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Views: 327 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2022-08-11 Origin: Site
Contact elements not only play an important role in the power field, but also in welding operation. The electrical contact element can transmit the welding current to the conductor to generate an arc. In the best case, the resistance of the conductor should be small enough and maintain electrical contact at the same time.
Contact elements can create a significant difference between running an efficient welding process and accruing downtime for correcting problems. It can also affect the profitability of welding operations.
Therefore, it is very important to select high quality contact elements. Although the price of high performance contact components is often higher than that of low quality products, in the long run, this investment is worth it.
In addition, superior contact elements usually have stricter mechanical tolerances in the machining process, so as to form better thermal and electrical connections. They may also have smoother center holes to reduce friction when the wires pass through, which makes it easier for the wires to pass through them and eliminates potential quality problems. High quality metal contact elements also help to reduce burnbacks(the formation of a weld inside the contact element), prevent arc instability due to inconsistent conductivity, and increase arc duration.
Selecting The Right Material And Bore Size
The professional contact elements used for semi-automatic MIG welding are usually made of copper. This material has good thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. It allows the continuous transmission of current to the conductor and has sufficient durability to withstand the heat generated in the welding process.
In most cases, the best results can be obtained by using industrial contact elements that match the wire size. However, when solid wires are used, too small welding contact elements may improve welding performance. Smaller holes exert more pressure on the wire, resulting in greater conductivity.
Understanding Contact Element Recess
Recess refers to the position of the contact element in the nozzle. It is an important factor affecting the welding quality, productivity and cost in the welding operation. Specifically, correct contact element recess can reduce the opportunity for excessive spatter, porosity and burnthrough or warping on thinner materials. It can also help reduce radiant heat that may lead to premature failure of contact elements.
Extending Contact Element Life
Contact element failure can be caused by a variety of reasons, including burnbacks, mechanical wear, electrical wear, poor operator skills, and reflected heat from the substrate. The quality of the wires used will also affect the service life of the contact elements. Poor quality wire usually has poor casting or helix, which will lead to feed erratically. This may prevent the correct connection of the wire and the hole of the contact element, resulting in high resistance and low conductivity.
In order to prolong the service life of the contact element, you need to ensure that there is no splash at the end of the contact element, use appropriate drive rollers to ensure smooth wire feeding, improve wire feeding speed and extend distance from contact element to work to minimize fuel consumption, and select contact elements with smooth surface to prevent the wire from getting stuck.
