Experiencing arc bowing during aluminum welds? Our experts explain what causes arc blow and what you can do to mitigate it when welding aluminum.

Advancements in straighteners help stampers handle advanced high-strength steels on coil feed lines.

Q: I weld a lot of aluminum castings. Most of the time they weld fine, but sometimes the weld blows out at me. What’s going on? A: The problem is caused by the casting process. There are three types of casting processes—sand casting, permanent mold casting, and die casting. The molds for sand...

Q: I am trying to conduct a procedure qualification test on 5083-0 temper material using 5356 filler metal and gas metal arc welding (GMAW). I have welded a number of test plates, but the tensile samples always fail at a tensile strength of 37 to 39 KSI. The code requires a minimum tensile strength...

Q: We manufacture structures for the utility industry and primarily weld A36, A572-Gr. 50 and A871-Gr. 65. Recently we converted some of our welding processes to higher-deposition submerged-arc welding (SAW) but are concerned about the amount of heat we are adding from welding. What is the...

Q: Table 4.6 of AWS D1.1: 2010 is a list of supplementary essential variable changes that would require weld procedure specification (WPS) requalification due to Charpy V-notch (CVN) testing requirements. Under base metal (item 2) it indicates: Minimum thickness qualified is T or 5/8 inch...

Q: What is the right contact tip size for using 0.0468-in. filler wire to gas metal arc weld aluminum alloys? Some people use a tip that is one size larger (for example, a 0.0625-in. tip on 0.0468-in. wire), while others use the size the manufacturer specifies for 0.0468-in. wire. Still others use...

Is welding aluminum toxic? Find out if the welding fumes in aluminum MIG are dangerous and if there are other issues with fumes to be aware of.

New-generation GMAW consumables reduce the number of components, eliminate threads in the electrical path, and feature gas ported contact tips that run cooler and can accommodate more wire in a single tip.

Are push-pull guns for aluminum welding necessary? Find out if you need a push-pull mig gun or if a standard gun with a Teflon® liner and contact tips will work.

Learn how to perform a backing bar weld for large-diameter pipe, a type of application commonly that commonly uses copper or stainless steel backing.

Q: I plan to fabricate components using 6061-T4 and then age them after welding. I have heard than I can increase the welded strength this way. Is this true? What is the aging treatment? If I buy 6061-T4, which is aged at room temperature, will it keep aging in my shop? Will I eventually need to...

Q: I have been trying to find the yield and tensile strengths for 4043 filler metal, but so far I’ve been unsuccessful. Can you help me? Why is this data so hard to find? A: Believe it or not, the data exists. Weld metal data for virtually all aluminum filler metals was developed in the 1960s....

Can you weld steel to aluminum? This is a common question in fabrication that our experts address. Learn more about welding steel to aluminum here.

Q: If someone hands you a piece of aluminum, is there any easy way to tell what alloy it is? Everyone tells me I need to buy very expensive equipment to do this. A: Unfortunately, the people you are speaking with are correct. However, that’s assuming you need to know what alloy you have exactly....