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Escape from Silicon Island

Welding Design
Hobart Brothers, Keith Packard
Tue, 2008-01-01 12:00

Increased labor and unessential equipment costs, expensive

warranty work and decreased productivity are some of the
problems that manufacturers face because of silicon deposits in
their welds.

Silicon is a deoxidizing agent that is added to filler metals to

create cleaner, stronger welds. It removes impurities that might
be caused by surface contaminants, such as mill scale and light
rust, and brings them to the surface of the weld as the puddle
solidifies.

However, it also has a downside.

Almost all companies that manufacture painted equipment,

such as cranes, bulldozers, agricultural implements and scissor
lifts, face extensive post-weld grinding and blasting to remove
the silicon deposits.
The number of silicon islands in
If those deposits are not removed, the silicon eventually flakes a weld (the black deposits in
the top photo) can be greatly
off from the weld and causes the metal underneath to rust.
reduced (see bottom photo)
Because the silicon deposits from most filler metals collect near with the use of new metal cored
the toes of the weld, they can be difficult to get to with a grinder wires categorized under AWS
or other tools. classification E70C-6M H4.

Removing silicon deposits from the toes of a weld typically

requires shot blasting the part, grinding the silicon off with a grinding wheel or removing it with a
chisel or needle gun.

Each of these ways is a laborious and costly process.

Certain painting processes, such as enameling, are more forgiving of silicon deposits than other
processes, such as powder coating, but nearly coating processes require extensive silicon removal
procedures to avoid future rust problems.

Because the benefits of silicon outweigh the disadvantages, however, some companies have
calculated that it was cheaper to remove the silicon deposits as a post-weld activity than to clean the
material fully prior to welding.

Companies now are realizing that its not an either/or proposition, and that they can receive the
deoxidizing benefits of silicon without the troublesome and costly islands.

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Solving the Silicon Dilemma

Newly developed metal cored wires with silicon island control, categorized under the AWS
classification E70C-6M H4, greatly reduce the problems caused by silicon deposits while still
providing its benefits and the productivity and weld quality advantages of metal cored wire.

These categories of wire have been designed specifically for manufacturers of painted products who
must chip, blast and grind away the silicon islands to avoid rust problems down the road.

The primary advantage of this E70C-6M H4 wire with silicon control is that it causes the silicon
islands to collect in the center of the weld, where they are much easier to remove than along the toes
of the weld. These wires also greatly reduce the number of silicon islands. Those that do form do not
adhere as strongly to the weld metal and, oftentimes peel off without the use of additional tools.

E70C-6M H4 wire comes in four sizes, ranging from .035-in to 1/16-in, and can be welded with
anywhere between 75 percent and 90 percent argon, with the balance CO2. The lower argon
concentrations produce deeper penetration and cost less in gas usage. Higher argon concentrations
create a smoother arc and decrease spatter and fume levels, which makes it easier to use in the spray
transfer process.

Using the spray transfer process, this wire can be used in the flat, horizontal and vertical down
positions. In pulse or short circuit mode, the wire is suitable for all position welding.

This type of wire works best in applications that require five or fewer passes, and has demonstrated
tensile strength up to 97,000 psi with a 90 percent argon mix and 90,200 psi with a 75 percent
argon mix. The yield strength and elongation values at those gas mixes were 87,000 psi and 22.5
percent for a 90/10 gas mix and 80,000 psi and 25 percent for a 75/25 gas mix.

Best of Both Worlds

With Using E70C-6M H4 wire with silicon control, companies are able to greatly reduce the amount
of post-weld cleanup and cut down on the amount of quality problems associated with paint
chipping off the weld due to silicon deposits.

An added benefit is that E70C-6M H4 wire produces almost no spatter compared to solid wire. This
wire classification features a host of additional advantages: better wetting action and gap bridging,
higher deposition rates, reduced burn through and better side wall fusion.

Of course, like all metal cored wire, E70C-6M H4 wire costs slightly more than solid wire. However,
when balanced against the time and materials savings, the financial benefits of eliminating silicon
deposits greatly outweigh the increased cost of the wire. The chart below shows an example of how
the increased cost of metal cored wire is more than made up for by the savings in materials and
labor.

Like most metal cored wire, at the same amperage it features higher deposition rates compared to

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solid wire, which can increase overall productivity. The chart shows a comparison of this type of
metal cored wire and a comparable solid wire.

An E70C-6M H4 wire wont be right for every application, however. Although this wire is designed
to withstand a certain amount of mill scale, dirt, rust and other surface impurities on the base metal,
high levels of contaminants will cause problems in the weld. In such situations, a flux core wire
might be recom mended.

For production environments in which welds are painted over, though, this class of wire can offer
significant labor and warranty work savings through unparalleled reduction of silicon deposits as
well as increased productivity through the higher deposition rates afforded by metal cored wire.

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