I have an ARC and a MIG welder. The MIG has flux core in it. I have used both for steel, but me and some friends experimented with aluminium. It did ok, but i was curious if it would hurt the welder in any way by not having aluminium electrodes. I don't need it to be strong, just enough to hold the pieces together.
Trying to arc weld aluminum with aluminum rods is pretty much a write off, no inspector would ever pass the weld because stick is a terrible process on aluminum. Mig works awesome, you just need some argon or a helium mix and either a spoolgun(commonly used) or you can just run it straight through your wire feeder. Tig is by far the best option for looks and quality, but mig is more productive and if you have the right equipment it does a very nice job. P.s. Im not sure exactly what your asking, but attempting to weld aluminum with anything other than an aluminum wire/filler rod/electrode is going to mean certain failure, yes you may melt the pieces together but they will crack apart and break very easily. Get the right gear and do it right, you will save yourself alot of time and headaches.
I think welding aluminium is normally done on a TIG welder. There is a company called Technoweld who makes rods, and flux for welding aluminium, but it's not really welding, more like brazing.
I do not see any way that would harm the machine. I have seen temporary welds made with stick on aluminum: The results were not a pretty sight. Not ready for mixed company, that's for sure, but they did the job. I think TIG would be the best bet. Perhaps there's a kit that will allow you to use the arc machine for TIG.
I doubt you would have damaged your MIG welder. However, the welds you made are NOT OK. They were bubbly deposits of slag with some spongy iron mixed in. If you tried to put any load on them they would break almost immediately. That is not a weld Of course, since you're using that inner shield crap, You're probably used to seeing welds that look like somebody blew their nose all over your joint. In order to MIG weld aluminum, you need a gas regulator, and a bottle of pure argon gas. It also helps to have smooth U drive rollers
You can stick weld aluminum, tig weld it, mig weld it, and many more expensive processes. If your mig has gas capability yes, but without gas on your mig no way. At best you will have a nice fire from all the hot aluminum spatter that is thrown off and it lands on something flammable. There is no flux core aluminum wire and if you used steel to stick it together just drop it one time and it will break. Arc (stick) welding electrodes are not easy to use and are not that pretty when finished.
