The Effect of Welding Wire Feed Speed on Weld Bead Penetration, Length and Width in Robotic Gas Metal Arc Welding

Abstract

In this study, the effect of welding wire feed speed on penetration quality in the gas metal arc welding method (GMAW), which is widely used in the automotive industry, was investigated in terms of product safety and quality. In the gas metal arc welding robots used in automotive production, the welding process is carried out through communication between the robot and the gas metal arc welding machine within predetermined parameters. In the study, 3 mm thick 6224 ERD steel was used and overlap welding was applied for experimental analysis. Among the gas metal arc welding parameters, welding current, wire diameter, and gas flow rate were kept constant, while wire feed speed was considered as the only variable. Starting from 2 m/min, the welding wire feed speed was increased by 2 m/min in each test, reaching up to 12 m/min, resulting in a total of 6 different experiments. The test results were evaluated based on metallographic analyses to determine the macro and microstructures of the welds. According to the findings, it was observed that penetration increased as the welding wire feed speed increased. However, it was also determined that beyond a certain optimum value, the increased welding speed had a negative effect on weld bead width and length. Accordingly, the optimum welding wire feed speed was suggested for achieving the appropriate penetration and maintaining weld quality.

Keywords

• Robotic arc welding
• penetration
• welding wire feed speed

References

1. 1. Dam, Q.T., Haidar, F., Mama, N., Chennapalli, S. J. (2024). Modeling and simulation of an Internal Combustion Engine using Hydrogen: A MATLAB implementation approach. Engineering Perspective. 4 (3). 108-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/eng.pers.76219
2. 2. Zhao, D., Bezgans, Y., Vdonin, N., Radionova, L., Bykov, V. (2021). Modeling and Optimization of Weld Bead Profile with Varied Welding Stages for Weathering Steel A606. International Journal of advanced Manufacturing Technology. Volume 116. pages 3179–3192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-07722-y
3. 3. Lancaster, J. F. (1999) Metallurgy of Welding. Woodhead publishing. ISBN: 978-1-85573-428-9
4. 4. Lertora, E., Gambaro, C., & Cypres, P. (2011). The influence of robotic MAG process welding parameters. Welding International. 25(10). 767–776. https://doi.org/10.1080/09507116.2011.581349
5. 5. Mills, K. C., & Keene, B. J. (1990). Factors affecting variable weld penetration. International Materials Reviews. 35(1). 185–216. https://doi.org/10.1179/095066090790323966
6. 6. Kim, I.S., Son, J.S., Kim, I.G., Kim, J.Y., Kim, O.S. (2003). A study on relationship between process variables and bead penetration for robotic CO2 arc welding. Journal of Materials Processing Technology. 136(1–3). 139–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-0136(02)01126-3
7. 7. Wu, Y., Kovacevic, R. (2002). Mechanical assisted droplet transfer process in gas metal arc welding. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 216(4). 555–564. https://doi.org/10.1243/0954405021520247
8. 8. Katayama, S., Kawahito, Y., Mizutani, M. (2010). Elucidation of laser welding phenomena and factors affecting weld penetration and welding defects. Physics Procedia. 5(Part B). 9-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2010.08.024

9. 9. Li, K., Wu, Z.S,, Liu, C.R., Chen, F.H. (2014). Arc characteristics of submerged arc welding with stainless steel wire. International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy, and Materials. 21(8). 772–778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-014-0970-1
10. 10. Li, X.R., Zhang, Y.M., Kvidahl, L. (2013). Penetration Depth Monitoring and Control in Submerged Arc Welding. Welding Journal Research Supplement. 92. 48s-56s.
11. 11. Ibrahim, I.A., Mohamat, S.A., Amir, A., Ghalib, A. (2012). The effect of gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes on different welding parameters. Procedia Engineering. 41. 1502–1506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2012.07.342
12. 12. Roshan, R., Kumar Naik, A., Kumar Saxena, K., Arora, K. S., Shajan, N., Msomi, V., & Mehdi, H. (2023). Effect of welding speed and wire feed rate on arc characteristics, weld bead and microstructure in standard and pulsed gas metal arc welding. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology. 37(23). 3297–3314. https://doi.org/10.1080/01694243.2023.2192314
13. 13. Suban, M., Tušek, J. (2001). Dependence of melting rate in MIG/MAG welding on type of shielding gas. Journal of Materials Processing Technology. 119(1-3). 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-0136(01)00940-2
14. 14. Praveen, P., Yarlagadda, P.K.D.V., Kang, M.J. (2005). Advancements in pulse gas metal arc welding. Journal of Materials Processing Technology. 164–165. 1113–1119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2005.02.100
15. 15. Wang, J., Sun, Q., Ma, J., Jin, P., Sun, T., Feng, J. (2018). Correlation between wire feed speed and external mechanical constraint for enhanced process stability in underwater wet flux-cored arc welding. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 233(10). 2061-2073. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954405418811783
16. 16. Karadeniz, E., Ozsarac, U., & Yildiz, C. (2007). The effect of process parameters on penetration in gas metal arc welding processes. Materials & Design, 28(2), 649–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2005.07.014
17. 17. Deshmukh, A.R., Venkatachalam, G., Divekar, H., Saraf, M.R.(2014). Effect Of Weld Penetration On Fatigue Life. Procedia Engineering. 97. 783 – 789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.12.277
18. 18. J. Tušek (2002). Factors Affecting Weld Shape in Welding With A Triple-Wire Electrode. Metalurgija. 2. 89-92.
19. 19. Mills, K. C., & Keene, B. J. (1990). Factors affecting variable weld penetration. International Materials Reviews, 35(1), 185–216. https://doi.org/10.1179/095066090790323966
20. 20. Lee, K-B., Kim, C., Kim, D-S. (2013). High deposition rate pulse gas metal arc welding for Al 5083 thick plate. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 227(6).848-854. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954405413476860
21. 21. Kozakov, R., Schöpp, H., Gött, G., Sperl, A., Wilhelm, G., & Uhrlandt, D. (2013). Weld pool temperatures of steel S235 while applying a controlled short-circuit gas metal arc welding process and various shielding gases. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 46(47), 475501. https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/47/475501