Patent ID: 7071438

Claim:
A high speed method for gas metal arc welding joint gaps on aluminum and aluminum alloy thin workpieces without creating burning-through, which comprises conducting said gas metal arc welding employing a shielding gas, wherein said shielding gas comprises: a) oxygen in an amount between about 0.6% and about 1.9%; b) helium in an amount between about 10% and about 24%; and c) the remainder consisting essentially of argon; and employing direct current or alternating current to generate the arc; wherein the amount of helium is sufficient to provide a bead size that can weld joint gaps between said aluminum arid aluminum alloy thin workpieces without creating burn-through, while simultaneously maintaining or increasing welding speed, and wherein the welding speed is greater than about 110 cm/min for gas metal arc welding employing direct current to generate the arc, and greater than about 105 cm/min for gas metal arc welding employing alternating current to generate the arc.