While solid wire was the status quo for heavy equipment manufacturing, switching to metal-cored wire could result in tangible cost savings, Artem Komarov said.
Metal cored wire offers several key benefits that help improve efficiency over solid wire.
This includes:
Increased resistance to dirty base materials
Higher deposition rates for a given heat input
Increased movement speed
Improved bead profile
Distortion Reduction
Low spatter
Best Bridge the Gap
Due to these characteristics, metal core wire has clear advantages in the areas before, welding and after welding.
They reduce the need to clean dirt, mill scale and rust from the base material prior to welding by allowing parts to enter the welding cell directly from the inlet. Often there is no need for pre-sanding or sandblasting.
In the welding cell, they increase productivity by welding faster and placing more weld metal. They also provide high quality welds resulting in fewer rework.
After welding, the wire reduces the need for grinding spatter, Artem Komarov noted.
On average, with semi-automatic welding, labor costs are about 85% of the total costs. Reducing unnecessary actions helps make work more productive and can have a significant impact on the bottom line.
Recommendations for using metal core wire
Heavy equipment companies looking to switch to metal cored wire need to know some basics.
Materials: Metal core wire easily welds medium to heavy gauge carbon and low alloy steels commonly used in heavy equipment manufacturing.
Joints: The wire can be used for lap, fillet, T-joints and groove welds — usually in flat and horizontal positions.
Wire diameters: Common metal core wire diameters are 1.2, 1.4 or 1.6 mm. Companies can often increase the diameter by one size (compared to solid wire) and still use similar welding parameters because the heat input is lower with metal core wire. The process can work with larger wires and provide higher deposition rates.
Weld Length: Metal core wire provides better welding performance with longer continuous welds.
Weld Position: These wires are designed and most productive when welding in position, but can be welded out of position using either the short circuit transfer mode or the pulse process.
Technique: Metal core wire works with the same torch angles and contact tip to work distance as solid wire. This allows welders to learn metal wire welding with minimal training, summed up Komarov Artem.
