How Does Equipment Position Affect Weld Consistency and Quality?

The position of the torch is another important factor to consider within the idea of torch maintenance. To ensure that your gun contact tip stays in the best shape, try not to touch the tip to the work piece. Every time you make unwanted electrical connection between the tip and the work piece, the tip is damaged. It is often possible to burn the tip enough to modify the path of the wire through the tip, thus affecting weld quality. Also, for best performance be sure that your torch is above the work piece at the correct height with the correct gas coverage. Ensure that the tip is clean and seated in the torch all the way down so you have copper touching copper. If the tip is not bottomed out and snugged tight, you will also get resistance heating similar to that occurring with improperly seated gas nozzles. Make sure the tip is hand tight or snug tight. These precautions will improve torch life and weld quality, but despite a welder’s best efforts, gun contact tips do eventually need to be replaced. After significant use, the hole diameter in the tip will elongate or become oval in shape due to the friction from constant wire feed, affecting wire placement in the joint.