Plug Welding Sheet Metal With Mig

Keep in mind during the welding process it is important to direct the arc right at the center of the weld puddle and don t do movements like whipping or weaving as it may cause warping and burn through quickly.

Plug welding sheet metal with mig.

Below we show you the process for making a spot weld with your mig welder. Hold the panels in place. Learn how to mig weld automotive sheet metal in about 5 minutes or less. 7 5mm is a reasonably good hole size for 0 8 or 1 0mm sheet.

I like to try and center the weld in the flange or weld seam. When mig welding sheet metal it is important to set the proper parameters to prevent warping and burn through or else it will create excess heat and easily blowholes on the metal. A plug weld with mig works very good and is a superior way to attach thin sheets together. For thinner gauge sheet metal like 18 or 20 gauge we suggest 023 6mm wire in your mig welder.

You can than take a drill or a metal punch to make holes in the top layer of the metal. In plug welding you drill or punch holes in your top sheet clean both surfaces and overlay it and do a small dot or spot in the hole which should fuse the two together. 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. Place the wire electrode from the mig welding torch in the center of the first hole so it touches the lower metal plate.

Learn why mig pulsed mig tig and pulsed tig are the ideal choices when welding sheet metal. Start off by drilling 7 5mm holes in the front sheet of metal at a spacing of normally 25mm to 40mm or whatever the original spot weld spacing was. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. To obtain the best results while mig welding sheet metal proper fitment and cleanliness of the metal are essential.

After cutting and fitting the new panel you are now ready to weld the patch panel in place. Holding the tip too far from the surface will cause the wire to have to come out too far to touch the metal. Short circuit transfer mig short arc tig and pulsed tig welding processes provide the most control over the heat to address these challenges. Pull the torch trigger to start an arc weld for 4 to 6 seconds until the hole in the top sheet fills with liquid metal.

Start by marking out even spacing of where you want your spot or plug welds on the metal. This will fill the hole with a plug and join the two sheets together at that location.