Power Mode - Lincoln Electric POWER WAVE IM846-A Operator's Manual

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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 two variables need to be set:
• Wire Feed Speed
• Power Mode Trim
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/CO 2 shield gas.
• For Stainless, select a Helium blend Tri-Mix.
• For Aluminum, use 100% Ar.
Recommended Welding Procedures for Power Mode - Table b.3
W F S b e l o w 4 0 0 R e c o m m e n d e d 0 7 5 0 0 6 8 . 7 / R e c o m m e n d e d N o t C O M M E N T S 7 0 0 / 8 . 5 7 0 0 / 9 . 1 1 / 4 3 / 1 6 N o t b e l o w 4 0 0 0 . 9 / W F S 0 0 4 5 . 7 / 0 0 4 0 . 7 /
1 2 g a . 2 6 0 / 3 . 0 4 0 0 / 2 . 5 L 5 6 W I R E 0 . 7 / 1 0 0 % A r . 2 2 g a . 1 0 0 % C O 2 7 5 / 2 5 A r / C O 2 3 3 0 / 4 . 5 1 0 g a . 1 0 0 / 0 . 8 0 . 7 / N o t R e c o m m e n d e d G A S 2 0 g a . E 4 0 4 3 0 . 0 2 5 1 0 0 % C O 0 . 0 2 5 2 6 0 / 3 . 0 0 2 1 1 6 0 / 2 . 3 0 . 1 / 3 3 0 / 5 . 0 0 2 1 0 . 0 3 5 1 8 g a . 0 0 3 1 4 0 / 1 . 7 0 0 5 1 4 0 / 1 . 5 0 . 0 3 5 1 1 0 / 1 . 5 W I R E S I Z E 1 6 g a . L 5 6 1 9 0 / 2 . 0 E 5 3 5 6 1 9 0 / 2 . 0 1 2 5 / 2 . 0 1 4 g a . 4 0 0 / 2 . 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 % A r . N o t R e c o m m e n d e d 0 . 1 / 2 3 0 / 3 . 5 0 0 5 E 3 0 8 L 0 . 6 / 5 . 6 / 5 . 6 / 2 7 0 / 5 . 0 1 9 0 / 3 . 5 1 6 0 / 2 . 3 0 . 0 3 5 0 . 0 3 0 0 . 0 3 5 0 . 0 3 5 0 . 0 3 0 L 5 6 E 3 0 8 L 1 2 5 / 3 . 0 1 4 0 / 2 . 5 2 1 6 0 / 3 . 5 7 5 / 2 5 A r / C O 2 0 0 / 5 . 0 2 0 . 7 / 1 0 0 % C O 0 . 7 / 2 0 . 6 / 7 5 / 2 5 A r / C O L 5 6 2 1 2 5 / 2 . 0 T r i - m i x 1 2 5 / 3 . 0 T r i - m i x 1 3 0 / 2 . 7 9 0 / 1 . 0 1 6 0 / 3 . 8 5 . 0 / 2 1 0 / 3 . 0 0 5 2 3 0 / 3 . 5 5 . 1 / 2 0 0 / 4 . 5 0 8 2 3 0 / 6 . 0 0 . 1 / 0 0 0 3 0 1 5 2 3 7 . 0 / 0 4 2 1 1 0 / 1 . 5 0 4 2 1 0 0 / 2 . 5 0 0 3 1 0 0 / 2 . 5 L 5 6 1 1 0 / 2 . 0 1 1 0 / 2 . 0 L 5 6 0 . 0 3 0
M i l d S t e e l M i l d S t e e l M A T E R I A L A l u m i n u m 4 0 4 3 A l u m i n u m 5 3 5 6 M i l d S t e e l M i l d S t e e l S t a i n l e s s S t e e l S t a i n l e s s S t e e l M i l d S t e e l M i l d S t e e l MATERIAL Aluminum 4043 Aluminum 5356
WIRE E4043
WIRE SIZE 0.035
GAS 100% Ar. 100% Ar.
22 ga.
20 ga.
18 ga.
16 ga.
14 ga. 400 / 2.0 400 / 2.5
12 ga.
10 ga. 5 0 0 7 / 0 . 5
3/16 5 0 7 9 / 0 . 6
1/4 700 / 9.1 700 / 8.5
Not
Recommended Recommended
COMMENTS
below 400 below 400
WFS
OPERATION
Mild Steel Mild Steel
E5356 L56 L56
0.035 0.025 0.025
100% CO 75/25 Ar/CO
2
100 / 0.8
Not Recommended
1 0 2 1 / 0 . 1 0 2 1 / 0 .
140 / 1.7 140 / 1.5
190 / 2.0 190 / 2.0
260 / 3.0 260 / 3.0
330 / 5.0 330 / 4.5
0 0 7 / 0 .
0 0 7 / 8 .
Not
WFS
POWER WAVE 405M
Start by setting the wire feed speed based upon mate-
rial thickness and appropriate travel speed. Then
adjust the Volts/Trim 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 Volts/Trim knob
until the desired arc length is obtained.
Note the Volts/Trim display is simply a relative number
and DOES NOT correspond to voltage.
Some procedure recommendations appear in Table
B.3.
Mild Steel Mild Steel Mild Steel
L56 L56
0.030 0.030
100% CO 75/25 Ar/CO 100% CO
2 2 2
90 / 1.0
Not Recommended
1 0 0 0 / 7 . 1 0 0 1 / 0 .
110 / 1.5 110 / 1.5 100 / 2.5
125 / 2.0 125 / 2.0 125 / 3.0
160 / 2.3 160 / 2.3 160 / 3.8
230 / 3.5 230 / 3.5 200 / 5.0
3 0 0 6 / 0 . 3 0 0 6 / 0 . 2 0 4
4 0 0 7 / 5 . 4 0 0 7 / 0 .
Mild Steel Stainless Steel Stainless Steel
L56 L56 E308L
0.035 0.035 0.030
75/25 Ar/CO Tri-mix
2 2
0 8 1 / 5 .
100 / 2.5 110 / 2.0
125 / 3.0 140 / 2.5
160 / 3.5 210 / 3.0
200 / 4.5 270 / 5.0
6 / 5 . 2 0 4 7 / 0 . 3 5 2 6 / 5 .
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E308L
0.035
Tri-mix
0 5 0 / 5 .
110 / 2.0
130 / 2.7
190 / 3.5
230 / 6.0
3 0 0 7 / 0 .