Gas metal arc welding

Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), sometimes referred to by its subtypes metal inert gas (MIG) welding or metal active gas (MAG) welding, is a welding process in which an electric arc forms between a consumable MIG wire electrode and the workpiece metal(s), which heats the workpiece metal(s), causing them to melt and join. Along with the wire electrode, a shielding gas feeds through the welding gun, which shields the process from contaminants in the air. The process can be semi-automatic or automatic. A constant voltage, direct current power source is most commonly used with GMAW, but constant current systems, as well as alternating current, can be used. There are four primary methods of metal transfer in GMAW, called globular, short-circuiting, spray, and pulsed-spray, each of which has distinct properties and corresponding advantages and limitations. Originally developed in the 1940s for welding aluminium and other non-ferrous materials, GMAW was soon applied to steels because it provided faster welding time compared to other welding processes. The cost of inert gas limited its use in steels until several years later, when the use of semi-inert gases such as carbon dioxide became common. Further developments during the 1950s and 1960s gave the process more versatility and as a result, it became a highly used industrial process. Today, GMAW is the most common industrial welding process, preferred for its versatility, speed and the relative ease of adapting the process to robotic automation. Unlike welding processes that do not employ a shielding gas, such as shielded metal arc welding, it is rarely used outdoors or in other areas of moving air. A related process, flux cored arc welding, often does not use a shielding gas, but instead employs an electrode wire that is hollow and filled with flux. The principles of gas metal arc welding began to be understood in the early 19th century, after Humphry Davy discovered the short pulsed electric arcs in 1800. Vasily Petrov independently produced the continuous electric arc in 1802 (followed by Davy after 1808). It was not until the 1880s that the technology became developed with the aim of industrial usage. At first, carbon electrodes were used in carbon arc welding. By 1890, metal electrodes had been invented by Nikolay Slavyanov and C. L. Coffin. In 1920, an early predecessor of GMAW was invented by P. O. Nobel of General Electric. It used direct current with a bare electrode wire and used arc voltage to regulate the feed rate. It did not use a shielding gas to protect the weld, as developments in welding atmospheres did not take place until later that decade. In 1926 another forerunner of GMAW was released, but it was not suitable for practical use. In 1948, GMAW was developed by the Battelle Memorial Institute. It used a smaller diameter electrode and a constant voltage power source developed by H. E. Kennedy. It offered a high deposition rate, but the high cost of inert gases limited its use to non-ferrous materials and prevented cost savings. In 1953, the use of carbon dioxide as a welding atmosphere was developed, and it quickly gained popularity in GMAW, since it made welding steel more economical. In 1958 and 1959, the short-arc variation of GMAW was released, which increased welding versatility and made the welding of thin materials possible while relying on smaller electrode wires and more advanced power supplies. It quickly became the most popular GMAW variation. The spray-arc transfer variation was developed in the early 1960s, when experimenters added small amounts of oxygen to inert gases. More recently, pulsed current has been applied, giving rise to a new method called the pulsed spray-arc variation. GMAW is one of the most popular welding methods, especially in industrial environments. It is used extensively by the sheet metal industry and the automobile industry. There, the method is often used for arc spot welding, replacing riveting or resistance spot welding. It is also popular for automated welding, where robots handle the workpieces and the welding gun to accelerate manufacturing. GMAW can be difficult to perform well outdoors, since drafts can dissipate the shielding gas and allow contaminants into the weld; flux cored arc welding is better suited for outdoor use such as in construction. Likewise, GMAW's use of a shielding gas does not lend itself to underwater welding, which is more commonly performed via shielded metal arc welding, flux cored arc welding, or gas tungsten arc welding. To perform gas metal arc welding, the basic necessary equipment is a welding gun, a wire feed unit, a welding power supply, a welding electrode wire, and a shielding gas supply.