Can Aluminum Tubes Be Welded?

As one of the industrial materials, aluminum tube can be used in almost every field. However, sometimes it is difficult to meet our needs with only aluminum tube, so we need to weld the them. Can these materials be welded and, if so, how? Answers to these questions may be found below.

Here is the content list

1.What You Should Prepare Before Welding?

2.What You Should Care During Welding?

3.What You Should Pay Attention to After Welding?

What You Should Prepare Before Welding?

Simply a variety of welding methods can be used for welding aluminum tubes, but aluminum and aluminum alloy for a variety of welding methods of adaptability, a variety of welding methods have their own use occasions to aluminum tubes, and no matter under what conditions, you should do this before you start to weld.

1.Clean before welding

Simply almost all the welding methods can be used for welding aluminum tubes, they have adaptability for lots of welding methods. While different welding methods have their own use occasions, no matter under what conditions, you should do these steps before you start to weld.

1.Chemical cleaning 

This method of cleaning welding aluminum tubes has high efficiency, stable quality characteristics, it is suitable for finishing welding wire and small scale, the workpiece produced in batches. Chemical cleaning method contains dip washing and scrubbing.

2.Physical cleaning

This method of cleaning aluminum tubes is often used under the condition that workpiece size is huge, the production cycle is long, multi - layer welding or chemical contamination after cleaning. Aluminum tube is a typical example.

Using acetone, gasoline and other organic solvents to wipe the surface to remove oil, and then directly use the diameter of 0.15mm ~ 0.2mm copper wire brush or stainless-steel wire brush until metallic luster appears.

2.Weld preheating

Thin and small aluminum pieces usually do not have to preheat, the thickness of 10 mm ~ 15 mm can be preheated before welding, according to different types of aluminum tubes preheating temperature can be 100 ~ 200, oxygen acetylene flame, furnace or burner heating. Preheating can make the welding parts reduce deformation and cut down the defects such as porosity.

What You Should Care During Welding?

Do not use the torch to heat the electrode before dipping the powder, because the melting point of the electrode is too low. The electrode must be coated with flux evenly to ensure spot quality.

Welding one-time success is better, because the aluminum tube melting rotary cutting tool point is too low, the second reheating, aluminum tube deformation easily.

The torch flame should not be too long, and must be heated with a small fire, otherwise the aluminum tube is easy to melt.

Welding time should not be too long, because the melting point of aluminum tubes is too low for too long, easy to cause the aluminum tube’s wall melting or thinning.

In the process of welding aluminum tube, a large amount of heat can be quickly conducted to the base metal, so when welding the aluminum tube, the energy is consumed in addition to the molten metal, but also more heat is consumed in other parts of the metal. In order to obtain high quality welding joints, energy concentration and power should be used as far as possible.

What You Should Pay Attention to After Welding?

After welding aluminum tube, residual flux and welding slag will damage the passivation film on the aluminum surface, and sometimes corrode the aluminum parts. Workpieces with simple shapes can be cleaned by hot water or steam blowing. The aluminum tube with high quality should be brushed with bristle at the top of hot water and then soaked in 60 ~ 80 degrees, chromic anhydride solution or potassium bichromate solution with concentration of 2% ~ 3% for 5 min ~ 10 min and then dried.

It is very important to close the arc in aluminum tube welding work. The welding personnel must close the arc before the end of welding. If the arc is not closed, it is easy to cause cracks, pores and other defects, which will cause us very serious losses. Therefore, we must pay attention to the closing of arc before the end of welding.

It's worth noting that most of us don't have any training in aluminum pipe welding expertise, so give it to a trusted company due to the welding can be rather dangerous. Our company only produces high quality aluminum tubes, if you want to buy aluminum tubes, please feel free to contact us.