Practical MIG Welding: Flux Core Arc Welding FCAW
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Flux Core Arc Welding FCAW
03.34
| 00:00 | Shopping around for a welder can present a lot of confusing acronyms and with so many multiprocess machines on the market now, it can be a little difficult to figure out what we need to reliably join our metals together. |
| 00:10 | We've already briefly mentioned the acronym FCAW and now it's time to dive a little deeper in. |
| 00:17 | FCAW stands for flux core arc welding and basically means that we don't require shielding gas to weld with this method. |
| 00:23 | As its name suggests, flux core relates to the wire that's used in the spool of the MIG welder. |
| 00:28 | This wire is a self shielding method of welding and relies on the flux core of the wire to shield the molten weld pool from contaminants in the atmospheric air that promote porosity and weakness in our welds. |
| 00:40 | Flux core arc welding is sometimes referred to as gasless MIG welding and as we've learned, cheap MIG welders use this method to negate the need for an internal shielding gas solenoid, making the machine cheaper to manufacture. |
| 00:51 | These machines are certainly not aimed towards motorsport fabrication though as they offer very little in the way of precision. |
| 00:58 | Once you buy a gasless MIG welder, there's really no way you can improve on its design other than to sell it and upgrade to a MIG welder with an internal gas solenoid for proper shielded welding. |
| 01:09 | Flux core arc welding is generally designed to be self shielding without the need for gas, but there is another type of flux core arc welding wire that requires gas which is used by large industries to speed up the rate of welding, allowing the cost of gas to be reduced. |
| 01:22 | Essentially this method shields the weld pool both via the flux in the wire and the gas exiting the MIG gun's nozzle. |
| 01:30 | When using the flux core arc welding method, we need to be cautious of the polarity that the machine is wired in. |
| 01:35 | The wire used for the welding should have some information on what polarity is required and the majority of flux cored wires require negative polarity which in most cases will be the opposite of how your machine is configured from the factory. |
| 01:48 | To change the polarity on your machine, especially if it's your first time doing so, it's important that you read your owner's manual to understand the process before jumping straight in. |
| 01:57 | Flux core arc welding also emits a lot of hazardous fumes because the process uses a slag system which occurs when the arc is exposed to the atmosphere, creating a reaction with the flux core elements that use an aluminium magnesium deoxidising and denitriding cleansing system to cleanse the weld pool. |
| 02:14 | As the weld pool starts to cool, they solidify and float to the weld surface and protect the process from further atmospheric contamination. |
| 02:22 | This creates a crust known as slag and this will need to be chipped off the surface to expose the finished weld beneath it, much like the arc welding process. |
| 02:30 | You're probably waiting for some positives to come out of this module. |
| 02:34 | Unfortunately, while flux core arc welding is extremely popular for large commercial welding sites, it's not worth the extra fumes, clean up time and effort in motorsport fabrication. |
| 02:44 | If you need to weld up some gates on the farm or perform more industrial style welding, then sure, go right ahead, however it's not recommended for motorsport applications. |
| 02:53 | Understanding exactly what flux core is makes it worth mentioning though. |
| 02:57 | It's a process that can be used with all MIG machines and one that does have its place, it's just not necessary on your project car. |
| 03:04 | Let's go over the major points before moving on. |
| 03:08 | FCAW or flux core arc welding is a welding method that doesn't require external shielding gas. |
| 03:13 | The wire used in this process, known as flux core wire, contains flux that shields the weld from contaminants during welding. |
| 03:20 | This approach is sometimes called gasless MIG welding and is used in cheaper MIG welders, however it lacks the precision and isn't suitable for tasks like motorsport fabrication. |
