Professional welding of your car body

  

Types and advantages
 

The body of the car is an important part of the vehicle, as well as other components or parts.

The housing is in the risk zone, being a buffer in contact with the external environment — the inevitable mechanical impact of surrounding objects, other vehicles and objects in road accidents is guaranteed to lead to breakdowns and violations of the shape of the elements of the parts and the loss of an attractive appearance.

Do not forget about the aggressive effects of the environment-moisture, dirt and salt cause corrosion spots and cracks. In all these cases, a car body repair is required.
Requirements for welding the car body

Welding of the car body is a time-consuming process, whether it is arc, spot or other type of welding.

In any case, it requires a high-quality best welding machine for car bodywork and a highly qualified welder — only this combination guarantees a satisfactory result.

The lack of proper experience and a good welding machine does not allow you to achieve an accurate and thin seam.

Welding bodywork should be carried out in a specially equipped room, where there is a connection point to the network with the appropriate parameters of frequency, voltage and current, a gas source, etc.

Welding the car body with your own hands is possible only in simple cases and for body repairs in those places where the aesthetics of the seam is not so important.

A professional approach to the processing of the body in an equipped service station allows you to get a welding seam with the right criteria:

•     the type of seam is selected depending on the location of the damage;.
•     taking into account the characteristics of the metal, the type of welding is selected;
•     the method of welding repair — gas, manual arc, semi-automatic, laser-is selected in each case individually.

Indeed, there is no universal option, the elements of the car after repair are exposed to different forces, and are made of different materials.

Spot welding is used in the vast majority of cases for the repair of wings, sills, while the overlap connection will be optimal for elements under high load.

If it is necessary to partially replace any part, then it is reasonable to apply a butt joint, for example, when patching holes on the bottom of a car.

Timely car diagnostics allows you to detect damage at an early stage, which makes it possible to solve the problem without serious financial costs.

What kind of welding to cook the body?

 As mentioned above, the choice of which welding and which materials are suitable for welding the car body should be made by professionals, as well as the choice of which device to choose for the implementation of the process.

The body of the car is made of low-alloy steels with a small content of titanium or carbon steels with a carbon content in the range of 0.08 – 0.14 %, and such steel with an average thickness of about 0.8 mm is perfectly stamped, resistant to strong tension.

As for the types of welding repairs, the specialist chooses from the following range:

manual arc welding using a multi-post welding rectifier of the "VDM 1202" type or its analog with electrodes with a diameter of 1.6 mm of the UONI 13/45 brand, the seam position is lower;

gas welding of the car body is performed by a gas burner with an acetylene-oxygen flame and a filler wire with a diameter of 0.8 mm of the Sv-08G2S brand;

welding of the body with a semi-automatic car is also very popular – it will require a cylinder with carbon dioxide and a wire with a diameter of 0.8 mm of the Sv-08G2S brand. However, you can weld semi-automatic and without gas, using powder wire or wire with flux.

Is it possible to cook the car body with a welding inverter?

 The inverter welding machine for bodywork with high-frequency electric current is used for welding the bumper, additional frames, rear and front winches, bull bars and even fog lights, if the customer wanted to place them on the roof of the vehicle. The basic advantage of welding the car body with an inverter is high speed — the work will be completed in the shortest possible time.

The inverter in the process of creating welds on the vehicle has been actively used since Soviet times, however, only in the places of the body that do not make claims to the aesthetic appearance. The resulting seams are reliable and strong, but only on metal with a thickness of more than 3 mm.

To obtain a high-quality seam with the inverter, it is important to carry out the procedure in a clean room — the ingress of moisture and dust into the housing will inevitably affect the quality of the seam.
Semi-automatic body welding

  Which device to choose for the repair of the bottom?

 The semi-automatic welding machine for bodywork is optimal for performing patches on rust-affected areas of the body.

Welding of the body with a semi-automatic machine is performed using a special wire and deservedly received the title of the most universal means of body repair today. This method allows you to connect metal sheets with a thickness of 0.8-6 mm.

As for the types of work performed with a semi-automatic machine, it is important to note the following:

•     reliable connections on the spars
•     patches in place of corroding metal
•     the welding machine restores the shape in place of the usual dents.

In addition to connecting the parts during the welding of the parts, the contact point gets rid of oxygen, and the body of the car gradually melts, but since the welding of the semi-automatic car body takes place under the control of the operator, the iron does not burn.

 Which welding machine is better to choose for creating joints on all types of metal?

 Of course, this is a semi-automatic welding machine. Indeed, if argon is used for the welding process instead of standard carbon dioxide, then it is possible to weld non-ferrous metals such as aluminum and stainless steel.
Features of welding the car body with an electrode

Manual arc welding allows you to weld thin-layer metal, but to get a neat seam requires not only a welding machine for bodywork, but also experience.

If you have no experience with the welding machine yourself, you can only patch the rusty areas of corrosion on the bottom-you can take any materials to perform such operations, as long as they meet the requirements for thickness and reliability. The rest should be entrusted to professionals.

This version of the connection of metal parts is the oldest and most reliable and at the same time the most versatile. Moreover, this option can be used for any spatial location of the weld, even in places with limited access.

A wide range of available electrode grades makes it possible to weld a wide variety of steels — both carbon steels of ordinary quality, and high-quality steels with a different content of alloying elements. In this case, the quality of the seam directly depends on the qualification of the welder, and in general, the productivity compared to other welding technologies is lower, but the relevance of a manual welding machine with electrodes is not reduced due to the simplicity and trans portability of such equipment.

For obvious reasons, welding the car body with your own hands is cheaper, but not better, especially if the semi-automatic welding machine for bodywork leaves much to be desired.

Having decided to choose a device for body repair, a qualified specialist will take into account the chemical composition, the thickness of the metal, the location of the parts to be welded, so that the condition of the thresholds after welding will please the car owner for more than one year.

Indeed, if you have a high-performance welding machine for bodywork and competent specialists in an equipped room, then it will not take much time to repair the body. So do not skimp on your car and your own safety — entrust your vehicle to professionals who have everything you need for car bodywork.

Semi-automaticwelding machine for bodywork: reviews, photos, specifications

In the life of every owner of a vehicle that has a used car, sooner or later there comes a time when body repairs are needed. There are two ways out of this situation: contact the service station or buy a semi-automatic welding machine for bodywork and patch up your iron horse on your own.

Read also Welding copper wires in a junction box

In this article, we will try to help implement the second method, namely, we will talk about what these devices are, explain the values of their main indicators.

In addition, we will give some recommendations on how to make the right choice of a semi-automatic welding machine for bodywork, because today the market offers a variety of different tools.
What is an aggregate?

A semi-automatic welding machine is a device that is designed for welding metal wire in a protective gas environment. The principle of operation is that the welder only needs to direct the burner to the right place, and all other operations (turning on the power, starting the wire feed) will be performed by the device.

The semi-automatic welding machine is most often used for joining thin materials – corners, sheet iron, and so on. That is why it is the best option for performing bodywork when repairing cars or welding various metal structures made of thin metal elements.

Semi-automatic welding is only possible under these conditions:

1. In the environment of active (abbreviated MAG) gases. Carbon dioxide is used as a protective gas.
2. In an environment of inert (abbreviated MIG) gases. A mixture of gases or argon is used.
3. Many semi-automatic welding machines support the welding mode without protective gas at all, with the help of a" flux " wire (this will be discussed later).

When welding in MIG or MAG modes, an electric arc is formed that appears between the material to be welded and the wire. The protective gas is supplied through the burner of the semi-automatic welding machine and protects the resulting seam from the effects of oxygen, since it is a very powerful oxidizer and can significantly worsen the result. The seam will not only be flimsy, but can also quickly become covered with rust.

Semi – automatic welding machines are divided into 3 classes-professional, semi-professional and household. Their difference is in the maximum current output from the power supply, as well as in the percentage of operating time (abbreviated PV).

Professional semi – automatic welding machines include units capable of producing a welding current of 300 A or more, semi – professional ones-up to 300 amps, and household ones-up to 200 amps.

This parameter, such as the percentage of working time, will be discussed later in the article.

Also, a semi-automatic welding machine for bodywork can have a power source belonging to one of three types.

They can be:

•     inverter systems
•     transformer stations
•     rectifiers.

Inverter semi-automatic machines:

The cost of such units is higher, but at the same time they have a much smaller weight and size, which is important when working. The inverter technology also provides features such as smooth arc ignition, anti-sticking of the wire and the possibility of smooth regulation of the welding current. This semi-automatic welding machine for bodywork has the most positive user reviews.
 Transformer units

They are used in places where frequent transportation of the device is not necessary and there is enough space for its installation.

Design and characteristics of the semi-automatic welding machine

The device we are considering structurally consists of the following elements:

1.     power supply (transformer, rectifier or inverter)
2.     current and wire feed control system
3.     wire feed mechanism
4.     welding hose for gas and wire feed
5.     burners.

In addition, the welding machine is equipped with a mass cable. Some units are equipped with a welding function using simple piece electrodes and are equipped with a special cable-an electrode holder.

And for welding work, you also need to purchase a gearbox and a cylinder for protective gas. These accessories, as a rule, semi-automatic welding machines are not equipped, and they should be purchased additionally.

There are the following types of wire feed machine:

pushing, when the drive located in the machine pushes the welding wire into the sleeve;

pulling mechanism when the drive is in the burner handle.

the pull-push or combined type is rarely used in household appliances.

Welding wire

The diameter of the welding wire can be 0.6-2.0 mm. It is wound on a bobbin, which is installed inside the welding unit. The wire is passed through the feed mechanism, the welding sleeve and the burner.

1.     Distinguish the wire:
2.     steel plate;
3.     stainless steel;
4.     aluminum.

Each type has a different chemical composition and is designed for welding in different conditions.

When connecting ferrous metal, the weld is obtained better if a steel wire with a copper coating is used, thanks to which a better electrical contact is provided. During operation, the voltage and current surges are reduced. The reviews of the masters confirm this.

When cooking aluminum, it is necessary to use the appropriate wire and argon mixture or argon as a protective gas.

There is also a powder (flux) wire, the operation of which is possible without a protective gas at all.

    Girls Can Weld Too! Welding instructor Mr. Purifoy @MPACTMontgomery is teaching the basic fundamentals of “building a plate”! 👩🏼‍🏭🧑🏽‍🏭 pic.twitter.com/bctkHAmYAc
    — Alesia Ruffin, Ed.S. (@careerldy) April 13, 2021

It looks like a thin tube, inside which the flux is placed. When it burns, a gas is formed that protects the welding site from oxidation. The seam that is obtained by using flux-cored wire is not of such high quality. The only plus is the lack of a cylinder with protective gas.