Pre-Calculating Wire-Feed Speed, Travel

Speed, and Voltage

Deposition rate — It is essential to recall that Deposition Rate is directly proportional to the
speed at which a particular wire diameter emerges from a welding gun during welding.
Deposition rate has nothing to do with how fast the gun is traveling nor the voltage setting on the
machine. Deposition rate is simply a measure of how many pounds of wire come from the
welding gun in a certain amount of time, typically measured in lb./hr. If wire-feed speed
increases, deposition rate increases. We also understand that if we maintain the wire-feed speed
and change to a larger diameter wire, deposition rate will increase as well. Armed with this
understanding, calculating deposition rate ends up being a very powerful exercise that gives you
a number that can be used to calculate key welding parameters.

Let's look at the formula and an example:

Deposition rate calculation

Deposition rate (lb./hr) = 13.1×(Wire diameter)2×(Wire-feed speed)×(Efficiency)

 Wire diameter in inches (in.)

 Wire-feed speed in inches per minute (IPM)
 Efficiency (1.0 for solid wire, 0.85 for cored wire)
 This calculation is for steel only

E.g.: Wire diameter = 0.045 in. (1.2 mm) solid wire, WFS = 300 IPM.

Deposition rate = 13.1×(0.045)2 ×(300)×(1.0) = 7.96 lb./hr

Calculating travel speed with deposition rate — Knowing the deposition rate, we can
calculate the travel speed in inches per minute (IPM) for a particular weld. Let's say we want to
make a 3/8-in. steel fillet weld (assume 10% reinforcement or 0.4125 in. leg) using 0.045-in.
solid wire at 300 IPM, the weight of weld metal per foot can be calculated by multiplying the
density of steel (0.283 lb./in3) by the volume of weld metal per foot as follows:

Weld weight per foot calculation

Vol. of weld metal/ft=1/2×b×h×12 in.=1/2×0.4125 in.×0.4125 in.×12 in.=1.02 in3.

Weight of weld metal/ft of 3/8 in. fillet weld=(0.283 lb./in3)×(1.02 in3)=0.2887 lb./ft.

From the calculation below, we see that the travel speed for a one-pass, 3/8-in. fillet weld would
be 5.52 IPM, 11.03 IPM for a two-pass fillet weld, or 16.55 IPM for a three-pass weld.
Travel speed calculation
Travel speed = (deposition rate)×(# of passes)/5×(weight of weld metal per foot {lb./ft}) =
(7.96)×(1)/5 × (0.2887) = 5.52 IPM

Calculating wire-feed speed with deposition rate — Let's assume a requirement to make fillet
welds at a rate of 12 lb./hr using 0.045 in. welding wire. We can calculate the WFS using the
formulas below and Weight of Weld Wire per foot in Table 1.

Wire-feed speed calculation

Wire-feed Speed = (deposition rate)/5×(weight of wire per foot {lb./ft}) = (12)/5×(0.0054) =
444.4 IPM

Table 1: Weight of Wire

Wire Diam., in. Weight of Wire (lb./ft) Wire Diam., in. Weight of Wire (lb./ft)
0.035 0.0033 3/32 0.023
0.040 0.0043 1/8 0.042
0.045 0.0054 5/32 0.065
0.052 0.0072 3/16 0.094
1/16 0.01 7/32 0.128
5/64 0.016

Of course, the travel speed for a one-pass, 3/8 in. fillet weld at 12 lb./hr deposition rate would be
8.31 IPM as calculated below.

Travel Speed = (deposition rate)×(# of passes)/5×(weight of weld metal {lb./ft}) =

(12)×(1)/5×(0.2887) = 8.31 IPM

Making it easier — The Bartonian Conversion Factor (Table 2) makes things a bit easier for
fillet welds. The example below uses the conversion factor to calculate travel speed at 5.57 IPM
for that same 3/8 in. fillet weld using a 0.045 in. solid wire.

Travel Speed = 7.96×0.7 = 5.57 IPM (.2887)

Table 2: Bartonian Conversion Factor

Bartonian Conversion Factor
(* assumes 10% reinforcement)
Leg Size, in. Weight of weld metal per foot* B*
3/16 .072 2.7
1/4 .129 1.5
5/16 .201 1
3/8 .289 0.7
Travel Speed = Deposition Rate × B
Weight of weld metal per foot can be calculated for any joint type by calculating the volume and
multiplying by the density of the weld metal (eg. 0.283 lb./in3 for steel). However, the values
shown in Table 3 through Table 6 eliminate the need to do the calculation. These values are
taken from Table 12-1 in The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding by the Lincoln Electric Co.,
and show the Weight of Weld Metal per Foot for several common joint types welded with steel.

The following sample calculations use Tables 3 through 6.

Table 3: Square Butt

Weight of Weld Metal (lb./ft)
Plate Size, in. (20% reinforcement for each gap size below)
1/16 1/8 3/16 1/4 3/8 1/2
1/8 0.027 0.053 0.080 0.106 0.159 0.213
3/16 0.040 0.080 0.120 0.1559 0.239 0.319
1/4 0.053 0.106 0.159 0.213 0.319 0.425
5/16 0.066 0.133 0.199 0.266 0.398 0.531
3/8 0.080 0.159 0.239 0.319 0.478 0.638
7/16 0.093 0.186 0.279 0.372 0.558 0.744
1/2 0.106 0.213 0.319 0.425 0.638 0.850
3/4 0.159 0.319 0.478 0.638 0.969 1.28
1 0.213 0.425 0.638 0.850 1.28 1.70
1 1/2 0.319 0.638 0.956 1.28 1.91 2.55
2 0.425 0.850 1.28 1.7 2.55 3.40
Table 4: Fillet Weld
Weight of Weld Metal (lb./ft)
Plate Size, in. (leg size is 10% oversized)
Flat weld Convex weld Concave weld
1/8 0.032 0.041 0.036
3/16 0.072 0.093 0.081
1/4 0.129 0.165 0.145
5/16 0.201 0.258 0.226
3/8 0.289 0.371 0.325
7/16 0.394 0.505 0.443
1/2 0.514 0.6595 0.578
3/4 1.16 1.48 1.30
1 2.06 2.64 2.31
Table 5: Vee Groove Butt Weld
Weight of Weld Metal (lb./ft)
Plate Size, in. (Vee-groove included angle)
14° 20° 30° 45° 60° 70° 75° 80° 90°
1/8 0.0065 0.009 0.014 0.022 0.031 0.037 0.041 0.045 0.053
3/16 0.015 0.021 0.032 0.049 0.069 0.084 0.092 0.100 0.119
1/4 0.026 0.037 0.057 0.088 0.123 0.149 0.163 0.178 0.212
 Table 5: Vee Groove Butt Weld
Weight of Weld Metal (lb./ft)
Plate Size, in. (Vee-groove included angle)
14° 20° 30° 45° 60° 70° 75° 80° 90°
5/16 0.041 0.058 0.089 0.137 0.191 0.232 0.254 0.278 0.332
3/8 0.059 0.084 0.128 0.198 0.276 0.334 0.366 0.401 0.478
7/16 0.080 0.115 0.174 0.269 0.375 0.455 0.499 0.545 0.650
1/2 0.104 0.150 0.227 0.352 0.490 0.594 0.651 0.712 0.849
3/4 0.235 0.337 0.512 0.791 1.103 1.338 1.466 1.603 1.910
1 0.417 0.599 0.910 1.407 1.961 2.378 2.606 2.850 3.396
1 1/2 0.938 1.347 2.047 3.165 4.412 5.350 5.863 6.412 7.641
2 1.668 2.395 3.640 5.627 7.843 9.512 10.423 11.398 13.584
Table 6: Cap Pass
Weight of Weld Metal (lb./ft)
Cap Width, in. (cap reinforcement height)
1/16 in. 1/8 in. 3/16 in. 1/4 in.
3/8 0.027 0.053 0.080 0.106
1/2 0.040 0.080 0.120 0.1559
3/4 0.053 0.106 0.159 0.213
1 0.066 0.133 0.199 0.266
1 1/4 0.080 0.159 0.239 0.319
1 1/2 0.093 0.186 0.279 0.372
1 3/4 0.106 0.213 0.319 0.425
2 0.159 0.319 0.478 0.638

Sample Calculation No.1 — 1/2-in. plate Vee groove weld with 90° included angle and 1/8 in.
reinforcement using 0.052 in. solid wire, 90%Ar/10%CO2 shielding gas. Manufacturer
recommends WFS at 325 IPM and 30 volts.

Deposition Rate (lb./hr) = 13.1×(0.052)2×(325)×(1.0) = 11.51 lb./hr

Travel Speed for fill and cap passes = (11.51)×(6)/5×(0.849 + 0.199) = 13.18 IPM

Sample Calculation No.2 — 3/8 in. plate square butt weld into a backing, with a 3/16 in. gap
and 1/8 in. reinforcement using 1/16 in. cored wire, 75%Ar/25%CO2 shielding gas. Our process
runs great with WFS at 285 IPM and 26 volts.

Deposition rate (lb./hr) = 13.1×(1/16 in.)2 × (285)×(.85) = 12.39 lb./hr

Travel speed for fill and cap passes = (12.39)×(1)/5×(0.239 + 0.053) = 8.49 IPM

Sample Calculation No.3 — What should my wire-feed speed be if I want to make a fat, 1/4 in.
fillet weld at 20 IPM travel speed using 0.045 in. solid wire and 90%Ar/10%CO2 shielding gas?
Re-arranging the Travel Speed calculation above to solve for Deposition Rate we get:

Deposition rate = 5×Travel speed×(Weight of weld metal {lb./ft})/(# of passes)

Depostion rate = 5×20 IPM×(0.165)/1 = 16.5 lb./hr

Re-arranging the Deposition Rate calculation above to solve for Wire-feed Speed we get:

Wire-feed speed = Deposition rate/13.1×(Wire diameter)2×(Efficiency) = 16.5/13.1 ×(.045

in.)2×(1) = 622 IPM

Summary — Using math and these simple formulas can reduce your weld-development time,
and improve your pre-WPS documentation. These calculations will get you close, but some
tweaking may have to be done to achieve your desired weld. Having a good starting point for
welding procedure development will decrease time and guesswork on the shop floor.