How To Mig Weld Sheet Metal Without Warping

Correctly sizing a weld not only minimizes distortion but also saves weld metal and time.

How to mig weld sheet metal without warping.

Place the welding tip wire at the gap and tack weld several small spots spacing them evenly apart. Tack in a few places apart from each other and wait until the panel is cool to the touch. Design and welding should be addressed to minimize this sort of warping. Then tack between the two previous tacks.

Though weld shrinkage cannot be prevented it can be controlled by following these steps. While replacing body panels overheating and warping thin sheet metal is common. The bigger the weld the greater the shrinkage. It is better to use instead of a high percentage of co2.

When butt welding chamfer both sides of the join but keep the included angle less than 60 and make the gap between the sheets as small as possible. By putting the metal between a dolly and a swinging hammer you are slowly stretching the metal out by striking on it each time think of kneading pizza dough. Learn why mig pulsed mig tig and pulsed tig are the ideal choices when welding sheet metal. This is especially helpful if you re welding in an area that is very critical and could lead to oil canning.

This relaxes the metal and flattens the weld which in the end allows you to control the warpage in the panel. Use intermittent welds instead of continuous welds where possible to minimize the amount of weld metal. When starting to learn auto body sheet metal welding with a mig welder you should opt for a shielding gas that has a higher proportion of argon gas. Avoid warping the sheet metal.

For mig welding sheet metal it is often recommended to use an electrode wire of the smallest diameter to prevent burn through and warping. When welding thin metal the main objective is to avoid warping burn through and excessive heat affected zones while still ensuring the weld has enough mechanical strength for the application. Our copper weld backers help to keep a welds from blowing through the metal and also act as a heat sink. Short circuit transfer mig short arc tig and pulsed tig welding processes provide the most control over the heat to address these challenges.

Minimize the amount of heat put into the weld. The main reason to use a smaller diameter wire is that it takes less heat for melting and hence the metal around the weld is not heated to a very great extent. This is very important to keep the shape of the panel you re welding. Another alternative is to surround the area you re welding with an anti heat compound that will block the heat from spreading to the rest of the panel and potentially reduce warping in the panel.