Lincoln Electric IM917 POWER WAVE 405M - Manual (Page 26)

B-7 OPERATION B-7
POWER WAVE® 405M
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 experimenta-
tion until the desired output result is established.
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.
Recommended Welding Procedures for Power Mode - Table B.3
below 400
WFS
below 400
WFS