Lincoln Electric IM845 POWER WAVE 355M - Manual (Page 24)

B-7 OPERATION B-7
POWER WAVE ® 355M
POWER MODE ®
The Power Mode ® process was developed by Lincoln
to maintain a stable and smooth arc at low procedure
settings which are needed to weld thin metal without
pop-outs or burning-through. For aluminum welding, it
provides excellent control and the ability to maintain
constant arc length. This results in improved welding
performance in two primary types of applications.
• Short Arc MIG at low procedure settings.
• Aluminum MIG welding.
Power Mode ® is a method of high speed regulation of
the output power whenever an arc is established. It
provides a fast response to changes in the arc. The
higher the Power Mode
® Setting, the longer the arc. If
a welding procedure is not established, the best way
to determine the Power Mode
® Setting is by experi-
mentation until the desired output result is estab-
lished.
In the Power Mode ® two variables need to be set:
• Wire Feed Speed
• Power Mode ® Trim
Setting up a Power Mode ® procedure is similar to set-
ting a CV MIG procedure. Select a shielding gas
appropriate for a short arc process.
• For steel, use 75/25 Ar/CO2 shield gas.
• For stainless, select a Helium blend Tri-Mix.
• For aluminum, use 100% Ar.
Start by setting the wire feed speed based upon mate-
rial thickness and appropriate travel speed. Then
adjust the Volts/Trim knob as follows:
• For steel, listen for the traditional “frying egg”
sound of a good short-arc MIG procedure to know
you have the process set correctly.
• For aluminum, simply adjust the Volts/Trim knob
until the desired arc length is obtained.
Note the Volts/Trim display is simply a relative number
and DOES NOT correspond to voltage.
Some procedure recommendations appear in Table
B.3.
below 400
WFS
below 400
WFS
Recommended Welding Procedures for Power Mode ® - Table B.3