Bimetallic welding electrode

Abstract

An electrode is disclosed for use in MIG/MAG welding. The electrode comprises an elongated electrode body within which is embedded a metallic filament. In some embodiments, the filament is copper, and is offset from the center of the electrode body. A method is disclosed for forming an electrode. The method may include removing oxidation from a surface of an electrode body, forming the electrode body to a desired size and geometry, removing lubricants from the surface of the electrode body, forming an elongated channel in a surface of the electrode body, depositing a filament in the elongated channel, and forming the electrode body over the filament. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

1 . A method of making a welding wire, comprising:
 forming an elongated channel in a welding wire, the welding wire having a longitudinal axis, the elongated channel being offset from the longitudinal axis;   depositing a first material in the elongated channel; and   deforming the welding wire to fix the first material to the welding wire.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first material is a metal filament. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the welding wire comprises steel and the metal filament comprises copper. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first material is an arc enhancing material. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the arc enhancing material is selected from the list consisting of lithium, sodium, potassium, cesium rubidium, tungsten and carbon, including their forms in either a salt, compound molecule or elemental form. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising depositing a second material in the elongated channel, wherein the step of deforming the welding wire fixes the first material and the second material to the welding wire. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the first material is a metal filament and the second material is an arc enhancer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the first material is an alloying element and the second material is an arc enhancer. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , a longitudinal axis of the elongated channel is oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first material is an alloying element. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the alloying element is selected from the list consisting of carbon, silicon, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, nickel and vanadium. 
     
     
         12 . A method of making a welding wire, comprising:
 forming an elongated channel in a welding wire;   depositing a first material in the elongated channel;   depositing a second material in the elongated channel; and   deforming the welding wire to secure the first and second materials within the elongated channel.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the elongated channel is offset from a longitudinal axis of the welding wire and oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first material is an arch enhancing material. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the second material is a metal filament. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the second material is an alloy material in the form of a strip. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein deforming the welding wire further comprises:
 feeding the welding wire between a pair of pinch rollers that forcibly press the metal filament into the elongated channel while forcing walls of the elongated channel inward to partially enclose the metal filament such that a portion of the metal filament is exposed to a surface of the welding wire.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein deforming the welding wire further comprises:
 feeding the welding wire between a pair of pinch rollers that forcibly press the metal filament into the elongated channel while forcing walls of the elongated channel inward to fully enclose the metal filament within the elongated channel.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein forming an elongated channel in a welding wire further comprises:
 feeding the welding wire between a pair of rollers disposed in an opposing laterally-spaced relationship, where one of the rollers includes a circumferential projection that is forcibly pressed into an outer surface of the welding wire to form the elongated channel.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the elongated channel has a substantially rounded U-shaped cross-section.