A sharpened 1mm tungsten electrode is used for the steel mold repair. We used an alligator style grounding clip on the bottom of the mold. 0.015″ 316 stainless steel fill wire is used for this application. Selection of fill wire diameter can change the energy settings needed and the ease of filling the areas.
The Orion Pulse 250s is set to 20ws energy with sloped agitation (a high frequency energy overlay that increases penetration and spot size) enabled and 15ms length. The placement of the fill wire in relation to the electrode affects how the metal flows and attaches. Correct orientation can be very important in achieving successful welds. Several layers can be placed along the surface that needs to be repaired.
For the aluminum samples we used a 1mm electrode with a slightly blunted tip to help avoid digging holes. We used 4043 fill wire and set the Orion 250s to 27ws energy at 15ms length. The work-piece is probably anodized and it caused some issues with grounding (burn marks where the alligator clip attached).
Brass is a difficult metal to weld due to the high zinc content. The zinc has a low boiling temperature and it burns out of the brass causing soot and choppy weld puddles. We were able to use silver fill wire and copper fill wire to fill in the gap. We attempted to use brass fill wire with poor results. The Orion 250s is set to 70ws energy to attach the silver fill wire and 130ws energy to attach the copper fill wire. The tip of the electrode is blunted for this application.
The Orion Pulse 250s is an ideal solution for repairing molds and dies. The touch screen user interface makes it easy for operators to quickly fine tune energy settings and find successful weld parameters. An articulating arm can be coupled with the Orion Pulse 150s to allow for greater workspace clearance and flexible positioning. Please note that the stylus can be removed from the microscope and used in a handheld manner if desired (easier to access some geometries).
Post time: Jun-23-2017