How Do You Select An Electrode For Welding?
A welding electrode completes the electrical circuit formed by the piece being welded, the power supply and the torch. It is coated with a flux that is laid onto the base metal during welding and its characteristics must be selected according to the required strength of the weld, welding position, type of coating and other characteristics. The following steps will show how to select an electrode for welding. Look at the welding classification code on the electrode. This may consist of a capital “E” (for electrode) followed by a hyphen and 4 or 5 digits. This format will cover the great majority of electrodes, although other variations do exist primarily to accommodate electrodes for specialized tasks or characteristics. Examine the first 2 digits in a 4-digit code or 3 digits in a 5-digit code. This represents the minimum tensile strength of the weld produced by the electrode in thousands of pounds per square inch. This figure is rounded to the nearest 1,000 pounds and will require 3 d
