Just saw a huge difference in our shop's weld quality after switching to a new gas mix

We were using a standard 75/25 argon/CO2 mix for our MIG work on pressure vessel shells for about two years. Last month, our supplier was out and we had to try their 90/10 blend as a one-time thing. The bead profile on the 3/8 inch plate was way smoother with almost no spatter, and the X-ray pass rate on our last job jumped from about 92% to 98%. The foreman said the higher argon content gave us a more stable arc. Has anyone else made a switch like this and seen long-term benefits, or did you run into any problems with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

kareng275d ago

Did you have to change your machine settings at all when you switched to the 90/10 mix, or did it run fine with the same wire speed and voltage?

bettywilson5d ago

Wait, your pass rate was only 92% before? That's wild for pressure vessel work lol.