Several welding consumable manufacturers have introduced non-copper coated widely used ER70S-6 GMAW consumable for improved welding performance and environment-friendly production process. However, reduced shelf life (corrosion issues) and increased cost are major issues reported so far.

The manufacturing of non-copper coated GMAW electrode eliminates the hazardous acid and copper salt consumption during wire drawing operation and subsequently the sludge generation.

In this work, the barrier based thin film coating is developed for ER70S-6 GMAW electrode as a substitute to conventional copper coating. The electrochemical polarisation and accelerated corrosion test (cyclic corrosion testing) were conducted to examine the surface protection ability of the non-copper coated welding consumable.

Further, detailed examination of welding performance was carried out in terms of feedability, bead appearance, and spatter for range of welding parameters. In addition, all weld mechanical properties (tensile, impact) were also evaluated.

It is observed that performance of these non-copper coated welding consumable is comparable with conventional copper coated consumable, with additional advantageous effect of eliminating hazardous chemicals during wire drawing process.

This article is shared by Manish Bhadu, Brajesh Asati, A N Bhagat, Kanwer Singh Arora, Anand Prabhakaran, Deepak Kumar and Ranajoy Banerjee.