The main Types of welding used in industry and by home engineers are commonly referred to as Mig welding, Arc welding, Gas welding and Tig welding.
Arc Welding or SMAW
Generally known as stick or arc welding. Arc welding is the most basic of all welding types, is easy to master in a home welding situation.
Stick welding can be used for manufacturing, construction and repairs, very much well suited for heavy metal size 4 millimetres upwards. Thinner sheet metals and alloys are usually more suited to the mig welding types.
GMAW or Gas Metal Arc Welding
More commonly called MIG welding this welding type is the most widely used and perhaps the most easily mastered type of welding for industry and home use. The GMAW process is suitable for fusing mild steel, stainless-steel as well as aluminium.
GTAW or Tungsten Inert Gas
TIG welding is comparable to oxy acetylene gas welding and needs a lot more expertise from the operator. Employed for carrying out high-quality work when a superior standard of finish is needed without making use of excessive clean up by sanding or grinding.
Not used as widely for general welding of mild steel. Consists of mixing oxygen and acetylene gas to greate a flame capable of melting steels. Mostly used today for maintenance work and gas metal cutting. Also common for brazing softer metals such as copper and bronze. Can also be used for welding delicate aluminium parts such as refrigeration pipes.
Gas Cutting equipment for metal construction and maintenance. The most accessible of thermal cutting gear is by oxy-acetylene gas cutting and plasma cutting machines. Other methods include the use of a thermal cutting electrode for use with the arc welder machine.
Plasma Arc Welding
Plasma Welding is very much like that of Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding (GTAW). The two processes are often compared because they basically work in the same fashion, only using a different type of torch. This method was developed in 1954, though even today, it is still being improved upon. Plasma Welding also requires more concentration than GTAW because of the smaller arc and precision of the weld. In Plasma Welding, the electrical current is passed through an extremely small nozzle which passes through the protective gases, enabling extreme accuracy when welding small areas. Plasma Welding can heat metals to very extreme temperatures which can result in deeper welds. Like GTAW, this welding process is generally used in the aircraft manufacturing industry.
Submerged Arc Welding
The Submerged Arc Welding process can only be used properly on materials containing high iron contents, such as stainless steel. The device used in this process can be automatic or semi-automatic making it a fairly fast welding process. While it is a fast process, the electrical arc must constantly be covered by ‘flux’ in order to protect the metal from the atmosphere during the welding process. This cover also prevents any welding spatter which makes it safer for welders than some of the other forms of welding. The process is named after this need to be ‘submerged’ in a flux cover.
