UAE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Manufacturing Processes MECH 306

MIG Welding

Student Name:
Student Number:
 Experiment – MIG Welding
Objectives:
 To identify the basic components of MIG welding process
 Set appropriate parameters for MIG welding
 To establish vertical and overhead welds
Apparatus: Set up for metal inert gas welding (MIG).
Safety:
 Insulate yourself from work and ground.
 Do not touch live electrical parts.
 Keep all panels and covers securely in place.
 Keep your head out of the fumes.
 Ventilate area, or use breathing advice.
 Do not weld near flammable material.
 Watch for fire, keep extinguisher nearby.
 Wear welding helmet with correct shade of filter.
 Wear correct eye, ear and body protection.
 Allow cooling period before touching welded metal.

Theory: The apparatus for MIG is shown in the figure below:

Gas metal-arc welding (MIG) welding is process, in which a consumable, bare wire
electrode, is fed in to weld at controlled rate of speed. A blanket of inert gas (argon, helium
or a mixture of two as used in TIG welding) shields the weld zone from contamination.
 This process produces high welds without the use of fluxes or the necessity of post cleaning
the weld.

MIG Welding Equipment Components

1. Nozzle and Holder. The nozzle is made of copper to dissipate heat and chrome plated
to reflect the heat. The holder is made of stainless steel and is connected to an insulating
material which prevents an arc from being drawn between the nozzle and ground in
case the gun comes in contact with the work.
2. Pressure Roll Assembly. This is a smooth roller, under spring tension, which pushes
the wire electrode against the Feed and allows the wire to be pulled from the spool.
3. Motor. When the inch button is depressed, the current for running the motor comes
from the 110volt ac-dc source, and the motor pulls the wire electrode form the spool at
the required rate of feed. The current for this motor is supplied by the welding
generator.
4. Spool Enclosure Assembly. This assembly is made of plastic which prevents arc
spatter form jamming the wire electrode on the spool.

Vertical weld Overhead weld

Procedure for vertical weld:
1. Samples will be given.
2. Set the machine parameters.
3. Set the current to 80-90A (for mild steel).
4. Set the required gas flow and gas pressure.
5. Clamp the work pieces together in required position.
6. In the fig 1 vertical up position, a back and forth weave is recommended for the weaving
patterns.
7. As the welding gun moves forward, the weld sequences for light gauge material to form a butt
joint.
8. In the vertical down welding the weld puddle tends to flow down ahead of the electrode tip and
therefore the travel speed must be high enough so that the molten metal flowing down does not
take place between the electrode tip and the base metal. In this case it is possible that the arc cannot
melt the base metal to obtain adequate binding to the base metal.
 Fig 1: Vertical Positions

Procedure for overhead weld:

1. Set the machine parameters
2. The additional work piece will be tack welded to the ones used in previous exercise.
3. In fig 2, overhead welding of butt joint is performed with a regular zig-zag pattern with pauses
at the side walls.

Fig 2: Overhead welding pattern