless steel welding, here are some useful tips that you can follow.
Make sure to clean the surfaces of stainless steel prior to welding Stainless steel is prone to contamination by high-carbon steels and other metals. Prepare the tools needed Getting a good weld means starting the process right each time. Select filler material that is similar to the welded metals Choosing the right filler material is important to maintain the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel.
Work in a well-ventilated area It is recommended to work in an open garage to provide welders plenty of ventilation. Wear the right personal protective equipment PPE In any welding jobs, it is crucial to wear suitable personal protective clothing. Click to share it or make comments below! Subscribe to Blog Updates. Subscribe to Email Updates. We never spam you with unwanted advertisement and never share your emails with 3rd parties.
Recent Posts. Instead, resistance welding uses pressure to bind the two materials being welded together. Using resistance welding also reduces the risk of discoloration and burns around the weld site because a resistance-type stainless steel welding machine operates so quickly. When welding stainless steel to other metals, other types of welding should be considered than resistance welding.
When combining dissimilar metals together, such as welding stainless steel to carbon steel, a filler material is needed to bind the two metals. In MIG welding , a continuously-fed electrode wire melts into the weld, enabling two dissimilar metals to be joined without heating them to their melting points. A filler must be used since the melting points of the two dissimilar metals may be very different.
For instance, if one of the metals is overheated to reach the melting point of the other one, stress cracks and microfractures may result. Welding two dissimilar metals is possible, but a very difficult process with plenty of complications. To boil it down, welding dissimilar metals together is difficult to do right, and often produces inferior results to using metal alloys that are similar or the same.
By taking into account the long-term effects of using different metal alloys in a custom wire form, you can make sure that you get the right basket for the job. If you have a question about stainless steel welding, wire forming issues, or need a custom wire form for a high-precision application with strict tolerance requirements, be sure to contact an experienced mechanical engineer!
Looking for a quote or have questions about our wire baskets? As the most common type of stainless being used in fabrication shops, austenitic stainless steel is identified as the series.
While these base materials do not require preheating, they do have a maximum interpass temperature. Some of the series stainless steels are referred to as fully austenitic—, , and steels. You have to manage these carefully to prevent cracking by using a low-heat-input process and by making welds that are convex.
If you make a flat or concave weld on these materials, it will be susceptible to cracking. Another parameter to consider is composition of the base material and filler metal. Consider L stainless. It designates low carbon content, typically 0.
As mentioned earlier, the proper filler metal to use with this base metal has the same designation, L. The most popular austenitic stainless grade is , but selecting a filler metal to use with this base metal is a little less straightforward, because there is no filler metal. Instead, the filler metal to use in this case is L. It has a slightly different chemistry that allows the filler metal to undergo the rapid solidification and cooling associated with welding without cracking.
Another example is base metal, which includes small amounts of titanium. However, any titanium in a filler metal would get burned up in the process of welding. In this case, the proper filler is , which has a chemistry similar to but the titanium is replaced with niobium. Fortunately, most often the filler metal and base metal grades are the same.
If you have questions about which to use, welding supply companies always are willing to help you confirm your selection or determine the more unfamiliar combinations. The martensitic types of stainless steel are used less for joining than as overlays and for building up wear-resistant material.
They generally have a minimum interpass temperature. One common application for this type of material is rejuvenating the steel rolls used in continuous casting mills. Once the rolls wear beyond a certain point, they are resurfaced using a martensitic wire. Before welding begins on the roll, a torch or resistance heater is used to heat the roll to to degrees F.
Once the welding begins, the temperature cannot be allowed to drop below that preheat temperature. Martensitic stainless gets very hard and brittle upon cooling, which is great for wear resistance but tough on welds as they are being made. Staying above the minimum interpass temperature keeps the area around the weld from cooling down too quickly. As with many other stainless varieties, if you are joining martensitic base metals you will probably use a filler metal with the same number.
In some applications, an austenitic stainless steel filler metal can be used for joining. For overlays, which are frequently placed on carbon steel, is a standard filler metal choice. But regardless of the type of work, the keys to success in welding with martensitic filler metal are proper preheat and slow cooling afterward. Automotive applications use the most ferritic stainless steel.
The two most common grades used in this application are and This is good because welding ferritic stainless steel is most successful with low heat input, and maximum interpass temperature is degrees F.
With a properly cleaned and prepped piece of stainless steel, the chromium oxide inside acts as a protective seal against rust during the welding process. It can help the stainless heal itself from discoloration and permanent marks. Have a separate set of tools just for prepping and cleaning stainless before welding. Because it is extremely sensitive to any amount of carbon steel. If any of your tools have carbon steel residue on them and then contact the stainless steel, those trace amounts will become embedded and cause your final product to rust.
Even carbon steel dust particles can pose a rusting threat to stainless and should be kept in separate work areas. Welding stainless steel comes with its benefits and challenges, but as long as you factor those limitations into your process, the end result will be worth it. Perfecting your welding skills with this valuable and trendy material will save you time and money on the job.
More importantly, it can produce a beautiful, professional result that will make your welding skills more marketable.
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