P4 Plan The Tools And Equipment

P4: “Plan the tools and equipment needed to produce welded components safely using a selected welding process”
What is MIG welding?
MIG welding which stands for Metal Inert Gas, also known as Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) is a welding process in which an electric arc forms between the wire electrode and the metal work piece. This then heats the metal work piece as well, causing them to melt and join together. Along with the wire electrode a protective gas called shielding gas is fed through the welding gun which shields the whole process of the weld from contaminants in the air. This process can be semi-automatic or fully automatic.
I will be doing a fillet weld on a 6mm low carbon steel T joint.

Welding PPE

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is one of the most important things when it comes to welding this is because of how many hazards there are.
Personal Protective Equipment
Welders need to have good quality gloves, preferably leather gauntlets, safety boots or shoes and some good quality caps and overalls. A leather apron may also be needed. Welding produces a lot of molten droplets of metal which are scattered in all directions. It is essential that the welder wears clothing which will not burn or melt, and which is strong enough to provide adequate protection.

The welding process creates a large quantity of visible light mostly ultraviolet and infrared. Exposure to these types of radiation from an arc causes burns to the skin, and damage to the eyes .For this reason, welders need to wear protective clothing for their bodies and arms, regardless whether it is hot or cold. They also need sufficient eye protection, which is usually supplied in the form of a protective shield or sometimes goggles. The right choice of the shade of glass filter in these shields depends on the type of welding operation, since they vary in the type of light that is being output.

During the welding process it vaporises the metals and also anything which is on the surface of the work piece. This means that fine particles rise into the air and create dangerous fumes. This is one of the many reasons why welders should have a gas/dust masks especially if the extraction for the fumes is bad.
Extraction system to remove fumes
As said before, the welding process causes fine particles to turn into dangerous fumes. The fumes are mostly oxides from the metals, and include elements of alloy but it also contains gases produced in the arc, such as nitrogen and breakdown products from any paint or coating which was on the metal surface. The amount of these fumes depends on the welding process itself. Some are harmful to the health of anyone around, for instance stainless steel fumes contain chromium and welding galvanised steel produces zinc fumes.
To stop the inhalation of these dangerous fumes it is necessary to install an extraction system which will draw these fumes away from the workplace while welding.

Fire precautions
Molten metal can spit several meters away from the welding station. Grinding sparks are even worse. Any sawdust, paper or plastic that are in the area must be removed immediately before welding as they can smoulder and catch fire. It is a good practice to keep your workplace tidy and hazard free.
It is also a good idea to keep a fire extinguisher near the work area a bucket of sand is also good as it could save the expense of refilling the fire extinguisher. It is very important that you choose the right type of extinguisher, for instance do not use a foam extinguisher due to it containing water and it is definitely not safe to use around electric welder. Instead use a CO2 since it is suitable to use around electrical appliances. Also keep the extinguisher in a place that you can quickly grab it and put the fire out as fast as possible.

Tools used
The MIG machine – This is the main machine that is used for welding.
Shielding gas bottle – This is needed to shield the weld from any contaminants in the air during the welding process.
Welding pliars – This is used to cut the wire that is fed to the weld and can be used to remove spatter out of the nozzle.
Wire Brush – This is very well needed in welding especially MIG. This is because it does not tolerate any paint, dirt, rust, or oil that is on the surface of the material when welding. If you work on aluminium or stainless steel you will need a separate stainless steel brush for each of them. If you use a mild steel brush on a stainless steel or aluminium piece of material you will contaminate them.
Tongs – The tongs will be needed after you weld the work piece. This is because the piece is too hot to carry by hand and even if you try to carry the work piece with leather gauntlets, it will burn through. So it is a good idea to use the tongs to carry the work piece and put it in water before it is carried by hand.

Checking wire reels
It is very important that the wire feed and the wire reel is checked to see if it has been damaged or cut. This will save you the time of opening up the MIG welding machine and finding out what happened and checking where it happened in the middle of a weld. If the wire is cut, all that needs to be done is it will need to be cut at the end so it is straight and can be fed through the welding gun with ease. But if the reel is damaged, it will need to be replaced with a new one.

Earth wire
The grounding of electrical circuits is a safety practice that has been documented in various standards. A normal MIG welding setup will consist of several electrical circuits. Using and maintaining the proper grounding methods in the welding area is very important as it will keep the workplace safe from electrical hazards. The reason the grounding clamp is used is because it will keep he welding machine and the work piece at the same potential. When the work piece and the MIG welder is at the same potential, it will make sure that the person welding does not get an electric shock when the two points touch.
The following pictures show the welding bay in DT6 at Macmillan Academy. The things that are used are labelled.