MIG/MAG Arc Welding

This arc welding process, optionally as MIG - metal inert gas welding, or MAG - metal
active gas welding. The consumable welding wire is fed by a motor with variable speed. At the
same time a nozzle above the weld discharges the gas reuired, to prevent the molten metal beneath
the arc from o!idizing.
"sing different compositions of gas #pure $%& or gas mi!ture Argon ' $%&( the welding
process can be actively affected and adapted according to material. )oughly spea*ing one can say
that the MAG process is used for steel and the MIG process for nonferrous metals.
MIG Wire Type Considerations:
Solid Carbon-Steel ER70S-
$%& gas provides deeper penetration +,- Argon.&,- $%& has less spatter than %/01 $%&.
2or auto body, manufacturing, fabrication
!l"# Cored/ Carbon-Steel E7$T-GS
/o shielding gas reuired
3!cellent for outdoor windy conditions
2or dirty, rusty, painted materials
4otter than solid wires, welds to 56 gauge materials and thic*er
Solid Al"%in"% ER-&0&'( ER-)')
Must be used with Argon, AluMI78, or other Argon. 4elium mi!es
)ecommended to be used with spool guns for best results
,9,: is harder for stronger welds and easier feeding
Solid Stainless Steel ER'0*/'0*+
4elium.Argon.$%& mi!tures
2or 9;5, 9;&, 9;<, 9;, and 9;6 stainless base metals
S,ielding gas: As with other welding processes such as gas metal arc welding, s,ielding gases are
necessary in GTA= to protect the welding area from atmospheric gases such as nitrogen
and o#ygen, which can cause fusion defects, porosity, and weld metal e%brittle%ent if
they come in contact with the electrode, the arc, or the welding metal. The gas also transfers
heat from the tungsten electrode to the metal, and it helps start and maintain a stable arc.
TIG Welding: Gas t"ngsten arc -elding #GTAW(, also *nown as t"ngsten inert gas #TIG(
-elding, is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the
weld. The weld area is protected from atmospheric contamination by an inert shielding gas #argon
or helium(, and a filler metal is normally used, though some welds, *nown as autogenous welds, do
not reuire it. A constant-current welding power supply produces energy which is conducted across
the arc through a column of highly ionized gas and metal vapors *nown as a plasma.
GTA= is most commonly used to weld thin sections of stainless steel and non-ferrous metals such
as aluminum, magnesium, and copper alloys. The process grants the operator greater control over
the weld than competing processes such as shielded metal arc welding and gas metal arc welding,
allowing for stronger, higher uality welds. 4owever, GTA= is comparatively more comple! and
difficult to master, and furthermore, it is significantly slower than most other welding techniues. A
related process, plasma arc welding, uses a slightly different welding torch to create a more focused
welding arc and as a result is often automated.
.las%a c"tting: >lasma cutting is a process that is used to cut steel and other %etals of different
thic*nesses #or sometimes other materials( using a plas%a torc,. In this process, an inert gas
#in some units, compressed air( is blown at high speed out of a nozzle? at the same time an
electrical arc is formed through that gas from the nozzle to the surface being cut, turning some
of that gas to plas%a. The plasma is sufficiently hot to melt the metal being cut and moves
sufficiently fast to blow molten metal away from the cut.
o#yacetylene -elding :/#y-0"el -elding #commonly called o#yacetylene -elding, o#y -elding,
or gas -elding in the ".@.( and o#y-0"el c"tting are processes that use fuel gases and o!ygen to
weld and cut metals, respectively. 2rench engineers 3dmond 2ouchA and $harles >icard became
the first to develop o!ygen-acetylene welding in 5B;9.
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>ure o!ygen, instead of air, is used to
increase the flame temperature to allow localized melting of the wor*piece material #e.g. steel( in a
room environment. A common propane.air flame burns at about &,;;; E$ #9,:9; E2(, a
propane.o!ygen flame burns at about &,,;; E$ #<,,9; E2(, and an acetylene.o!ygen flame burns at
about 9,,;; E$ #:,99; E2(.
%!y-fuel is one of the oldest welding processes, besides forge welding. @till used in industry, in
recent decades it has been less widely utilized in industrial applications as other specifically
devised technologies have been adopted. It is still widely used for welding pipes and tubes, as well
as repair wor*. It is also freuently well-suited, and favored, for fabricating some types of metal-
based artwor*. As well, o!y-fuel has an advantage over electric welding and cutting processes in
situations where accessing electricity #e.g., via an e!tension cord or portable generator( would
present difficulties? it is more self-contained, in this sense F hence Gmore portableG.
In o#y-0"el -elding, a welding torch is used to weld metals. =elding metal results when two
pieces are heated to a temperature that produces a shared pool of molten metal. The molten pool is
generally supplied with additional metal called filler. 2iller material depends upon the metals to be
welded.
In o#y-0"el c"tting, a torch is used to heat metal to its *indling temperature. A stream of o!ygen is
then trained on the metal, burning it into a metal o!ide that flows out of the *erf as slag.
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@ometimes called a GGas A!eG.
Torches that do not mi! fuel with o!ygen #combining, instead, atmospheric air( are not considered
o!y-fuel torches and can typically be identified by a single tan* #%!y-fuel cutting reuires two
isolated supplies, fuel and o!ygen(. Most metals cannot be melted with a single-tan* torch. As
such, single-tan* torches are typically used only for soldering and brazing, rather than welding.
!"el:%!y-fuel processes may use a variety of fuel gases, the most common being acetylene. %ther
gases that may be used are propylene, liuified petroleum gas #0>G(, propane, natural gas,
hydrogen, and MA>> gas. Many brands use different *inds of gases in their mi!es.
T,e role o0 o#ygen
%!ygen is not the fuel. It is what chemically combines with the fuel to produce the heat for
welding. This is called Ho!idationH, but the more specific and more commonly used term in this
conte!t is HcombustionH. In the case of hydrogen, the product of combustion is simply water. 2or the
other hydrocarbon fuels, water and carbon dio!ide are produced. The heat is released because the
molecules of the products of combustion have a lower energy state than the molecules of the fuel
and o!ygen. In o!y-fuel cutting, o!idation of the metal being cut #typically iron( produces nearly
all of the heat reuired to GburnG through the wor*piece.
1ra2ing: Irazing is a %etal-Joining process whereby a 0iller %etal is heated above melting point
and distributed between two or more close-fitting parts by capillary action. The filler metal is
brought slightly above its melting #li3"id"s( temperature while protected by a suitable
atmosphere, usually a 0l"#. It then flows over the base metal #*nown as wetting( and is then
cooled to Join the wor*pieces together.It is similar to soldering, e!cept the temperatures used
to melt the filler metal are higher for brazing.
4ip bra2ing
Kip brazing is especially suited for brazing aluminum because air is e!cluded, thus preventing the
formation of o!ides. The parts to be Joined are fi!tured and the brazing compound applied to the
mating surfaces, typically in slurry form. Then the assemblies are dipped into a bath of molten salt
#typically /a$l, L$l and other compounds( which functions both as heat transfer medium and flu!.
!l"#
In the case of brazing operations not contained within an inert or reducing atmosphere environment
#i.e. a furnace(, flu! is reuired to prevent o!ides from forming while the metal is heated. The flu!
also serves the purpose of cleaning any contamination left on the brazing surfaces. 2lu! can be
applied in any number of forms including flu! paste, liuid, powder or pre-made brazing pastes
that combine flu! with filler metal powder. 2lu! can also be applied using brazing rods with a
coating of flu!, or a flu! core. In either case, the flu! flows into the Joint when applied to the
heated Joint and is displaced by the molten filler metal entering the Joint. 3!cess flu! should be
removed when the cycle is completed because flu! left in the Joint can lead to corrosion, impede
Joint inspection, and prevent further surface finishing operations. >hosphorus-containing brazing
alloys can be self-flu!ing when Joining copper to copper. 2lu!es are generally selected based on
their performance on particular base metals. To be effective, the flu! must be chemically
compatible with both the base metal and the filler metal being used. @elf-flu!ing phosphorus filler
alloys produce brittle phosphides if used on iron or nic*el. As a general rule, longer brazing cycles
should use less active flu!es than short brazing operations
!iller %aterials
A variety of alloys are used as filler metals for brazing depending on the intended use or
application method. In general, braze alloys are made up of 9 or more metals to form an alloy with
the desired properties. The filler metal for a particular application is chosen based on its ability toM
wet the base metals, withstand the service conditions reuired, and melt at a lower temperature than
the base metals or at a very specific temperature.
Iraze alloy is generally available as rod, ribbon, powder, paste, cream, wire and preforms #such as
stamped washers(.
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Kepending on the application, the filler material can be pre-placed at the
desired location or applied during the heating cycle. 2or manual brazing, wire and rod forms are
generally used as they are the easiest to apply while heating. In the case of furnace brazing, alloy is
usually placed beforehand since the process is usually highly automated.
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@ome of the more
common types of filler metals used are
Aluminum-silicon
$opper
$opper-silver
$opper-zinc #brass(
Gold-silver
/ic*el alloy
@ilver
Amorphous brazing foil using nic*el, iron, copper, silicon, boron, phosphorus, etc.
!REE 1/45 4IAGRAM:
In many problems, it is essential to isolate the body under consideration from the other bodies in
contact and draw all the forces acting on the body. 2or this, first the body is drawn and then applied
forces, selfweight and the reactions at the points of contact with other bodies are drawn. @uch a
diagram of the body in which the body under consideration is freed from all the contact surfaces
and shows all the forces acting on it #including reactions at contact surfaces(, is called a 2ree Iody
Kiagram #!14(.
S6EAR !/RCE A74 1E74I7G M/ME7T 4IAGRAMS
@hear force and bending moment in a beam vary from section to section. The graphical
representation of shear force in which ordinate represents shear force and the abscissa represents
the position of the section is called @hear 2orce Kiagram #@2K(. The diagram in which the ordinate
represent bending moment the abscissa represent the position of the section is called Iending
Moment Kiagram #IMK(. In drawing @2K and IMK, the sign conventions e!plained earlier are
used. These diagrams are usually located below the load diagram. 2rom euations 5 and &, it may
be concluded that the rate of change of shear force #slope of shear force diagram curve( at any
section is eual to the intensity of loading at that section and the rateof change of bending moment
#i.e., shape of bending moment diagram curve( is eual to the shear force at that section. 2rom
euation &, it can also be concluded that the bending moment will be ma!imum.minimum where
shear force #dM.d!( is zero. At any section, if moment changes its sign the point representing that
section is called the point of contrafle!ure. %bviously, the moment at that section is zero.
S!4 A74 1M4 !/R A !EW STA74AR4 CASES
The methods of drawing shear force and bending moment diagrams have been e!plained here in
cases of the following beams subJected to standard loading conditions.
#a( $antilever beams
#b( @imply supported beams and
#c( %verhanging beams
Cantile8er S"b9ect to a Concentrated +oad at !ree End
$onsider the section 7N7 at a distance ! from free end in a cantilever beam shown in 2ig. B.9&#a(.
2rom left hand side segment of beam,
2 O N=
Thus shear force is constant i.e., it will not vary with !. 4ence the @2K is as shown in 2ig. B.9&#b(.
M O N=!, linear variation.
At ! O ;, MA O ;
At ! O l, MI O N=l
4ence IMK is as shown in 2ig. B.9&#c(.
A Cantile8er S"b9ect to :4+ /8er its Entire Span
$onsider the beam shown in 2ig. B.99#a(.
$onsidering the left hand side portion of the beam from the section 7N7 which is at a distance
! from the free end A,
2 O N=!, linear variation
At ! O ;, 2A O ;
At ! O l, 2I O Nwl
4ence @2K is as shown in 2ig. B.99#b(.
This is parabolic variation. As magnitude increases at a faster rate with !, it is concave parabola
as shown in 2ig. B.99#c(, with e!treme values as given belowM
At ! O ;, MA O ;,
At
Si%ply S"pported 1ea% S"b9ected to a Concentrated +oad
0et = be the concentrated load acting on beam AI at a distance PaQ from the end A as shown in
2ig. B.9<#a(.
2or portion A$ @2K and IMK can be drawn.
$onsider portion $I. The e!pression derived for portion A$ will not hold good for this portion.
Ta*ing a section at a distance ! from I and considering the right hand side segment of the beam,
@2 and IM diagrams for this portion can now be drawn. 4ence @2K and IMK for the beam is
as shown in 2ig. B.9<#b( and B.9<#c( respectively.
>articular caseM
=hen a O b O l.&
A Si%ply S"pported 1ea% S"b9ected to :4+
0et the beam AI of span l be subJected to uniformly distributed load of intensity w.unit length as
shown in 2ig. B.9,#a(.