The main consumable for welding - welding wire

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Welding wire is used in various welding operations, it is the main consumable material that acts as an electrode. It is fed into the working area at a melting rate and ensures the continuity of the process itself. Welding wire allows you to get a high-quality seam.

About labeling

The type of wire used depends on the type of welding and the materials being joined. Every more or less competent welder knows that the welding wire must have a composition similar to the composition of the metals being joined. So, for welding aluminum, stainless, carbon or alloy steel, it is produced with the name and composition corresponding to the above materials.

Each of the 77 existing types of wire has its own marking according to GOST, which regulates its standard physical and chemical parameters: metal quality, diameter, carbon content, presence of alloying substances, etc.e.

Consider the marking on the example of Sv-08g2s - this is the most used welding wire for semi-automatic machines. It accounts for 95% of all sales of consumables used in semi-automatic welding.

So: the letters "Sv" mean that the wire is welding, "08" - the mass fraction of carbon is 0.08%, "G" - there is manganese in the wire, and the number "2" indicates its two percent content, “C” is the silicon content, and since the figure is not indicated, it is less than 1%. The indicated marking makes it clear that this is a low-alloy carbon welding wire, used to work with low-alloy steels (and this is 90% of rolled metal). Standard analogues, but having an international classification, are produced all over the world.

Copper-plated welding wire

Recently, copper-plated welding wire Sv-08g2sO has been widely used.

Thanks to its coating, it helps to increase the stability of the welding arc, reduce the degree of spatter, and in addition, gives a smooth and clean high-quality seam with low porosity and a high degree of tightness. The use of such wire when welding structures makes their operation more reliable. It is not critical to the use of various types of equipment and is applicable to welding installations of any class. Can also be used for robotic welding.

Powder coated, stainless, aluminum…

Welding wire gives the best effect in automatic weldingpowder. It looks like a tube of mild steel filled with powder. The composition of the filler includes arc stabilizers, deoxidizers, ferroalloys, slag-forming substances. Such a wire minimizes the formation of slag during the welding process, and therefore reduces the work of cleaning the seam.

Many industries, such as medical equipment, shipbuilding, energy, require the welding of stainless steels. In this case, a stainless welding wire with high anti-corrosion characteristics is used, which provides a high-quality seam.

For welding alloys containing aluminum, as well as structures made of this metal, there is a special aluminum wire. In addition, it serves for the sputter plating process.

Basic rule for selecting welding wire

Welding work requires extensive professional knowledge, a responsible approach to the choice of consumables. For welding structures, it is unacceptable to use random wire of incomprehensible marking and unknown composition. This can lead to the collapse of structures due to a poor-quality seam. The chemical composition of the filler material should be as close as possible to the composition of the metal to be welded.