Spot Welding Thin Sheet Metal

To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity.

Spot welding thin sheet metal.

Spot welding is usually used to join a panel of overlapping sheet metal parts that are usually 3mm thick. Use a 6013 7018 6011 or 6010 welding rod. When it comes to welding thin sheet metal like car body panels if you are not experienced and skilled enough then you can easily create a mess as blow holes in the sheet and make the metal useless. Do not try to run a bead from one end to the other.

Carbon steel and 18 ga. Its primary usage is in welding auto body and sheet metal. Everyone is different but those settings will get you in the right ballpark to weld sheet metal. A good heat setting for 1 8 6011 rods on thin material is about 80 90 amps.

Learn how to mig weld automotive sheet metal in about 5 minutes or less. While replacing body panels overheating and warping thin sheet metal is common. For 3 32 7018 s it s about the same. Keep in mind that a bigger rod is going to weld a larger area than a smaller rod.

There are no unique or galvanized steel specific tools or materials that you need. Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. The ration of thickness should not exceed 3 1mm. Thus spot welding diameters go from 3mm to.

Select your welding rod based on the size of the metal. I keep it short and to the point in this welding instructional video and show how ve. Gas metal arc welding gmaw is an effective method for joining light gauge metals such as carbon steel and austenitic stainless steel. Just grab a piece of sheet metal to get the heat set correctly and go to town.

Stainless steel are used in applications such as hvac automotive mobile machinery guards and cabs and small parts as well as stainless steel food service and processing. Avoid warping the sheet metal. Some bodymen prefer to pause after each short weld bead then hammer the weld if you can get a dolly behind the patch to help relax the panel back to its natural shape. Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal.

This is because the strength of the joints depends on the number and size of the weld.