Gas Metal Arc Welding (Gmaw); Flux Cored Arc Welding (Fcaw); Shutdown Procedures; Basic Welding Technique - Firepower FP 125 Operating Manual & Installation Manual

4.03 Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW)

See Welding Guidelines included in this manual.
Make all necessary connections as instructed in the INSTALLATION chapter.
Place the WELD VOLTAGE RANGE SWITCH at the desired setting.
CAUTION
!
Do not turn the WELD VOLTAGE RANGE SWITCH clockwise past position 4, as damage to the switch may
occur.
Plug the supply cord into a 120 VAC 40 Ampere receptacle for the FP 125, 120 VAC 50 Ampere receptacle for the 135 and into a 230
VAC 30 Ampere receptacle for the FP 165.
Open the gas cylinder valve to supply shielding gas to the gun. (optional gas regulator required on the FP 125)
Connect the WORK CLAMP to the workpiece (material to be welded).
Rotate the WIRE SPEED control to the desired setting.
Extend wire from the gun, and cut to proper stick-out for that type of wire (when welding always maintain this distance).
Position gun to where it is at approximately right angles to the workpiece with proper wire stick-out. Lower your welding helmet and
pull the gun trigger switch.
WARNING
!
Be sure to put on proper protective clothing and eye safeguards (welding coat, apron, gloves, and welding
helmet with proper lenses installed). See Safety Instructions and Warnings chapter included in this manual.
Neglect of these precautions may result in personal injury.
Travel at a speed necessary to maintain a bead width from 1/8" to ¼" (3mm to 6mm) depending on the thickness of the material. For
material that may require larger weldments, either change to a larger diameter filler wire or use multi pass beads. On some applica-
tions, it may be necessary to adjust the voltage range to stabilize the arc.
Upon completion of the weld, release the gun trigger switch, raise the welding helmet, and visually examine the weld.
NOTE!
To help you overcome any problems that might arise, you will find useful information in section 4.06 Basic Welding
.
Techniques.

4.04 Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW)

Follow the same general procedure as with the GMAW process above. Shielding gas is not required for self shielded type wires. For
differences in the process see section 4.06 Basic Welding Techniques. Also included is information to solve any problem related to the
FCAW process.

4.05 Shutdown Procedures

Close the cylinder valve (GMAW process only). Press gun switch to vent gas line (GMAW process only). Place the POWER ON/OFF
SWITCH in the OFF position.
WARNING
!
After releasing the gun switch, the electrode wire will remain electrically "hot" for several seconds.

4.06 Basic Welding Technique

General
Two different welding processes are covered in this section, with the intention of providing the very basic concepts in using the semi-
automatic mode of welding. In this mode, the welding gun is hand-held. The electrode (welding wire) is then fed into a weld puddle and
the arc is shielded by a gas or gas mixture.
Setting of the Power Supply
The settings of the Firepower requires some practice by the operator in that the welding Power Supply has two control settings that
need to balance. These are the Wire Speed control and the Voltage Control switches. The welding current is determined by the Wire
Speed control (i.e., the current will increase with increased wire speed, resulting in a shorter arc). Slower wire speed will reduce the
current and lengthen the arc. Increasing the welding voltage hardly alters the welding current level, but lengthens the arc. By decreas-
ing the voltage, a shorter arc is obtained with little change in welding current.
Manual 0-5123
FIREPOWER FP 125,135,165
4-3 OPERATION