For that I would guess 023 wire would be the way to go.
Not in aluminum wire. The smallest diameter listed/produced in aluminum electrode wire is 0.030.
Not all Diamond plate is a weldable alloy.
True, not all aluminum alloys are arc weldable.
That's what I'm starting to think. What is weldable and what is not? I got the plate at Lowes to screw down over some old tie down holes in her trailer. This is what I had left over and tried to weld it. If I "spot it" for VERY short burst it welded sort of OK. But I hate doing the gun on/off like that.
Sometimes, especially with MIG (GMAW) on 'thin' workpieces, doing a series of 'spot' welds is exactly what you have to do. Otherwise you get burn-through and/or a ton of warping/distortion.
I was looking at the lower grades of AL diamond plate, they have a **** load of copper in them.
As to 'weldable' aluminum alloys, most of the 3xxx and 6xxx and 5xxx series of aluminum alloys are generally considered weldable. The 'common' 3003 and 5052 and 6061 and 6063 aluminum alloys are generally 'weldable'.
Most of the 2xxx and 7xxx series of aluminum alloys are considered
not weldable with arc-process welding. 7075 (a common 7xxx series alloy) is
not considered weldable via arc-welding processes.
Aluminum treadplate? My supplier's catalogs list AL treadplate in 3003 and 6061. Both are considered weldable with arc-process welding.
GMAW, you need to do a 'push' when welding (with some minor exceptions).
If there's slag, then drag.
Which means that if the welding process you are using is a slag producing process (SMAW or FCAW), then you use a drag movement. Generally.
GMAW is not a slag process, so you (generally) should use a push movement and not a drag movement.
But the movement during welding does not really affect whether you are blowing right through the workpiece, but more about getting proper fusion and shield gas coverage for the weld puddle and bead.
Aluminum is hot and fast.
For some 1/16" sheet (0.063"), general GMAW parameters are ~90-100 amps at 15-20V and about 260-300 ipm WFS to start with using 0.030" wire. Travel speed is ~25-45 IPM.
Which is right on the edge of transitioning into spray mode transfer.
Compare that to welding some steel 16 gauge (0.063" or 1/16" thick) with 0.030 wire. Using C25 shielding gas and short-circuit transfer mode, starting parameters are around 17V (similar to the aluminum parameters) and 80 amps at around 175 IPM WFS (little lower amperage and much lower WFS compared to the aluminum parameters). But the travel speed is only 13 ipm, which is 1/2 to 1/3 of the travel speed on aluminum.
Aluminum is hot and fast.
