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THE w5151516nJsT:trrTE

S EC T IO N9

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EQUIPMENT
Weldinginspectton
necessarily
involvescheckrngtharrne correct
welding/cutting
processis beingused,that tne equipmentis
in workable
conorltonand that ihe weldjngparametersof amperes
and voltsare Deing
adheredto.- Tn_efollowingpagesouflinethe constanr
currentprocessand list
the types of defectswhichare associatedwith them.
You will noticethat the arc processesare djvjded
into fwo (2) types (,drooping,
and 'flat'). Thrsrefersto theirvolt_ampoutput
characrerrstrcs.
The conventionar
machineis knownas the constantcurrentmachine
(drooping
characteristic)and has for many years been
used for manuarmetal arc and
tungsten inert gas werding. ey uiing drooping
an aiterationin ur. L"ng1h-g;uu.
a very small changein current.

--,,,._-]-,, ,,,.^_.
F
l

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ril, .-

A. i,.,., ',

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.1.

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
I s s u e0 1 9 1
C(. 1

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ThE \rLDINc NsTm,TE

A 'D RO O P I NGA RC' P R OC ES S(C ON ST A N T

C U R R E N T)

MANUAL METAL-ABC (MMA)

S h i e l d e dm e t a l - a r c( U S ) ;S t i c k ;
Electric
arc welding
Typicaldefectsassociated
with this
process:
Overlap.

Soudlfl.d tl.g

llfC

'Porosity.
t Slag inclusions.
. Excessivespafter.

Type of Operation
Manual.
Modeof Operation
Arc meits parentplateand
electrode
rorm a weld pool which is protectedto
by
llux cover.
Operatoradjustselectrodefeed
rate,i.e.
to
keep
arc tength
l:19^-ou:-"nt,
constant.
slag must be removedafter
depositingeachbead.Normally
a small
penetration,requirinsptate
edse
:::::._:l
p^reparation.
Bun welds in thickplateor
I a r g et t l l e t sa r e d e p o s i t e di n
a n u m b e ro f
passes.The process
can alsobe usedto
oepositmetal to form a surface
with
arlernat|vep roperties.

q.a

Strayflash.
Incompletepenetration.
Excesspenetration.
. Undercut.
Cratercracks.
Lackof fusion.

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
lssue Olgl

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Ti{E WEI.DING INSTM-I"IE

WELDINGEQUTPMENT
MANUALMETAL ARC
Welding sets

l-t
3s/
= ' \

lQLOarse
Curreaf

Fine
MMA welding set

Manual metal arc ".t "r:j5:-rfactured

in a rangeof sizes, usually
distinguished
by current:notethe dutycycreat wilrr the
currentis quoted
sets. EnginepowereO
g"n"rtors-altowoperationaway from
:T:TTp3ring
marnssupplies.
Electricarinputis singre-phase
at 240 vortsfor smarr
-- sets,and 415 vorts(2 rive
pnasesof a three-phasesupply)
for largerone;.
Outputis AC or DC. AC onlysets needan open
circuitvoltageof gOVto run
all erectrodes;
50V is safer.and arows,nor" "r""ni'to be drawn,
but is rimited
to generalpurposerutileelectrodes
only.
the set ad,lusts
current;the cunentis showneitheron a simpte
1::]|,1,
:n
scaJe,or for
accurateworkon a meter.
WELDINGTECHNOLOGY
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llJE wELDI\c

I\STfn.T:

MANUALMETALARC WELDING
INTRODUCTION
rn manuaimetalarc weldingthe heat
sourceis an erectricarc whichis
iorrnec
betweena consumabte":*:a...
;l tn" p.r"ripf",e. The arc is
formedby
momentarrytouchingthe.tipof the
erectrodeonto-th"plateand then
liftinathe
erectrode
to sivea s"o "f^1^?Tl_1y:_.60m;
)
o.w".n
fz.;)
the
tipanolhe
plate. When the electrodetouches
the plate,.rrrun, aorr"nces
to
flow and
as it is withdrawnthe currentcontinues
to frowin the form of a sma, spark
acrossthe gap, whichwi, causethe
air in il" g; i; becomeionized,
or made
conoucttve.As a resultof this the
currentcontj-nrie.,otto* evenwhen
ihe qao
Theheatg.enerated

is sufiicient
to ,.rt ti.'ru
l:jr!"_l."ig.
parentptateand
arso
mertthe endof theerectrode;
the moltenr"tui ." formedis transferred
as small globules
acrossthe arc into the m;lte;
;;1.

EQUIPMENT
1 . P o w e rS o u r c e

j::,[:S

consisrs
of a powersourcewithweldinsreadand
an
H ft?chine

The functjonof the power.source

is to provide
malntainan arc belweenthe electrode'anO the voltagenecessaryto
tfre-*lr*p,"." and the end of
the electrode.The amount cufrent
prorO"J Oy",a"po*", source
,of
can be
attered by a conti.olto suit differenf
;"i;;;;;it."".
Power source may sueeJl_ldrlect
cuj-rent(DC) or akernarrngcurrent (AC)
to
tne electrode.AC transformers
and DC generati supplyonly one
type of
current,but transformer
_ rectifiers..n O-",*it"n"o
oetween
AC
or
DC
output.
Welding cables
The weldingcurrentis conducted
from the powersourceto tne

work by
multi-strand'
rnsurated
frexible
copperol.ur,;ini*i' caores.A returncabre
is required
to completethe weldingcircuitOetween
the work and power

;"J;:r'|i"ff:,"J"tf,"":"0't

'uit b" "m'itnt io' tnemaximunioutput

or

The earth lead is a third <labte and

acts as a safety device in the event
of
an electrjcal fault.

q.4

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
lssue Olgl

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TI'JEITELDI\C tN jin-l-

3 . E l e c t r o d eh o l d e r
The hordefshourdbe relativery
right,fu,y insurated
and ratedfor at Ieas:
maximumpowersourceoutout.
4 . R e t u r nc l a m p
This is fastenedto the work or benchon
whjchthe worKrs placedand
completesthe weldingcircuit.The surface
climpeOshouldbe clean
enough to allow good metal to metal contact.
5. Welding shield or helmet
A welding shieldor helm_et.is
necessaryfor protectionfrom arc ray and
heat, and the spatterfrom the motten metat.'-n" ur" is viewedthrough a
filter which reducesthe intensityof tne
riOiation,ir, n,orr" a safe amount
of light to pass for viewingthe weld pool
and end of the electrode.

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
I s s u e0 1 9 1

T\VI

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THE \T'ELDI\C

]\ \TTTIJ-

EFFECTOF VARIATIONIN PROCEDURE

1. Too shon an arc lengthwill cause
irregularpilingof the weld metal_
2. Too long an arc lengthwill cause
the depositto be coarserippled
and flatterthan normaj.
3. A slow rate of travel gives a wider
thicker deposit, shoder than normal
tength;too slow a rate of travel may
altow the slag to flood the weld pool
causrngdifficultyin controllingdeposition.
4. A fast rate of travel gives a narrower,
thinner deposit,longer than normal
tength;too fast a rate of travel mav
prevent adequate interfusionwith
ihe
parentmetal.
5. A low welding currentrenos to cause
the weld metal to pile up without
adequate penetrationinto the parent
metal;too low a weldingcurrentmakes
the
slag difficultto control.
6. A high
-weldingcurrentgivesa deposit
that is flatter and wider rnan normaj with
excessivepenetrationinto the parent
metal;too hjgh a wejdjngcurrentcauses
considerablespatter.
7.

correct arc length,cofrect rate

rylh
or lravel,correctweldingconditions
and technique,the run depositedmelal
will be regular in thicknessand width.
with a neat finelyrippledsurface,free
rrom porosityor any slag entrapment.

A r cl o or h o r l

C o a r sr r i p p l 3 3
a v a n I ti p a c c d

C.rter /lrt
A r c l o o l on g

rnd_blrstefcd

q'@
T r a v e lt o o s l o w

JraY?lloo
lasI

lrl?0slar frpplCi
t'rlh r16gtrappedin
vall?yt

C u r r en l l o o l o w

Q r a t e ri r r c A u 1 5 i

C o a r5 q 1 1 p1r .t
tvenly spoccd

C ur rc n l t o o h i g h
S m o ot h r , p g t e r

C o r r c c lr u n

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
Issue 0191

T\)t/I

w[t

THE \IELDING

L\STITI.J'TE

The shielded arc. Manualarc weld on steel base plate

with a covered
elecirode.

\\
;,

E
t r r. l-c- c, .r.r.o, ,u-erL,( ) v c n n g
t-l

E r c c rr o u c L o r e w t r c
I

Weld Pool

-l)
Slae
Weld ivlctal

WELDING TECHNOLOGY
lssue 0191
I

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THE WELDING D,'ST|n,ryE

QUESTIONS:

MANUAL METAL ARC

l;: -

tt- - ,-:r

Explaintwo typesof electricalsupply

and an
-

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r,-,

-,' ):a

T .
nQ

advantageof each type.

1"1..._-.
,.

\ ,'ytl.-i. , ,- -.

of powersourcecharacteristics
is considered
essentiat
for
HflXr""O"
a)
b)

Constantcurrent? Constantvoltage? -.--_

Give six functionsof an electrodecoatino.

i)
ii)
ii0
iv)
v)
vi)

Providesa gas shield

_,)
"
,^ra-. r- ',

wnar ts tne usualcomposition

oi the corewiie of an MMAelectrode?

as9