Lincoln Electric 355M, 405M service manual ARC Gouging, Power Mode

B-7	OPERATION	B-7
ARC GOUGING

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Gouging is basically removing metal to form a bevel or groove in a piece of steel with controlled forced air and a carbon rod.

The common procedures for Arc Gouging metal are:

•Removing poor welds from a weldment so that new welds can be made.

•Creating a welding groove or grooves in two pieces of steel butted together. (See Example below)

WELD GROOVES CREATED BY ARC GOUGING

STEEL BUTTED TOGTHER

Mode 9 in the POWER WAVE 355M is specifically for gouging. Gouging can also be done in the stick soft and crisp modes. Setting the output of the Stick Soft mode to 425 amps will enable the arc-gouging mode. The actual output current will depend on the size of carbon used. The recommended maximum size carbon is 5/16".

POWER MODE™

The Power Mode™ process was developed by Lincoln to maintain a stable and smooth arc at low procedure settings which are needed to weld thin metal without pop-outs or burning-through. For Aluminum welding, it provides excellent control and the ability to maintain constant arc length. This results in improved welding performance in two primary types of applications.

•Short Arc MIG at low procedure settings.

•Aluminum MIG welding.

Power Mode™ is a method of high speed regulation of the output power whenever an arc is established. It provides a fast response to changes in the arc. The higher the Power Mode Setting, the longer the arc. If a welding procedure is not established, the best way to determine the Power Mode Setting is by experimenta- tion until the desired output result is established.

In the Power Mode variables need to be set:

•Wire Feed Speed

•Output

•Arc Control

Setting up a Power Mode procedure is similar to set- ting a CV MIG procedure. Select a shielding gas appropriate for a short arc process.

•For steel, use 75/25 Ar/CO2 shield gas.

•For Stainless, select a Helium blend Tri-Mix.

•For Aluminum, use 100% Ar.

Start by setting the wire feed speed based upon mate- rial thickness and appropriate travel speed. Then adjust the Output knob as follows:

•For steel, listen for the traditional “frying egg” sound of a good short-arc MIG procedure to know you have the process set correctly.

•For aluminum, simply adjust the Output knob until the desired arc length is obtained.

Note the Volts display is simply a relative number and DOES NOT correspond to voltage.

Some Power Mode procedure recommendations appear in Table B.2.

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POWER WAVE 355M/405M