THE WELDING OF ALUMINIUM CASTINGS

For a variety of reasons it is necessary to weld aluminium castings to themselves or to wrought material.

This paper considers the range of cast aluminium alloys used in South Africa today and examines their
suitability for welding. The specific alloy elements will be addressed with regard their effect on the casting
and welding properties of the material.

General practical advice for welding aluminium will be provided as well as specific techniques for welding
aluminium castings in each of the typical scenarios above. Cleaning, preheating and alignment issues
will be addressed. The effect of the welding heat input on the mechanical properties will be examined in
each case together with means to minimise the detrimental effects of welding.

Author: Mike Renshaw, on behalf of The Aluminium Federation of Southern Africa. © AFSA, July 2004
 WELDING ALUMINIUM CASTINGS

Contents

1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 3
2 Aluminium Casting Alloys......................................................................................................... 3
3 Casting Alloys in South Africa .................................................................................................. 3
4 Effect of the main alloying elements ........................................................................................ 4
5 General considerations for welding of castings........................................................................ 5
5.1 Do not introduce unnecessary stresses into the weld ...................................................... 5
5.2 Create the conditions for good quality welds .................................................................... 5
5.3 Clean the joint properly prior to welding............................................................................ 5
5.4 Ensure that the welding consumables are suitable .......................................................... 5
6 Pre Heating of castings for welding.......................................................................................... 6
7 Welding scenarios .................................................................................................................... 6
7.1 Repair weld of cracked casting. Casting is not heat treatable ......................................... 6
7.2 Repair of cracked casting. Casting is heat treatable and has been hardened. ............... 6
7.3 Cosmetic repair of non-hardenable casting ...................................................................... 6
7.4 Cosmetic repair of a hardenable casting before hardening .............................................. 7
7.5 Joining of multiple castings together................................................................................. 7
7.6 Joining a casting to wrought material................................................................................ 7
Weld metal cracking.......................................................................................................... 7
7.7 Build up of a casting.......................................................................................................... 9
7.8 Joining of an Aluminium casting to another metal ............................................................ 9
7.8.1 Aluminium to Steel .............................................................................................................. 9
7.8.2 Aluminium to Copper ........................................................................................................ 10
8 Welding Processes for Aluminium….……………………………………………………………...10

9 Tooling for Aluminium............................................................................................................. 11

10 Trouble Shooting .................................................................................................................... 12

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 THE WELDING OF ALUMINIUM CASTINGS

1 INTRODUCTION

For a variety of reasons it is necessary to weld aluminium castings to themselves or to wrought material.
Typical reasons for needing to weld may be:
ƒ A damaged casting, e.g. an oil sump after driving over an obstruction in the road,
ƒ Cosmetic dressing of a new casting such as filling in a defect left by a sand inclusion,
ƒ Joining multiple castings together for example sectioned poles,
ƒ Joining a casting to wrought material for example in a road vehicle where the casting forms a node
and extruded and / or sheet materials are joined to the node,
ƒ Build up of a casting, either to repair worn areas or as part of the manufacturing process, and
ƒ Joining of aluminium to other metals such as copper and steel.

2 ALUMINIUM CASTING ALLOYS

Aluminium casting alloys are based on the aluminium silicon system, often with additions of copper and
other elements. Two main types of casting technology are employed; sand casting and die-casting.

In general the die casting alloys contain copper which improves castability but is detrimental to
weldability. The copper, if present in more than typically 0,5% increases the susceptibility of the weld to
hot cracking. Hot cracking, or solidification cracking is particularly observed in alloys with a wide
solidification range which is exactly what improves castability. The alloy begins to solidify by the
formation of solid dendrites in the liquid. Because of the volume of the liquid this material has no
mechanical strength. As the metal cools the volume of liquid decreases down to the coherence
temperature at which the growing crystals meet whilst the solid is contracting and creating tensile
stresses. Some small volume of liquid is still present at this temperature and persists down to the eutectic
temperature, causing the metal to be brittle. As the alloy cools the tensile stresses in the solid crystals
increase further and, depending on the level of restraint, may be great enough to cause failure of the
brittle matrix. The sand casting alloys generally do not contain copper and so are more easily welded
without risk of solidification cracking. The Al 12%Si eutectic alloy has no solidification range and is crack
insensitive.

3 CASTING ALLOYS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Most aluminium casting in South Africa is characterised by the following range of alloys:

ƒ EN 44100 (LM6, AlSi12):

This alloy has 10,5 – 13,5% Si; 0,15%Cu and is widely used for sand and chill castings; particularly for
thin walled intricate castings. EN 44100 is characterised by fairly poor machinability but good weldability.
It is non-heat treatable.

ƒ EN 46500 (LM24, AlSi9Cu3[Fe][Zn])

This alloy is designed for pressure die-casting and is widely used for household appliances, particularly,
historically, vacuum cleaners. Other applications include automotive and electrical housings. EN 46500
Composition is 8,0 – 11,0%Si; 2,0 – 4,0%Cu; 1,3%Fe; 0,35%Pb.
Possesses high strength due to the copper and iron additions with good machinability due to the lead,
good castability but poor weldability due to the copper. This alloy is not heat treatable.

ƒ EN 42000 (LM25, AlSi7Mg)

This alloy is a general purpose high strength casting material, typically used for larger castings.
Applications include wheels, cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, motor housings and other applications in the
food and chemicals industries.

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Composition is 6,5 – 7,5%Si; 0,2%Cu. EN 42000 is considered to have good weldability and can be heat
treated.

ƒ EN 46100 (LM2, ADC12, AlSi11Cu2[Fe])

This 10,0 – 12,0% Si; 1,5 – 2,5% Cu alloy was developed specifically for pressure die casting and is
known to show good castability. LM2 is not weldable because of the copper content and is not heat
treatable.

ƒ EN 44000 (ALSi11)
This alloy is traditionally used for manufacture of alloy wheels. It is close to the eutectic composition and
is the most fluid permanent mould casting alloy available It contains very low iron content which provides
good ductility of about 18% and has high impact resistance. The strength of this alloy is fairly low at
about 180 MPa and it cannot respond to heat treatment.

ƒ EN 42100 (AlSi7Mg0.3)
This alloy is becoming more commonly used for alloy wheels and premium quality aerospace castings
due to its strength of 230 to 290 MPa. It contains 6,5 – 7,5% Si and lower amounts of copper and iron
than EN 42000. It is basically a high purity version of EN 42000. A reason for the increasing use of this
alloy in wheel manufacture over the traditional EN 44000 is the higher strength since industry opinion is
that strength is a more relevant property than ductility and the AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy can be heat treated.

ƒ EN 43100 (LM9, AlSi10Mg)

This alloy contains 9,0 – 11,0%Si; 0,25 – 0,45%Mg shows good foundry characteristics of high strength
and good weldability. It can be heat treated.
Typical uses are in low pressure castings where heat treatment is needed for optimal strength. Often
used for food handling equipment.

4 EFFECT OF THE MAIN ALLOYING ELEMENTS

Silicon
Most casting alloys contain silicon as the main alloy element. Silicon forms a eutectic with aluminium at
11,7% Si. Silicon improves casting characteristics by improving fluidity, feeding and resistance to hot
tearing. Because the silicon rich phase is hard the hardness of the alloy is increased with increasing
silicon content but the ductility and machinability are reduced.

In general an optimum silicon range can be assigned to the casting process used; for slow cooling rate
casting processes the range is typically 5% - 7%. For permanent mould casting 7% - 9% is common and
for die casting 8% - 12% Si is commonly used. These values are based on the relationship between
cooling rate and fluidity and the effect of percentage eutectic on feedability.

Copper
Copper improves strength, machinability, thermal conductivity and hardness. Copper also gives the
capability for hardening by heat treatment but decreases castability and hot tear resistance together with
corrosion resistance. Heat treatment is most effective with Cu contents of 4 – 6%.

Magnesium
This is the basis for strength and hardness development in the Al Si alloys during heat treatment. As well
as other elements included for the same purpose premium grade casting alloys often incorporate 0,4 –
0,7% Mg but above this upper limit Mg has no beneficial effect; either no further hardening takes place or
matrix softening results.

Lead
Additions of up to typically 0,35% Pb increase machinability.

Iron

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Iron improves hot tear resistance, but decreases ductility. Iron reacts to form many virtually insoluble
phases which act to increase strength, especially at elevated temperature but too high an iron content
and therefore increasing volume of the insoluble phase adversely affects casting considerations such as
flowability and feeding characteristics.

5 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR WELDING OF CASTINGS

Welding of aluminium castings requires very similar care and attention to welding of wrought material.
Aluminium cast-alloys generally show good weldability. The exception is high pressure-die-cast pieces,
this due to the presence of air-inclusions. Less porous vacuum die-castings are more suitable. Note that
fusion welding affects all post alloy treatments and results in an irreversible decline of strength of up to
around 40-50%, this depending on the temper. Thus joint design and positioning of welds in low stress
areas is important.

General considerations may be divided broadly into several areas as follows:

5.1 Do not introduce unnecessary stresses into the weld:

ƒ Avoid sudden changes in thickness which would act as stress raisers in the weld ~ rather
include a taper section in the casting if is to be joined to a thinner section.
ƒ Ensure good fit up prior to welding. Aluminium is intolerant of poor fit up and joints should
have the smallest gap possible to allow penetration of the filler into the joint. In general fit up
gaps of more than 1,5 mm are not acceptable. Gaps larger than this are easy to fill in steel
but will introduce excessive stresses in aluminium due to the thermal contraction. This will
compromise the life of the weld.
ƒ Ensure good alignment of the joint prior to welding. A mis-aligned weld will introduce bending
stresses, which will also shorten the life of the weld.
ƒ Make sure that the joint preparation is suitable for the thickness of the material and complies
with the drawing

5.2 Create the conditions for good quality welds:

Make sure that the ambient conditions are suitable for welding. Aluminium is very sensitive to
hydrogen contamination so any moisture will result in defective welds due to porosity. Welding
outdoors is particularly risky as condensation can form on the joint during cold weather or the
component may be left out in the rain. Certain periods of the year cause humidity levels to
increase in the various regions in South Africa and if welding is to be carried out during such a
period then a moderate preheat may be usefully applied to prevent hydrogen porosity. Even if
the joint is dry the risk of draughts destroying the gas shield must be considered. Welding
aluminium is best carried out in a dedicated warm, dry, draught free area indoors.

5.3 Clean the joint properly prior to welding:

Aluminium is very intolerant of contamination in the joint.
Cleaning should start with a wipe with a clean cloth soaked in a solvent such as acetone to
remove oil and grease from the joint area and to extend 25 mm either side of the joint.
All aluminium products have a very thin layer of oxide on the surface. This melts at about 2050 °C
compared with 660 °C for pure aluminium. This oxide must be removed after degreasing and
before welding by mechanical cleaning with a stainless steel wire brush, which is reserved for
aluminium use only. A grinding disk must not be used as these are
made from corundum (aluminium oxide) and will deposit particles in the surface. This is precisely
the material that cleaning is intended to remove.
The weld should preferably be made immediately after cleaning, but welding within three hours of
cleaning is acceptable.

5.4 Ensure that the welding consumables are suitable:

Welding is normally carried out using argon or a mixture of argon and helium and the purity of
these gases is important. A minimum purity of 99,995% is required. This is often referred to as

5
 ‘N4.5’ and this value should be quoted to the gas supplier to ensure that the correct grade is
purchased.
GMAW wire is normally supplied clean enough and it is sufficient to always ensure that the spool
is either preferably removed from the welding machine and placed in a clean plastic bag overnight
or at least is covered to keep it clean.
GTAW filler rods are supplied clean but the box is often left open on the bench so that the rods
become dirty. Good practice is to pull each rod through a ‘Scotchbrite’ type abrasive pad or a pad
of stainless steel wool immediately before use.

6 PRE HEATING OF CASTINGS FOR WELDING

Preheat requirements vary according to the type of alloy and the size and complexity of the casting. In
order to ensure penetration of the weld start a temperature of 100 °C is often adequate for the thinner
materials up to approximately 8 mm thick. Large or intricate castings should be heated to 350 – 400 °C to
ensure that the welding temperature is attained and then slow cooled to minimise the danger of stress
cracking. Care must, however be taken to ensure that the preheat temperature and heat input are not too
high otherwise the weld puddle will be difficult to control. Stress cracking can be minimised by lowering
the heat input, using small (1,6 mm) filler rod and tungsten electrode and by using pulsed welding.
Typically heat input values of 0,8 – 1,6 kJ / mm are adequate with the lower end of the range being used
on the thinner materials.

7 WELDING SCENARIOS

7.1 Repair weld of cracked casting -- Casting is not heat treatable:

When welds are made with 4043 or 4047 filler materials on the non-hardenable alloys strengths
very close to the parent metal can be achieved. The main cause of a slight reduction in strength is
grain growth in the heat-affected zone. Repeated welding such as subsequent repairs would not
be expected to significantly affect the strength.

7.2 Repair of cracked casting -- Casting is heat treatable and has been hardened:
This scenario presents more difficulties since the melting of the inner part of the heat affected zone
together with the temperature profile away from the weld towards the unaffected parent metal
causes a variation in properties. Immediately adjacent to the weld there is an area which has been
heated to a high enough temperature to completely dissolve the hardening precipitates. Next to
this will be an area which has been heated above the precipitation hardening temperature but
below the solution annealing temperature. Because of the temperature gradient across this region
it will exhibit varying degrees of over ageing and therefore softening. Since the section of over
aged material next to the solid solution region will generally have spent the longest time at the
highest temperature it would be expected to be the most over aged and so have the lowest
hardness and strength. Post weld ageing has little effect on this region as it is already over aged.
Whilst simple repairs may be carried out in the T6 or T7 condition large repairs are best carried out
after annealing the casting to the T2 condition since this has greater ductility and is better able to
absorb the weld stresses. The whole casting is then solution annealed, which also stress relieves
the weld. The casting is then hardened as required.

If post weld heat treatment as described above is not possible then the best option is to weld the
casting with as low a heat input as possible to ensure that the joint area remains as cool as
possible and over ageing of the heat affected zone is minimised.

7.3 Cosmetic repair of non-hardenable casting:

This scenario could occur for example when removing a superficial sand inclusion from the surface
of a casting. Assuming that the defect is discovered in the cleaning process then rectification
depends upon fully removing the foreign material using appropriate tooling as will be described
later followed by preheating the casting and carrying out the repair. The casting should then be

6
 slow cooled, preferably in the preheating furnace, but at least by being covered with heat insulating
material such as Aerolite or refractory wool.

7.4 Cosmetic repair of a hardenable casting before hardening:

The casting in this scenario is in condition F, assuming that the defect is similar to the example
above and is discovered during cleaning. Rectification is identical to the above process but a
matching filler material is used. Following rectification the casting can immediately be solution
annealed so as not to waste the preheat energy and the rest of the hardening process carried out
as normal.
If the defect is found whilst the casting is in the solution annealed T4 condition then the rectification
should be carried out using a matching filler and low heat input welding process in order to
minimise precipitation ageing. Then the post weld ageing can be beneficially used to enhance the
as welded strength.

7.5 Joining of multiple castings together:

This scenario would typically involve welding of several castings together for a variety of reasons
such as:
ƒ Large change in section which would otherwise cause feeding problems or excessive
contraction forces at the section change and would cause cracking.
ƒ Welding of a number of castings to make a large structure such as a sectional pole.

It is always preferable to carry out the welding in the F or T1 condition, as this is when the base
metal has its lowest strength and can therefore best accommodate the stresses induced during
welding. The castings should be preheated as described above and then welded using the
recommended filler material. If the assembly is not heat treatable it should be returned to the oven
for slow cooling.
If the alloy is of the heat treatable type solution annealing and hardening can be carried out
immediately after welding.

7.6 Joining a casting to wrought material:

Welding a casting to a wrought alloy presents little more difficulty than welding two castings
together. The issues of hot cracking, distortion, fit up and joint cleaning remain the same.
Selection of filler metal however is most important in reducing the risk of weld cracking.

Weld metal cracking:

In order to avoid hot cracking the correct selection of filler metal and use of the correct welding
procedure is essential. Hot cracking occurs when the strength of the of the hot metal is less than
the value of the stresses induced by cooling shrinkage and the restraint of the solidifying metal by
the surrounding metal and fixtures. A common way to prevent this is to select a filler metal with
higher alloy content than the base metal. The diagram Figure 1 below shows this by arbitrarily
rating the crack sensitivity of the weld metal. By adjusting the dilution of the parent metal with the
filler metal a weld metal with an acceptably low crack sensitivity can be obtained.

Other methods of reducing hot crack sensitivity can assist and include:
Using a higher welding speed, which has the effect of reducing shrinkage stresses,
Changing joint design to minimise dilution of the weld metal from the base metal,
Preheating the parent metal to reduce cooling rate and therefore shrinkage stresses,
Reducing the stress level by changing the restraining jigs or fixtures if used,
Ensuring that the correct width to depth ratio is used in the weld cross section

Figure 1 below shows the relationship between silicon and magnesium content and susceptibility
to cracking of 6061 alloy. In the diagram the various regions of dilution by the parent material are
shown.
Region (a) shows a region of low dilution using 5356 filler.
Region (b) shows a region of much higher dilution of the 5356 filler by the parent plate since the
composition is closer to the base 6061 alloy.

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 Region (c) shows low dilution of 4043 filler metal by the base material.
Region (d) is an area of high dilution of the 4043 filler by the 6061 base metal.

Figure 1. Resistance to hot cracking

8 Good

Magnesium in the Weld Bead (%)

Fair
7
Poor
6 Filler Alloy 5356

4
a
3

2
Parent Alloy 6061
b
1 d Filler Alloy 4043
c
0 6
1 2 3 4 5
Silicon in the Weld Bead (%)

As can be seen from the diagram above, the effect of dilution of the weld by the parent material
has a considerable influence on the crack sensitivity of the resultant weld metal. Welding 6061
with a matching filler metal would yield a very crack sensitive structure but it is readily welded
using 4043 filler with 5% silicon. Alloy 4043 has the advantage of melting and solidifying at a
lower temperature than most base metals so it remains plastic after the base metal has cooled
and the contraction stresses which may cause cracking are relieved somewhat by the plasticity of
the filler metal.

Table 1. Filler Alloy Selection for Welding Cast Alloys to Wrought Alloys a, b, I

Wrought Alloy
6060c
Cast 6061 3004 1050d
Alloy 7005 6063 5154A 5083 5052 5005 Alcad 1100
6082 5454 5086 5251 5050A 3004 1200
6351 3105 3003
EN 44100
AlSi12
(LM6) 4043 5356 4043 5356 4043 4043 4043 4043
f, i g, h, i f, i g, h, j f, i i i i
EN 42000
(LM25)
EN 42100
AlSi7Mg
EN 44000 4043 5356 4043 5356 4043 4043 4043 4043
f, i g, h, i f, i g, h, i f, i i i i
AlSi10Mg
AlSi11
EN 46500
(LM24) 4043 4043 4047 4043 4043 4043 4043 4043

8
 I, j I, j g i i i i I, j
EN 46100
(LM2)

Notes to Table 1:
a) Service conditions such as immersion in fresh or salt water, exposure to specific chemicals or a sustained high
temperature (over 65 °C) may limit the choice of filler metals. Filler metals 5356, 5183, 5556 and 5654 are not
recommended for sustained temperature service over 65 °C.
b) Recommendations in the main body of this table apply for most applications and are the preferred choice. Under
special circumstances alternative filler metals may give better results in one or more of the following
characteristics: resistance to weld metal cracking, weld strength, ductility, corrosion resistance, anodising colour
match or high temperature service.
c) Other alloys in this group include 6005A, 6101, 6106 and 6261.
d) Other alloys in this group include 1080A, 1150, 1350 and 3203
e) Includes alloys AA401, CA401, DA401 and EA401
f) 5183, 5356, 5554, 5556 and 5654 may be used. 5554 is the only 5XXX series alloy listed for service
temperatures above 65 °C.
g) 4043 may be used.
h) 5183, 5356 or 5556 may be used.
i) 4047 may be used.
j) 4145 preferred but is not readily available.

7.7 Build up of a casting

The procedure depends on the type of alloy and the heat treatment condition of the casting. If the
alloy is not heat treatable then the procedure is the same as for cosmetic defect rectification above.
The procedure is to fully clean the surface to be built up then preheat the casting and carry out the
build up. The casting is then slow cooled at an initial cooling rate of less than 15 °C per minute,
preferably in the furnace.

If the casting is heat treatable but is in the as cast ‘F’ condition then the area to be built up is
thoroughly cleaned then preheated and built up with the recommended filler material before being
finish machined if needed then solution annealed and age hardened.

If the casting has been hardened then it should preferably be annealed to the ‘T2’ condition prior to
welding with the recommended filler metal, applying cleaning and preheating procedures as above.
If the re built casting is required in the T6 or T7 condition then it must be fully heat treated after
welding. This step also stress relieves the weld.

7.8 Joining of an Aluminium Casting to another Metal

7.8.1 Aluminium to Steel

It is very difficult to fusion weld iron to aluminium, as they are not compatible metals. Their melting
points are far apart, they have almost no solid solubility for each other, especially iron in aluminium.
In addition several brittle intermetallic phases form between them such as FeAl2, Fe2Al5 and FeAl3.
Any welds made therefore would be extremely brittle. Additionally the thermal expansivities are so
different that excessively high stresses would be set up in the welds.
Aluminium can be joined to carbon or stainless steel if the steel is first coated with metal which is
compatible with a suitable filler metal. Aluminium, silver, tin and zinc coatings can be used but
aluminium is the most common. This coating can be applied to clean steel by dipping the steel into
a molten aluminium bath, by electrodeposition or by high velocity thermal spraying. The coated part
is then cleaned and joined using TIG welding and aluminium filler metal.
A more commonly used method of joining aluminium to steel is by one of the solid state processes
such as friction, cold pressure, ultrasonic or explosion welding with friction welding being the most
popular of these options.

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 7.8.2 Aluminium to Copper

Aluminium is extensively used as an alternative to copper for electrical distribution and has a
number of advantages over copper in this application but for final connection to electrical equipment
such as transformers or circuit breakers a reliable connection is needed and copper is preferred.
Aluminium’s reactivity is the main reason for difficulty in creating reliable electrical terminations.
Since aluminium oxide is an excellent insulator it can form a barrier to transmission of electricity on
a termination, giving rise to a hot spot as the current tries to break through the insulation.

Aluminium may be joined to copper by coating the copper with a layer of silver or silver alloy and
then welding the aluminium to this using an aluminium or aluminium silicon filler metal without
penetrating through the silver layer.

MIG spot welding may be used to join aluminium to copper by sandwiching a layer of one metal
between two layers of the other. A hole is drilled through two of the three layers and then an arc
spot weld is made through this hole with penetration into the third layer as the hole is filled. A
copper or aluminium filler wire is selected to match the top and bottom layers.

Alternatively one of the solid state welding techniques can be used with friction welding being the
most common.

8 WELDING PROCESSES FOR ALUMINIUM

A variety of welding processes can be used to join aluminium including the fusion methods GMAW
(standard MIG, plasma and pulse) and GTAW (standard TIG and plasma) giving high quality, all-
position welding, manual, mechanised or fully automatic. Also resistance, MMA (metal arc, stick)
and advanced processes such as solid state and friction stir welding. Choice of process is based
on technical and/or economic reasons.
For most structural economical and quality welds, TIG and MIG are recommended for aluminium.

TIG welding is generally preferred for light gauge work up to 6 mm and for pipe work and intricate
assemblies where excellent control over weld appearance and penetration is possible. Thicker
material can be welded using TIG, but the very high currents needed, together with the very slow
welding speeds required, render the process uneconomic for thick materials (> 12,5 mm). Butt,
fillet, lap and edge welds can be carried out using TIG welding.

MIG welding is preferred for thicker sections [to over 75 mm] and where high productivity is needed
for economic reasons. MIG welding can deposit up to about 4,5 kg per hour with weld travel speeds
of 500 – 1000 mm per minute. Drawbacks of the MIG welding process are that control of
penetration is difficult and edge welds are not possible. Pipe welding using MIG welding is not
common because of the poor penetration control. Butt, fillet and lap joints are the most common
configurations for MIG welding. Joint preparation is needed for thickness above typically 6 mm.

MIG advantages over TIG are greater penetration depths, narrower HAZs and one-handed semi-
automatic welding. MIG weld joint quality compared to TIG welding gives better strength,
penetration (especially into the root of fillet welds), corrosion resistance, durability and finish
appearance and less distortion. MIG welding is easier to learn than TIG. TIG welding is preferred
for repair welding of castings, but MIG is preferred when welding castings to sheet and plate and
extrusions [fabrication].

MIG welding speeds are about twice that of TIG, and higher for thick section welding. High speeds
result in fast cooling of the weld area, which minimises distortion. High speeds and fast cooling of
the weld area prevent mechanical properties of the joint from being reduced as much as they are by
slower welding. Speed means corrosion resistance of the base metal in the HAZ is not reduced as
much by MIG as by TIG. When TIG welding, the operator is limited to the length of weld that can be

10
 made by the length of filler wire – usually not more than 25 cm – without breaking the arc. With
MIG and the filler wire being added automatically, welds of 60 cm are possible without breaking the
arc. This results in fewer weld craters and more cm of weld per hour. TIG manual filler addition
means the welder has complete control of the weld puddle at all times – a definite advantage, and
especially in butt welding of small and medium angles and other shapes. This control is an
advantage in welding of castings where variable material thickness is often encountered.

Good seam welds are essentially a result of optimally set welding parameters. Good TIG seams
have a regular ripple finish and on both sides of the seam there is a narrow, white de-oxidised
zone. The seam surface has a bright finish and is smooth and free of scaling deposits. Good MIG
seams have a uniform fine ripple finish on the seam with an excellent transition to the basic
material.

9 TOOLING FOR ALUMINIUM

All but the thinnest gauges of aluminium require joint preparation in order to achieve full penetration.
The most appropriate tools to carry out this process are those which will achieve
the quickest and therefore most economical results and leave the joint edge in the best condition for
welding.

Aluminium cannot be cut using oxy fuel processes because of the formation of aluminium oxide but
the plasma cutting process is widely used, primarily because of its high-speed capability. Since
extremely high temperatures are generated in plasma cutting care must be taken to keep the heat
input as low as practically possible to minimise the heat damage to the alloy. The non heat treatable
alloys cut quite cleanly without cracking but the heat treatable alloys can develop intergranular
shrinkage cracks. These cracks can be 2 – 3 mm deep and must be removed by a mechanical
trimming cut. The plasma cutting process uses ionised air
to make the cut so a layer of oxide is left on the cut surface and must be removed prior to welding.

Thicker sections can be sawn and a wood cutting band saw is a very suitable tool for this. Completely
spring tempered blades are suitable for sheet, whilst plate should be cut with a soft blade with fully
hardened teeth. High-speed circular saws and portable jig saws can also be used successfully for
cutting aluminium but in all cases lubrication in the form of mineral oil is needed, especially for thick
work. These methods give a sufficiently clean edge for welding after final cleaning.

High-speed routers, planers and edge millers are useful tools for profiling and edge preparation.
Grinding disks should not be used for final cleaning of aluminium as they are made from corundum
which is aluminium oxide ~ exactly the contamination which the cleaning process is intended to
remove. Grinding disks may be used in the early stages of cleaning, for example to remove sand
contamination from a casting prior to cosmetic repair but the final clean should use a tungsten carbide
burr on a high speed electric or air powered tool.

10 TROUBLE SHOOTING

Table 2. Trouble Shooting Aluminium Welds

Defect Cause Remedy

Oxide inclusions Insufficient cleaning of joint
Oxide layer on welding wire or filler
rods
Sharp edges on joint groove
Thoroughly wire brush before welding and after
each pass then wipe clean.
Clean wire and rods by abrading with stainless steel
wool or ‘Scotchbrite’.
Use fresh spool of wire.
Break sharp edges of weld preparation

11
Round porosity Inadequate shielding
in weld
Dye penetrants, lubricants
Welding current too high
Contaminated shielding gas
Incorrect torch angle
Travel speed too high
Contaminated wire or rods
Moisture
Porosity in Hydrogen in base metal
fusion zone
Tungsten ‘Spitting’
inclusions
Welding current too high
Damaged tungsten
Excessive electrode extension
Poor gas shielding
Cold cracking High joint restraint
Hot cracking Excessive dilution by parent
Interpass temperature too high
Undercutting Welding current too high
Travel speed too high
Insufficient filler metal
Arc length too long
Lack of fusion Welding current too low
Travel speed too high
Poor joint preparation
Incorrect torch angle
Crater cracking Improper breaking of arc
Overlap Slow travel speed
Increase gas flow
Eliminate draughts
Reduce electrode extension
Remove defect fully
Clean surfaces with a solvent
Keep lubricants away from weld area
Reduce current, refer to weld procedure
Check gas hoses for loose connections or damage.
Check torch coolant to ensure no leaks
Replace gas cylinders.
Use correct angle, refer to weld procedure
Correct speed, refer to weld procedure
Clean wire or rods with solvent
Preheat, clean surface
Improve degassing practice
Reduce sodium additions
Weld TIG, DC polarity, electrode negative (DCEN),
100% He shielding
Replace older power supply
Change to 2% Thoriated electrode
Reduce current, use larger electrode
Replace electrode
Reduce electrode extension
Increase gas flow
Eliminate draughts
Slacken holding clamps
Preheat
Reduce welding current
Add more filler wire
Reduce welding current
Cool between passes, sequence welds
Reduce current
Reduce speed, refer to weld procedure
Add more filler metal
Reduce arc length
Increase current, refer to weld procedure
Reduce travel speed, refer to weld procedure
Improve preparation, refer to weld procedure
Correct torch angle, refer to weld procedure
Reduce arc current gradually
Use ‘Crater fill’ control if available
‘Back weld’ over last 25 mm of bead
Increase speed, refer to weld procedure
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 Welding current too low Increase current
Too much filler metal Reduce filler metal addition
Incorrect torch angle Change torch angle

Drop through Slow travel speed Increase travel speed

Welding current too high Decrease welding current
Joint gap too wide Reduce gap, improve fit up
Too much heat built up in part Reduce interpass temperature

References

1. Metals Handbook, 10th edition, Volume 2. American Society of Metals, 1990.

2. The FOSECO Foundryman’s Handbook, 10th edition, Butterworth Heinemann, 1998.
3. Successful welding of aluminium, Welding Technology Institute of Australia, 1997.
4. Aluminium Technology Book 4: Joining Aluminium, Aluminium Development Council 1979.
5. Introduction to Aluminium, Aluminium Federation of South Africa, 1993.
6. Aluminium Fabrication Guide, Aluminium Federation of South Africa, 1993.
7. Aluminium Standards and Data – Ingots and Castings, Australian Aluminium Council, 1997.
8. Aluminium Casting Alloys, VAW-IMCO GmbH, Undated.

For more information contact: Aluminium Federation of Southern Africa (AFSA)

Tel: +(27) (0)11 453 3339 : Fax: +(27) (0)11 453 3403
e-mail: afsa@afsa.org.za and Web site: http://www.afsa.org.za

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