Spatter Reduction of CO_2 Welding by the Active Wire Feed Process

摘要

The most common shielding gases used to weld mild steel by GMAW process are low-cost 100% CO_2 gas and high-cost MAG (Ar-CO_2 mixed) gas. CO_2 shielding gas not only saves on the cost of gas but also provides stronger weld in comparison to MAG welding. However CO_2 welding causes more spatter, which adheres to the workpiece and can cause welding defects. Therefore, industry tends to use expensive but less spatter generating mixed gas in order to reduce spatter and its removal cost. However, in order to reduce cost of fabrication, there is a need for improved welding techniques, which can use low-cost CO_2 gas while maintaining low level of spatter. This paper deals with "Active wire feed process" (AWP) which has been developed by Panasonic to achieve low-spatter during CO_2 welding.