Welding to Light-Gage Framing

[justiniowa]

When welding A36 steel deck angle to light-gage framing, is there a minimum gage required? Where can I find such limitations? Thanks.

 

[DWHA]

AISC 13th ed. PG 16.1-96
Max size of fillet welds of connected parts shall be:
a) along edges of material less than 1/4" in thick, not greater than the thickness of the material.

So I guess it depends on what you want your weld thickness to be.

 

[justiniowa]

Thanks for the post DWHA:

Does that apply to Light-Gage Framing? I know there are AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute) standards that specifically apply to cold-formed steel.

If I use 16 gage steel studs, and I can get enough strength based on only using an effective weld thickness of 0.0566", is that ok? I didn't know if there were limitation to how "thin" you can weld material.

 

[frv]

You typically want to avoid welding to light-gauge members.

I would suggest providing channels at some spacing (4 or 6 ft on center), weld your angle to the channels and infill the channels with light gauge.

 

[abusementpark]

justiniowa,

I just so happened to tour a light gage manufacturer's operation today and he told me that welding to anything thinner than 18 gage (which corresponds to 43 mils) isn't recommended. In fact, I watched them put together some pre-fabricated wall panels that had all welded connections. So it appears to me that it is Ok as long as you adhere to the aforementioned guideline.

 

[justiniowa]

Abusementpark,

Thanks for the post. Typically I try to avoid welding to structural studs, but in this case it was during construction and was unavoidable. Great information!

 

[Taro]

The welder and WPS should be certified per AWS D1.3 which is the welding code for sheet steel.

 

[dcredskins]

For welding of cold formed steel, I always recommend to use minimum 18 gage. However, when the cold formed steel framing is bearing wall, I recommend 16 gage. When the cold formed steel is thinner than 18 gage, and field weld, the weld is almost impossible. Remember, for cold formed steel welding, we recommend 1/8" (per AISI) fillet weld, if it is fillet weld.

 

[slien]

I do not like to specify welding of light gauge metal to structural steel members. Although it is common practice to weld corrugated deck to open web joists and edge angles, I prefer to use bolt/nut/washer or self-drilling/self-tapping screws.
If welding is unavoidable, place a washer over the sheeting and weld thru' the washer around the interior circumference. This welding will burn thru' the sheet and fuse washer/sheet/steel-member.

 

[UcfSE]

54-mil minimum thickness is recommended but I have specified welding to 33-mil at the request of a client. The welder and procedure needs to be per AWS. Other than that, skill will limit what can be done. Be sure to keep in mind they may burn a lot of holes in the steel.