so i have a mig welder with gas. i want to lear to weld aluminum, how does aluminum welding work? is there an attachment that i can use to weld aluminum with my welder? or do i need to buy a totally different welder? what do i need and everything...
Just a wire fed gun. And you have to get the speed of the wire and heat figured out since aluminum melts faster.
The main issue is that MIG welding aluminum REQUIRES the use of the high-current spray transfer mode. If you want to weld aluminum you need to have a MIG welder that provides AT LEAST 200 amps output. It would be preferable to have a 250 or 300 amp MIG machine, but 200 amps I would consider the absolute minimum. If your machine is less than 200 amps, you need a more powerful welder plain and simple You also need a teflon liner, hard plastic or teflon wire guides, and a pair of smooth double U groove rollers. Rollers used for steel wire are normally V groove design. This is unacceptable for aluminum because V-rollers create fine metal shavings which will clog the liner, tip and wire guides, resulting in jams. Aluminum wire is softer than steel and thus jams and wire bucking is a problem if you don't treat the machine with care. I recommend using 5056 aluminum wire. Also you should use a fairly short welding lead, no longer than 2 meters.
