Aluminum Welding Alloys

Aluminum Welding Alloys
J.W. Harris manufactures aluminum welding wire and rod using the most advanced production techniques. Our aluminum wire is thoroughly cleaned to ensure removal of all surface oxides and residual lubricants. Then, Harris pays strict attention to level-layer-winding procedures and control of cast and helix to guarantee uniform feeding through automatic and semiautomatic welding equipment.

Aluminum welding wire is available in the following alloys: 1100, 4043, 4047 (718), 5356 and 5556. Other alloys are available on request.

All alloys are produced with closely controlled chemical analyses.

Technical Data
Choice of the proper filler metal is most important. The molten alloy in the weld puddle is an intermixture of the filler metal and the base alloy. In this dilution, the welding alloy should provide the strength, ductility, resistance to cracking and corrosion resistance to achieve the necessary results.

Suggested Filler Metals for Specific Requirements
Material
Welded Strength Ductility Color
Match
After
Anodizing Least
Crack
Tendency
1100 4043 1100 1100 4043
2219 2319 2319 2319 2319
3003 4043 1100 1100 4043
5052 5356 5654 5356 5356
5083 5183 5356 5183 5356
5086 5356 5356 5356 5356
5454 5356 5554 5554 5356
5456 5556 5356 5556 5356
6061 5356 5356 5654 4043
6063 5356 5356 5356 4043
7005 5356 5356 5356 5356
7039 5356 5356 5356 5356

Aluminum alloys can be particularly susceptible to hot-short cracking during the welding and cooling processes. Obviously, proper edge preparation and joint design can be factors in cracking due to contracting stresses set up by the cooling strains.

If welding assemblies are to be anodized, it should be kept in mind that filler alloys containing silicon, (e. G. 4043), will discolor to an undesirable gray hue in the anodizing process. To minimize discoloration in anodizing, an appropriate aluminum-magnesium alloy filler alloy should be used.

Relative Weldability of Aluminum Alloys
While selecting the most appropriate filler alloy, one will wish to consider the relative weldability of the base alloy involved. In a broad sense, the non-heat-treatable, wrought alloys have good weldability with the inert gas processes. Following are ratings for welding some of the heat treatable wrought aluminum alloys using inert gas processes:

Legend:

A - Readily Weldable;
B - Reasonably Weldable (trial first);
C - Limited Weldability (develop procedure)

Heat-Treatable
Wrought alloys Rating Heat-Treatable
Wrought alloys Rating
2014 C 6101 A
2017 C 6201 A
2024 C 6951 A
2218 C 7005 A
2219 C 7039 A
2618 C 7075 C
6061 A 7079 C
6063 A 7178 C
6070 A