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B-13 B-13
OPERATION
POWER MIG 300
POWER MODE™
The Power Mode™ process was developed by
Lincoln to maintain a stable and smooth arc at low
procedure settings which are needed to weld thin
metal without pop-outs or burning-through. For
Aluminum welding, it provides excellent control and
the ability to maintain constant arc length. This results
in improved welding performance in two primary types
of applications.
• Short Arc MIG at low procedure settings.
• Aluminum MIG welding.
Power Mode™ is a method of high speed regulation
of the output power whenever an arc is established. It
provides a fast response to changes in the arc. The
higher the Power Mode Setting, the longer the arc. If a
welding procedure is not established, the best way to
determine the Power Mode Setting is by experimenta-
tion until the desired output result is established.
In the Power Mode two variables need to be set:
• Wire Feed Speed
• Power Mode Trim
Setting up a Power Mode procedure is similar to set-
ting a CV MIG procedure. Select a shielding gas
appropriate for a short arc process.
• For steel, use 75/25 Ar/CO
2
shield gas.
• For Stainless, select a Helium blend Tri-Mix.
• For Aluminum, use 100% Ar.
Start by setting the wire feed speed based upon mate-
rial thickness and appropriate travel speed. Then
adjust the Volts/Trim knob as follows:
• For steel, listen for the traditional “frying egg”
sound of a good short-arc MIG procedure to know
you have the process set correctly.
• For aluminum, simply adjust the Volts/Trim knob
until the desired arc length is obtained.
Note the Volts/Trim display is simply a relative number
and DOES NOT correspond to voltage.
Some procedure recommendations appear in Table
B.4.
100% Ar. 100% Ar. 100% CO
22 ga.
20 ga. 120 / 1.0 120 / 1.0 100 / 0.7 100 /1.0 80 / 1.5 50 / 0.5
18 ga. 140 / 1.7 140 / 1.5 110 / 1.5 110 / 1.5 100 / 2.5 100 / 2.5 110 / 2.0 110 / 2.0
16 ga. 190 / 2.0 190 / 2.0 125 / 2.0 125 / 2.0 125 / 3.0 125 / 3.0 140 / 2.5 130 / 2.7
14 ga. 400 / 2.0 400 / 2.5 260 / 3.0 260 / 3.0 160 / 2.3 160 / 2.3 160 / 3.8 160 / 3.5 210 / 3.0 190 / 3.5
12 ga. 330 / 5.0 330 / 4.5 230 / 3.5 230 / 3.5 200 / 5.0 200 / 4.5 270 / 5.0 230 / 6.0
10 ga. 500 / 7.0 500 / 7.0 300 / 6.0 300 / 6.0 240 / 6.5 240 / 7.0 325 / 6.5 300 / 7.0
