0 items in your basket
Total £ 0.00 EX VAT
Multi Process Welders
MIG Torches
TIG Torches
Welding Helmets
Welding Gloves & Clothing
MMA Electrodes
MIG Wire
Shop 55,000 Products
SERVICEDEPT.
RAPID BLOG
FEEDBACK
HIRE
Top Features
Straight answers on choosing, feeding, storing and troubleshooting 5356 (aluminium-magnesium) MIG wire.
5356 is an aluminium-magnesium filler. It gives a stronger weld than the aluminium-silicon 4043 and is the usual choice for structural work, for common alloys such as 6061 and for most 5000-series plate. It is also the better option if the part will be anodised afterwards.4043 is generally preferred where cracking resistance matters or the part sees elevated temperatures. Where the base alloy is specified in a drawing or code, follow the filler selection chart for that alloy and the job's service conditions.
Not for sustained heat. Aluminium filler with more than about 3 percent magnesium can become prone to stress corrosion cracking if it is held above roughly 65 degrees C (150 degrees F) for long periods, and 5356 sits above that magnesium level. Other high-magnesium fillers share the same limit.For parts in warm service, such as near engines or exhausts, consider a lower-magnesium or aluminium-silicon filler, or ask the designer. The limit applies together with other conditions such as a corrosive environment, so it is a design question, not a rule of thumb for every job.
Pure argon is the usual shielding gas for aluminium MIG. Argon-helium mixes are used when more heat is needed on thicker material, but they depend on your power source and the job.Push the torch (point the arc away from the finished weld) rather than dragging it. Pushing keeps the gas in front of the pool and helps clean the oxide, and dragging tends to give more porosity. Use the electrode-positive (DC+) setting that the wire and machine instructions give, and a settled gas flow without draughts.
Aluminium wire is soft, so it crushes and buckles in a feed path built for steel. The usual remedies are U-groove drive rolls with light pressure, a smooth plastic (such as PTFE) liner instead of a steel one, a clean, correctly sized contact tip made for aluminium, and a short, straight cable.If the feed path is long, a push-pull torch or a spool gun, which keeps the wire path short, often cures it. If the wire still tangles, check the liner, the tip bore and the roll pressure before changing the machine settings.
