Introduction
MIG welding is a very versatile and simple type of welding, but at its core, it is mostly about the welding wire itself. The correct welding wire choice is a vital part of producing the high-quality welds that make MIG welding such a favorite among all kinds of welders. Whether you are just a weekend warrior doing some home improvement or a professional welding engineer, you should understand the meaningful differences in the various MIG welding wire options you have to work with. Otherwise, you are probably going to have some problems. Of course, we all see lots of people’s problems every day, especially problems of folks who are supposed to be pros.
MIG Welding Wire: What It Is and Its Uses
The MIG welding process is founded upon something called welding wire, which is a long, thin piece of metal. This metal can be either steel, stainless steel, or aluminum. However, what’s most important is that the metal the wire is made from is the same as the metal you’re trying to bond together. The wire is put inside a welding gun, and when the welder pulls the trigger, the wire shoots right out and arcs to the metal. The wire acts as a filling material between the two pieces of metal that are being welded together. It’s also what’s used to bridge any gaps between the two metals. As a physical phenomenon, it can be understood fairly well through a look at three main aspects of the MIG welding process, which are: the wire, the filler metal, and the arc.
MIG welding wire comes in three different types.
- Solid wire is the most common and is suitable for a wide variety of uses. Not all solid wire is the same; it comes in different diameters and with different ingredient mixes suitable for different base materials and thicknesses.
- Flux-cored wire is filled with a powder that can create shielding gas when heated. The gas then protects the weld from the atmosphere; no external gas source necessary. Plus, the wire easily carries more electric current.
- Finally, for both gas-shielded and semi-automatic MIG processes, the use of metal-cored wire can reduce weld cycle time. It operates with a pulsed MIG process at low to moderate energy, delivers high deposition rates, and provides a ball-type transfer.
Picking the right MIG welding wire rests on a few key aspects.
- The primary consideration is the composition of the metal being welded.
- On the face of it, this seems elementary: Choose steel wire for welding steel, stainless steel wire for stainless steel, and aluminum wire for aluminum.
- But it isn’t that simple. Welding different metals together is common. When selecting a wire for MIG welding different base materials together, make sure to choose a wire that is compatible with the lesser-grade material in the joint.
- For example, if you’re using MIG welding to join stainless to carbon steel, use a wire capable of producing good-looking and crack-free welds on both materials—stainless to the stainless side, carbon steel to the carbon-steel side.
How to Properly Use MIG Welding Wire
It is essential to ensure that you are storing your welding wire in a safe, clean, and dry area. Any moisture that gets into the package will ruin the wire and make it so that it cannot be used. This is why you see wire that is sent to you at a job or at a welding school, covered over with plastic.
Wire techniques that are used for more advanced MIG welding are those that involve a series of the methods just mentioned.
- Pulse welding uses a pulsed current instead of a steady one. The current rises to a peak and then falls off. This happens very rapidly, sometimes up to 200 times per second. The downside is that it is a bit complicated to set up, but when it’s done right, you get a lot of control and a much cleaner, neater result.
- Spray transfer is a way of moving the melted wire from the gun to the workpiece using a high-energy electrical current and a shielding gas spray. As a result, you get a lot more heat and a lot more movement. When the MIG spray transfer method is done right, you get what looks almost like an old-fashioned oxyacetylene welding result, only much faster.
- Short-circuiting transfer is the most basic MIG method and also the most likely to be taught to beginners. As a result, short-circuiting transfer is what most people think of when they think of MIG welding unless they have been formally trained. The MIG welding gun touches the workpiece and creates a very short circuit. During this short circuit, the wire melts, and some of the metal is also splattered around, making for a not-so-clean result.
Conclusion
MIG welding, in essence, revolves around the use of MIG welding wire. This wire melts at a rate that coincides with the current delivered to it. Additionally, the wire is beautifully tailored to the specific welding task at hand. You must understand these essential parts of MIG welding wire to make the best welding decisions. In light-duty applications, you usually see either.023 or.030 solid wire, whereas in heavy-duty applications, you’ll often see either.035 or.045 wire. It’s the selecting of the right wire in the right operation that’s most important. And finally, when using MIG wire, always ensure that a good, workable arc is maintained.
Find more information about welding wire and welding techniques at UDO website – https://www.udo.co.th/