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MIGWeldingShieldingGasBasics

MIGWeldingShieldingGasBasics
MIG(GMAW)weldingwithshieldinggasandasolidwireelectrodeproducesaclean,slagfreeweld
withouttheneedtocontinuallystopweldingtoreplacetheelectrode,asinStickwelding.Increased
productivityandreducedcleanuparejusttwoofthebenefitspossiblewiththisprocess.

Shieldinggascanplayasignificantroleinimproving,or
impedingweldingperformance.

Toachievetheseresultsinyourspecificapplication,however,ithelpstounderstandtheroleofshielding
gas,thedifferentshieldinggasesavailableandtheiruniqueproperties.
Theprimarypurposeofshieldinggasistopreventexposureofthemoltenweldpooltooxygen,nitrogen
andhydrogencontainedintheairatmosphere.Thereactionoftheseelementswiththeweldpoolcan
createavarietyofproblems,includingporosity(holeswithintheweldbead)andexcessivespatter.
Differentshieldinggasesalsoplayanimportantroleindeterminingweldpenetrationprofiles,arcstability,
mechanicalpropertiesofthefinishedweld,thetransferprocessyouuseandmore.
ChoosingMIGgunconsumablesthatprovideconsistentandsmoothshieldinggasdeliveryarealso
importanttomakingsuccessfulMIGwelds.
ChoosingTheRightGas
ManyMIGweldingapplicationslendthemselvestoavarietyofshieldinggaschoices,andyouneedto
evaluateyourweldinggoalsinordertochoosethecorrectoneforyourspecificapplication.Thecostofthe
gas,finishedweldproperties,preparationandpostweldcleanup,thebasematerial,weldtransferprocess
andyourproductivitygoalsallneedtobetakenintoaccountwhenselectingashieldinggas.
Argon,Helium,CarbonDioxideandOxygenarethefourmostcommonshieldinggasesusedinMIG
welding,witheachprovidinguniquebenefitsanddrawbacksinanygivenapplication.

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MIGWeldingShieldingGasBasics

Porosity,ascanbeseenonthefaceandinterioroftheweld
bead,canbecausedbyinadequateshieldinggasandcan
dramaticallyweakentheweld.

CarbonDioxide(CO2)isthemostcommonofthereactivegasesusedinMIGweldingandtheonlyone
thatcanbeusedinitspureformwithouttheadditionofaninertgas.CO2isalsotheleastexpensiveofthe
commonshieldinggases,makinganattractivechoicewhenmaterialcostsarethemainpriority.PureCO2
providesverydeepweldpenetration,whichisusefulforweldingthickmaterialhowever,italsoproducesa
lessstablearcandmorespatterthanwhenitismixedwithothergases.Itisalsolimitedtoonlytheshort
circuitprocess.
Formanycompanies,includingthosethatplaceanemphasisonweldquality,appearanceandreducing
postweldcleanup,amixtureofbetween7595percentArgonand525percentCO2willprovidea
moredesirablecombinationofarcstability,puddlecontrolandreducedspatterthanpureCO2.Thismixture
alsoallowstheuseofaspraytransferprocess,whichcanproducehigherproductivityratesandmore
visuallyappealingwelds.Argonalsoproducesanarrowerpenetrationprofile,whichisusefulforfilletand
buttwelds.Ifyoureweldinganonferrousmetalaluminum,magnesiumortitaniumyoullneedtouse
100percentArgon.
Oxygen,alsoareactivegas,istypicallyusedinrationsofninepercentorlesstoimproveweldpoolfluidity,
penetrationandarcstabilityinmildcarbon,lowalloyandstainlesssteel.Itdoescauseoxidationofthe
weldmetal,however,soitisnotrecommendedforusewithaluminum,magnesium,copperorotherexotic
metals.
Helium,likepureArgon,isgenerallyusedwithnonferrousmetals,butalsowithstainlesssteels.Becauseit
producesawide,deeppenetrationprofile,Heliumworkswellwiththickmaterials,andisusuallyusedin
ratiosbetween2575percentHeliumto7525percentArgon.Adjustingtheseratioswillchangethe
penetration,beadprofileandtravelspeed.Heliumcreatesahotterarc,whichallowsforfastertravel
speedsandhigherproductivityrates.However,itismoreexpensiveandrequiresahigherflowratethan
Argon,soyoullneedtocalculatethevalueoftheproductivityincreaseagainsttheincreasedcostofthe
gas.Withstainlesssteels,HeliumistypicallyusedinatrimixformulaofArgonandCO2.

Thisgraphicshowsthedifferencethatconsumablescanmake
inshieldinggascoverage.Thephotoontheleftshowsgood
coverage,whilethecoverageinthephotoontherightallows
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MIGWeldingShieldingGasBasics

theairenvironmentcontaminatetheshieldinggas.

GettingtheGastotheWeldPool
Allofyoureffortsselectingtherightshieldinggaswillbewasted,however,ifyourequipmentisntgetting
thegastotheweld.TheMIGgunconsumables,consistingofadiffuser,contacttipandnozzle,playa
crucialroleinensuringthattheweldpoolisproperlyprotectedfromtheairatmosphere.
Ifyouchooseanozzlethatistoonarrowfortheapplicationorifthediffuserbecomescloggedwithspatter,
forexample,theremightbetoolittleshieldinggasgettingtotheweldpool.Likewise,apoorlydesigned
diffusermightnotchanneltheshieldinggasproperly,resultinginturbulent,unbalancedgasflow.Both
scenarioscanallowpocketsofairintotheshieldinggasandleadtoexcessivespatter,porosityandweld
contamination.

Thiscutawayshowsaconsumablesysteminwhichthecontact
tipisseatedinthediffuserandheldinplacebythespatter
guardinsidethenozzle.

WhenselectingMIGgunconsumables,chooseonesthatresistspatterbuildupandprovideawideenough
nozzleboretoensureadequateshieldinggascoverage.Somecompaniesoffernozzleswithabuiltin
spatterguardthatalsoaddsasecondphaseofshieldinggasdiffusion,resultinginevensmoother,more
consistentshieldinggasflow.
Choosingtherightshieldinggasforyourspecificapplicationwillrequireacarefulanalysisofthetypeof
weldingyouaredoingaswellasyouroperationalpriorities.Usingtheguidelinesaboveshouldprovidea
goodstarttothelearningprocess,butbesuretoconsultyourlocalweldingsupplydistributorpriorto
makingafinaldecision.

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