How To Use A MIG Welder

| Friday, July 22, 2011
By Joe Davies


The MIG welder is a common welder, using GMAW, it is very effective at what it does. The electrode wire gets fed through a welding gun, and at around the same time, shielding gas glows through, which is used to protect the weld while it cools down and settles. The is basically the GMAW process.

Carbon dioxide is most commonly used for this type of welding because it is the cheapest and it creates a great weld. Also used is Argon which creates a good mixture with carbon dioxide, and creates less spatter which means a cleaner weld overall. To get the best welds with aluminium, using argon gas alone is the best method.

Over other processes of welding the GMAW method has many advantages such as the welding gun itself which has a control on the trigger which will position the electrode without accidentally hitting one of the arcs. Once you have positioned the gun in the right place all that left to do is put your helmet on and pull the trigger.

Thinner metals and welt sheet metals are best suited for MIG welders because they can be operated at a much lower voltage than other welders. Using an alternating current will not give you a steady arc when welding which is why MIG welders use a DC current. Using inert shielding gases will make the welds smooth with no slag to chip.

Creating clean welds with a MIG welder is helped by the control you have over the voltage and the speed the wire comes through to the welder. The tension of the electrode is variable also which is very handy.

You can use a mig welder without shielding gas, and this is called flux cored arc welding, FCAW. There is an option of switching the polarity of the arc for the flux cored wire. The process requires that the wire has a hollow core filled with flux for better effectiveness.




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