Is harbor freights $100 flux welder enough to weld aluminum coil to dibond?

[0igo]

So I have a few questions, first I'll start off by asking is a 3mm aluminum composite panel weldable? I haven't seen any videos online and I can't find answers anywhere. Second I want to buy a welder to weld aluminum coil but my shop only has a 120 wall outlet, so a cheaper flux welder is all I can connect.

So is it possible to weld aluminum coil with this welder? Flux 125 Welder

 

[equippaint]

You have got some serious skill if you can weld acm. Its strength is in its lamination to the plastic, the aluminum is so thin and just enough to make a suitable surface over the plastic.
With that welder, you cant weld aluminum. With a real mig welder with a spool gun, you couldnt do acm either. You need an ac/dc tig if you want to weld thin gauge but .040 and under is tough.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

If you are making letters or sign cabinets you will need to pop rivet them

 

[Johnny Best]

Why not just epoxy the ACM to whatever you want to attach. That thin aluminum on the ACM would not hold anything and the weld would cause a hole in the thin aluminum. Take it to a welder and have them try it before you start spinning your wheels.
Sounds like with the break and welder you are getting serious on some sort of a plan.

 

[0igo]

Why not just epoxy the ACM to whatever you want to attach. That thin aluminum on the ACM would not hold anything and the weld would cause a hole in the thin aluminum. Take it to a welder and have them try it before you start spinning your wheels.
Sounds like with the break and welder you are getting serious on some sort of a plan.

What epoxy should I use? And yes you're correct. I want to make sturdy channel letters. I was wondering if Lord's adhesive was good enough but I thought it to be a little pricey for the amount of letters I'm about to do. ,(2*23ft) or maybe I'm not sure how much epoxy is needed for the quantity of letters I'm making lol

 

[Johnny Best]

If your making channel letters you won't want to use epoxy or ACM. You should just buy them wholesale and take the profit and slowly build up some tools to fabricate them. A pots and pan break, metal shear, spot welder and a CNC router would be a good start.

 

[rjssigns]

I weld aluminum and you will never weld ACM. If there wasn't a plastic core you might have a chance, but you'd need a TIG welder.

For an adhesive try this: Dual-Mix™ Multi-Purpose Panel Adhesive | adhesive | SEM Products

If you go with the panel adhesive check around at auto body supply houses. Sometimes when you buy two cartridges they throw in the applicator gun.

 

[Pat Whatley]

My welder with 40 years of experience just looked at it and said he could PROBABLY do it but the welds wouldn't be pretty, the plastic core would be distorted, and the thin metal was going to delaminate from the heat and the thin aluminum would eventually just rip so there wasn't any point.

 

[BobM]

Any weld will burn thru the micro thin aluminum and melt the plastic core. No chance, no way.