What's the latest technology to weld aluminum ?
beside MIG or TIG ... is there anything else come cheap, portable and good result ?

I'm trying to buy the machine but confuse which one is best for me, portable and cheap.
I going to weld 7075 or similar Aluminum, don;t know which one to buy.
I bought TIG weld which AC ad DC switch, all I can do is just buy argon and the "gun". but would it be the best result ?

any idea ??

regards
rud

rub 2 pieces together until they fuse.....

The only inexpensive way to attach aluminum to aluminum other then welding is by bolting it together. Depending on how thick the aluminum is...the TIG is going to be at least $1700, not portable and not cheap. Miller 180SD I believe those are the correct numbers is the minimum entry sytem for decent results.

got two words for you if wanting a cheap way of joining aluminum---pop rivets--- no other option that I know of on the cheap

bolt or rivet is the easiest for home shop, nice solid aluminum marine rivets properly peened over hold very very and look good..

as far as cheap welding, not many choices...I bought a used tig head [hf / wand only] a few years ago for 600 CDN, works well plugged into my old Smith welder..only drawback for me is the cost of the argon contract as I use it very little, in a corner of the shop someplace...

I tried the aluminum stick electrodes a bit, fair job, a little messier than tig, but no contract to worry about, good for aluminum trailer repairs on larger pieces, need a DC welder though..

I also tried the prefluxed sticks that use oxy / acetylene, and they 'kind of' work, came with a brush to preclean, then melt a bit of the special rod on, clean / wipe again, and then weld.. not like a real good weld, melting point of these rods was noticably lower than the parent metal, and were a bit picky on what varieties of aluminum it would work with. It was more like brazing than actual welding, but worked ok for reapir on things like lawn mower starter brackets and such. Messiest of them all, but still holding [I think]..they were a couple of bucks each from Acklands Grainger..

I remember back probably ten years or so, of a wierd looking oxy / acteleylene head , looked like a pistol grip or garden hose nozzle, worked well on thin aluminum as far as I recall...needed a bit on the carburizing for the flame, don't remember the name, but I think they were made in Australia..

about a year ago, I needed a couple of aluminum mounting plates and brackets welded for a plasma torch mount but was in a hurry... looked around the garage and found a couple tubes of Quick JB Weld... the parts are still together and show no signs of not remaining so after fairly frequent use on a cnc machine.
-Marc

I remember back probably ten years or so, of a wierd looking oxy / acteleylene head , looked like a pistol grip or garden hose nozzle, worked well on thin aluminum as far as I recall...needed a bit on the carburizing for the flame, don't remember the name, but I think they were made in Australia..

Was it one of these? http://www.cut-like-plasma.com/

The name's changed a couple of times, I think.

Well, if I remember my geography lessons correctly lotus glued the elise chassis bits together. Epoxy I think it was. Shouldn't be THAT expensive, or?

Yep, sure looks like the critter I saw way back...
the one fellow that did some demo stuff with it was a repair welder at a nearby potash mine [IMC Esterhazy], and he was pretty good with it..
I still remember watching him weld up an aluminum soda pop can can, without turning it into a freeform art sculpture...:)

never did see one after that really...

I've had good luck on non-critical aluminum joint applications using epoxy adhesives in combination with rivets. The rivets provide both positioning and clamping functions, while the epoxy provides additional strength and seals the joint. This is a "belt and suspenders" approach! In order to maintain a good bond line thickness, avoid squeezing too much of the adhesive out of the joint. To do so, you can use shims or a scrim cloth (screen).
FYI: Regarding the latest aluminum welding tech, google "friction stir welding". I saw sample parts at EWI (the Edison Welding Institute) back few years ago. Very cool, but probably not a DIY technology. :cheers:

Your not going to be welding 7075, as it is a non weldable alloy, as is 2024. Todd

On late nite TIV there is an infomercial wherein they sell an aluminum welding alloy that can be used with a propane torch.
Usually half asleep when its on - they often run it on Saturday afternoons on some of the DIY channels.

THey show it welding transmission cases and other stuff pretty nicely. Even passes a semi bogus "chisel" test. They show specs for the material as it flashes by on the screen. Surely SOMEBODY else out there has seen it/can recall the 800 number for it.

Since I'm a firm believer in TIG welding aluminum (as is appropriate for aircraft and race car work) I don't pay too much attention to the infomercial. However, it should be quite adequate for hobby work and could be a hand thing to have for anything less than aerospace work.

tsutt said it, do not try welding those alloys. There are methods for it though they are not for diy nor are they recommended for a structural part.
You did not say the thickness of the parts You want to weld but if You are learning welding and are joining sheet aluminum try oxygen/ acetlyne. For anything over .090 tig is recommended and so is experience! If the parts are over .250 You will probably want helium rather than argon and use dc. The salesmen at weld shops will tell You You can weld up to .375 with a 200amp torch and argon, this is possible only with lots of pre heating and not much fun. Anyone tells You different is not talking from experience just reading specs from a bogus book. good Luck!

I sell welding alloys for a living here in Argentina.

The big problem that keep most of the people off the ALU welding is that ALU does not alert you like other metals when is about to melt, one second is solid next second collapses in a liquied form, no oxide, no change of color. And if you weld sheets this is even more notorious.

There are many solutions to weld ALU, TIG is one of the most used, but not your only choice.

There are more advanced alloys used in maintenance welding (my area of welding expertise) that countermeasure the problems mentioned above:

By Oxciacetylene: by using a specially formulated flux powder that changes its state from solid to capilary liquid around 50degrees below ALU melting point you win in many ways, by knowing the alu is about to melt, by cleaning the surface to be welded because the flux flows under the joints and also allows the weld material to flow too.

By using electrodes: by using a DC welder, these electrodes have a variation of the above mentioned flux that ease the welding procedure. The main dissadvantage of rods is that you need to use a diameter that is no more than 2/3 of the thickness of the piece to be welded, or you risk making holes instead of welding :)

When I make demonstrations of the oxyacetylene product (which can be also used for TIG welding) I weld a couple of tiny sheets with a Oxy torch, people cant believe the results, because you dont see the joint points, not even thru a magnifier, and the two pieces becomes one, no matter how hard you hit it with a hammer

If someone is interested in knowing more about these hi-tech alloys, the homepage of the group is www.magnagroup.com (is based in Hong Kong) but if I recall they have many dealers in the states too. The Oxy/TIG product is Magna 55 and the electrode is Magna 505.


Pablo

You can use a Clarke hot shot spool gun welder. Tractor supply company has the 130 amp model for around $350 and the 180 amp around $500 figure another $50 for a tank of argon and you are set to weld for way under the tig price.

I think another item to mention is contamination of the cut edge.....basically if you use the same chop saw/ bandsaw blade / wire wheel, etc. to cut both aluminum and steel....you will contaminate the aluminum and you'll most likely always have a poor weld

Not all salesman will tell you 200 amps will weld 3/8". I sell welding supplys and will never suggest 200 amps for anything over 1/8". There is however in my opinion no real substitute for T.I.G. welding if you need a top quality nice looking weld on thinner material. On some thicker applications you can have decent results with a spoolgun or push pull gun however by this time you are money ahead to go with the tig! The new miller machine is a 200 in replacement of the old 185 and is a great machine but once again you are pretty much limited to 1/8" unless you have a lot of time then 1/4" max. Most welding supply houses will let you rent a cylinder of argon if you are just looking for short term without entering a contract. I have also had pretty good success with DC arc welding on aluminum with a product from Harris Welco called WELCO 26. Regardless of how you weld it the most important thing is to make sure that it is very clean. Good Luck!!!

Bigragu, thats a very good guide line and a commendable approach to sales, being honest. You should sell lots more than most or at least You deserve to! Carl.

Hi
just thought I would pipe in, I bought a lincoln square wave 175, and thought I would do alot more aluminum welding than I do now, the truth is it takes committment ,and practice, to stay tuned up to the task. It is not at all like welding steel which is very easy. I also watched a friend who was a aerospace certified welder weld with my machine , he made aluminum welding look very easy. I generally have to practice for about 30 minutes to get the feel for it again.

the comments regarding the thickness vs amperage are also pertinate, my machine was advertised to weld up to 1/4 inch alum, after 1/8 it takes considerably more effort and
patients to accomplish .

Someone also mentioned a rod for use with a propane torch , once again this is more difficult than it looks, the material does work, the problem is teh same as with welding, aluminum conducts heat very well, and you have to pump in a lot of heat to join the metals, the more mass the more heat you will need , again anything of any size will require preheating, and something with a little more authority than a propane torch, like maybe some oxygen with your propane, and a rosebud tip. The guys that sell the rod have demos set up to look easy to make the sale, they ususlly will be working on small items, with the propane torch. (I got mine at a laocal flea market)

not trying to discourage anyone but I do feel that if you want to weld aluminum , it will take a several committments, including finincial ones.

Try Alumaloy

http://www.alumaloy.net/
or
www.aluminumrepair.com

I still have some lying arround, I'll have to give it a try using the tig torch for heat. Still the problem is the thermal conductivity of the aluminum, especially challenging on large items. still need to preheat the big uns!