ABeginnersGuidetoMIGWelding

MIGWeldingNames
MIGwelding,orMIG,isanacronymforMetalInertGaswelding.MIGisacommonlyusedand
acceptedslangtermthatwasappropriatewhentheprocesswasfirstinvented.Inthebeginning,the
gassesusedforshieldingtheweldareawereknownasInertorNobelgasses.Todaytheproper
terminologyisGasMetalArcWeldingorGMAW.Thisisabetterdescriptionofthiswelding
processbecausemostgassesorgasmixturesusedareneitherInertnorNobelgasses,andinmanycases
theyareactuallyreactivegasses.SomepeoplealsorefertothisprocessasWireWheelWelding
becauseitusesawirewheeltofeedthefillermetaltotheweldjoint.Intheend,MIGweldingisstillthe
mostpopularterm.However,whensearchingforinformationorjobsintheweldingfield,theterm
GMAWorGasMetalArcWeldingisthecorrectone.
WeldabilityofMetals
MIGcanweldalmostanymetal.OneofthebiggestattractionsabouttheMIGprocessishowfastitis
abletoweldmorethanjuststeel.Themetalsthataremostcommonlyweldedare:
1.MildSteel
2.StainlessSteel
3.Aluminum
Thisprocesscanweldmanymorealloysandcombinationofmetals.Oneexampleisweldingdissimilar
metalssuchasstainlesssteeltosteel.Othermetalsthatcanbeweldedrangefromcoppertotitanium.The
listofmetalsthatcanbeweldedisextensiveandrangefromverycommonmetalstotheextremely
exotic.
PowerSupplyandEquipment
Thepowersupplyandequipmentarewhatmakethistypeofweldingprocesspossible.Onceyou
understandthetypeofequipmentusedthentheinnerworkingsbecomesimple.
MIGweldingpowersuppliesarereferredtoasCVorConstantVoltagepowersupplies.Whatthis
powersupplydoesisproduceelectricalcurrenttocreateanarctoweldthemetalwith.ThetermCV
meansthattheheatsettingsarecontrolledwithvoltage.WhenMIGwelding,themachineisalwaysset
byvoltageandthistypeofpowersupplykeepsthevoltageataconsistentlevel.Whathappensisthatthe
amperagefluctuates,butthevoltagestaysintherangethatitisset.
MIGweldingrequiresawirefeedsystem.Thewirefeedsystemiswhatfeedstheelectrode,orfiller
wire,totheweldjoint.ThisiswherethetermWireWheelWeldingcomesfrom.Thewirefeedscome
inmanydifferentforms.Somearepartofthepowersupply,andthehigherendmodelscomeinstand
aloneformorarecontainedinsideabriefcase.ThewirefeedisregulatedinIPMorInchesper
Minute.Thisishowthespeedofthefillerwireisregulatedandset.Thewirefeedsystemalsocontrols
shieldinggasandallweldingoperationsthataresignaledfromtheMIGgun.
FinallythereistheMIGgun.TheMIGgunhasahandlewithatriggerthatisattachedtothewirefeed
throughacable.TheMIGgunfeedsthefillerwire,theshieldinggas,andelectricitytothejoint.Oncethe
welderhitsthetrigger,theMIGgunshieldstheweldareafromtheair,producestheArc,andstartsthe

weldingprocessbyfeedingwiretothejoint.

ShieldingGases

ShieldinggasiswhatmakestheMIGweldingprocesspossible.Therearemanytypesofshieldinggasses
usedforMIGwelding.Sincetheelectrodesareasolidmetalwiretheyalwaysneedsomeformof
shieldingfromtheair.Thegassesrangefrominertgasestoreactiveones.Inmanycases,thegassesused
areacombinationoftwoormoregasses.Someofthecommonlyusedgassesare:
Argon
CarbonDioxide
Helium(inrarecases)
Oxygen(insmallpercentages)
FormostweldingapplicationsacombinationofArgonandCarbonDioxidegassesareused.Whenit
comestotheweldinggasses,ArgonproducesacleanerweldandtheCarbonDioxidehelpstheweld
penetratedeeper.CarbonDioxidecanbeusedaloneforthinnermetals,butitalsoproducesalotof
smokewhilewelding.Someofthemostcommonlyusedgassesforweldingmildsteelare:
100%CarbonDioxide
25%CarbonDioxideand75%Argon
2%CarbonDioxideand98%Argon
ThemixturesarereferredtoasC25andC2.TheCstandsforCarbonDioxideandthenumberisthe
percentageofCarbonDioxideinthemixture.Itisassumedthattherestofthegasinthemixtureis
Argon.Argonbyitselfisusedforwelding:
Aluminum
Copper
Nickel
Titanium
ElectrodesorFillerWire
Electrodesorthefillerwirecomeinspoolform.Fillerwirecomesinavarietyofsizesthatareratedfor
homeuseallthewaytoheavyindustrialapplications.Somepopularsizesare:
.023Typicallyusedbyhobbyists
.030Usedinindustryforlightwelding
.035Themostcommonlyusedsizeformanufacturing
Thesizeoftheelectrodehasverylittletodowiththethicknessofthemetalthatwillbewelded,and
ALLtodowiththetypeofmachineyouareusing(thevoltagethemachinecanproduceandwirefeed
speedsavailable)andhowitissetup.Alowvoltagemachineusedbyahobbyistinthegaragewillnever
beabletoweldthickermetals.Theelectrodeshaveacodingsystemtoidentifythem.Acommonlyused
electrodeformildsteelisER70S6
ERstandsforelectrodeorfillerrod.
70isthestrengthoftheweld.Inthecaseofmildsteel,theweldhasaminimumof70,000
poundsoftensilestrengthpersquareinchofweld.
Sstandsforasolidwire.Sincethewireissoliditalwaysneedsaformofshieldinggas.

6representstheamountofcleanerthatisaddedtothewiretoimproveweldquality.
WeldingMachineSetUp
ThesetupofaMIGwelderhasalotofcombinationsdependingonthetypeofmetal,thethicknessthat
willbewelded,theelectrodeavailable,andthecapabilitiesoftheweldingmachine.Whenitcomesto
MIGweldingtherearefourtypesofweldtransfersandtheyare:
1.ShortCircuit
2.Globular
3.Spray
4.Pulse
Shortcircuitisatransferthatisusedonthinnermetals.Thistransfertypeproducesafast,highpitch
cracklingsound.Thistypeoftransferissetupbyusingahighpercentageofcarbondioxideshielding
gasor100%carbondioxide.Inordertohaveashortcircuittransfer,thevoltageneedstobesetonthe
lowerrange.Formosthobbyists,thisisthetypeoftransferthatwillbeused.
GlobulartransferrequiresmorevoltageandahigherpercentageofArgongas.Thistransfertypehasa
poppingsoundtoit.Globulartransferisusedonthickermetals,andinsomecases,whenwelding
stainlesssteel.
SpraytransferusesahighpercentageofArgongasorpureArgondependingonthetypeofmetal
welded.Truespraytransferhasahumorhissingsoundtoit.Whenitcomestoweldingthickermetals,
spraytransferissometimesdefinedbyaminimumvoltageandamperagesetting.Inthiscase,itwillhave
adeep,fastcracklingsoundwhenwelding.Itmayseemlikeshortcircuit,butthefactisthewireis
beingsprayedintotheweldjoint.
PulseorpulsespraytransferisaspecialsettingonhighendMIGwelders.Whatthisdoesiscreatea
pulsingactionwiththevoltageandamperagewhilewelding.Thishelpscontrolthepuddlewhenwelding
outofpositionandiscommonlyusedwhenMIGweldingpipe.
Whensettingupthewelderyouneedtochoosetheproperelectrodeandshieldinggasforthemetalthat
willbewelded.Thebestwaytogoaboutthisistoaskyourlocalweldingsupplystoreorawelding
instructorforarecommendation.
MIGweldershavethreemainsettings:
1.ShieldingGasFlowRate
2.VoltageSetting
3.WireFeedSpeed.
Tosetupyourshieldinggasflowrateyouneedtotakeintoaccountanydraftsorwindyconditionsthat
mayaffectwhereyouwillbewelding.Thismakespredictinganexactflowrateimpossiblebecausean
opendoororevenaventilationfancanchangethegasrequirements.Thisistrueevenwhenweldingin
thesameshop.Shieldinggasflowratescanrangefromaslittleas10CFH(CubicFeetperHour)to
over50CFH.Itcomesdowntofindingwhatworksbestforyourspecificconditions.
VoltagesettingisthemainpartofMIGwelding.Asnotedearlier,voltagesettingsvarydependingonthe
electrodesizeandmetalthicknessthatwillbewelded.Voltagesettingscanmakepossiblethewelding
avarietyofmetalthicknessesusingasingleelectrodesize.

Wirefeedspeediswhatcontrolshowfastyourwireisfeedingtotheweldjoint.Italsocontrolstransfer
typesandamperagesettings.Alowerwirefeedspeedproducesmoreofaspraytransferandatthesame
timelowerstheamperage.Thehigherthewirefeedspeed,thegreatertheamperageandthisisbecause
theelectrodeishavingmoredirectcontactwiththeweldjoint.
Settinguptoweldshouldstartbyusingtherecommendedmanufacturessettings.Insomecases,theycan
befoundontheinsidepanelofthewirefeed.SomegeneralguidelinesforanER70S6,.035thick
electrodeusingC25gasare:
12Gaugemildsteelrequires18.5voltsand180IPMwirefeedspeed.
3/16mildsteelrequires19voltsand225IPMwirefeedspeed.
1/4mildsteelrequires20voltsand260IPMwirefeedspeed.
3/8mildsteelrequires21voltsand310IPMwirefeedspeed.
Rememberthesearejustguidelinesandeachmachinerunsdifferently.Thisisalsotrueoftwoidentical
machinesboughtatthesametime.Itallcomesdowntohowwelltheyarecalibrated.Whenwelding
thickermetalsyouneedtouseatleasttheminimumrecommendedvoltageandwirefeedspeed.Ifnot,
youwillcoldlaptheweldandthatmeansithasnotpenetratedthemetalproperly.Itlookslikeits
welded,buttheweldisjustlayingontopofthemetal.Hititwithahammerandthejointbreaksinhalf.
WhatsMoreImportantThanMIGWeldingTechniques?
MachineSetUp!MIGweldingisoneoftheeasiesttypesofweldingtolearn.IfyouwanttomasterMIG
weldingtechniquesthenlearnhowtosetupanyMIGweldingmachinecorrectly.Learninghowto
setupthemachinecanmakeorbreakaweldandthewelder.Ifyouareinschool,doNOTgetinthe
habitofusingthesamemachineeveryday.Ifyoudo,chancesarethatwhenyougoforaweldtestyou
aregoingtohavetroublewithsetup.MIGweldingiseasybutmachinesetupisnot!
MIGWeldingTechniqueBasics
TheweldingtechniquesusedforMIGweldingaretypicallyforehandandyoupushthepuddleinthe
directionoftheweld.Thiscreatesaflatweldthathasashallow,butwidepenetrationpattern.Backhand
weldingcanbedonebutitisnotcommonused.Backhandweldingproducesanarrowbeadwithahigh
profileanddeeppenetration.
HowfaryourelectrodesticksoutoftheMIGgunisextremelyimportant.WithMIGyouwantof
aninchorlessstickout.Ifyouhavealongerstickoutyouarelikelytoloseyourshieldinggas.This
willresultinporosityintheweld.Ashorterstickoutisalwaysbetterbecauseitprovidesbettergas
coverage.
StructuralMIGWeldingTechniques
Weldingintheflatpositionistheeasiest.ThispositionrequirespushingtheMIGgunwithanangleup
to35degreestowardthedirectionoftheweld.Thetechniquesusedcanbewhipping,circlesoraweave.
Choosingthetechniquedependsonthetypeofjointandmetalthickness.
Horizontalissimilartoflatweldingexceptweavingshouldnotbeused.Alwaysusestringerbeadsand
keepthemnarrowbyincreasingyourtravelspeed.TheangleoftheMIGgunshouldbepointedup
between35to45degreesandyoushouldleantowardthedirectionoftravelupto35degrees.Thebest
techniqueforthisposition,inmostcases,isawhippingmotion.

Verticalweldingisthemostdifficultpositionforthisweldingprocess.Verticalweldingrequires
pointingtheMIGgunupwardwithamaximumof45degrees.Ifyouexceed45degreeschancesareair
willentertheweldareafromthebottombecauseoftheturbulenceoftheshieldinggas.Verticalwelding
cantravelupordown.Verticaldownismostsuitableforthinnermetals.Thetrickwithverticaldown
istostayaheadofthepuddle.Otherwisetheweldwillrolloverthejointandnotpenetrateproperly.
Verticaldownrequiresaveryfastsidetosideweave.Verticalupisthemostdifficultpositionfor
MIG.Theissueisthatthebeadalwayscrownsupandhasahighprofile.Verticalupisbestdoneinside
ofagroovejoint.Ifyouneedtorunasmallbeaditisalwaysagoodideatogrindagroovefortheweld
tofollow.Verticalupisdoneusingasidetosideweavewithaslightpauseattheedgesoftheweld.
Overheadisnotmuchharderthenhorizontalwelding.TheangleoftheMIGgunneedstobetowardthe
directionoftheweldwithamaximumangleof35degrees.Thetricktoweldingoverheadistokeepthe
machinesethot.Overheadweldingtechniquesarewhipping,circlesandweaves.
TechniquesforVariousJointTypes
Whenitcomestovariousjointstherearedifferenttechniquesused.Forfilletwelds,whippingworks
best.Grooveweldsrequireabitofaweavetogetproperpenetration.Itallboilsdowntoadaptingyour
techniquesforthepositionandjointtype.IntheendthemostimportantMIGweldingtechniqueis
learningtosetupyourequipmentcorrectly.MIGweldingreallydoesnotrequirealotofpractice,but
machinesetupcertainlydoesasitiswhatmakestheweld.
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Posted:09/01/2010
Revised: