Best Mig Wire Size For Sheet Metal

I have some of the old linde 023 and the new stiffer esab 030.

Best mig wire size for sheet metal.

Move the torch faster and or reduce the amp setting of the welder and the lower the wire speed. For thinner gauge sheet metal like 18 or 20 gauge we suggest 023 6mm wire in your mig welder. With portable design and wide applications the suncoo features a variable feed speed controls and a rotary knob to easily adjust the current flow and wire. In this video we cover which size welding wire you should use when to change sizes and how to adjust your mig welder machine settings for different wires.

From automotive parts to fabricated structures shipbuilding metal buildings and sheet metal applications all have often reaped benefits from the switch to mig wire. 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. Every mig welder has a sweet spot for a given material thickness in a particular alloy using a specific wire size and a certain shielding gas. It is the best option for welding stainless steel.

I use both in my linclone mig and the 030 in my cold wire feeder for tig work. For mig welding sheet metal it is often recommended to use an electrode wire of the smallest diameter to prevent burn through and warping. It s recommended to use a 023 or 024 inch wire for most light gauge sheet metal work. Using a thinner wire 0 30 instead of 0 35 will also help.

Advantages include slag free welding with less clean up even in multiple pass operations. If you are burning through the metal you re not moving the torch fast enough and or your welder is set too high. Holding the tip too far from the surface will cause the wire to have to come out too far to touch the metal. When the material is 18 gauge and thicker you may be able to use a 030 inch wire.

And yes it is easy to grind if you use argon75 25co2. Another vote for 023 easygrind wire in your mig. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. To help you to get in the hunt we have provided the handy guidelines below.

You can planish it pretty good or just grind it off. As i will prefer to call it the best mig welder for sheet metal it uses a flux core wire and self release metal inert gas while welding preventing the oxidation of the welded area. In addition mig requires lower operator skills levels than stick or tig. Metal thickness amperage settings wire size.

But be aware that the 023 is really soft.