Aluminum Welding Services

The GMAW welding process is commonly utilized in arc welding. It is a welding technique that is mostly referred to as MIG. Gas metal arc welding is a highly used joining process in the modern world. You can also refer to this process as Metal Inert Gas. It uses a continuously fed filler material and an electric arc to join two pieces of metal.

Our aluminum welding experts are highly specialized in this technique. We offer this welding service to our customers in San Bernardino, Ventura, Riverside, Los Angeles, and Orange County. Our company has the right expertise and machines to work on GMAW welding. Therefore, you can be sure of getting the best results when you use Aluminum Welding for this type of work.

The equipment that you need for this process include the welding gun assembly, the wire feeder, the constant voltage power source, the control cable and the power cable that run from the source of power to its feeder. The other things that you need for this kind of welding include the clamp and ground cable. Our company has modern equipment that we use in handling this type of work.

Advantages of GMAW

GMAW is an electric arc welding process that utilizes a spool of a continuously fed wire. You can use it in joining long metal stretches with no stopping. You can use GMAW in welding all types of metals. The only thing that you need to change is the filler wire.

The process of GMAW is broadly utilized because its equipment is low cost. Its consumables are also low cost and has a high deposition rate especially when you compare it to stick welding and also comes with high electrode efficiencies.

GMAW provides low hydrogen deposits and comes with low spatter levels by choosing the correct metal transfer mode. Since this welding process is slag-less, it does not call for the discarding of unused stick stubs, cleaning up flux, or chipping slag.

The welding speeds of MIG are relatively higher. The welding technique also provides a greater deposition rate. Most welders love GMAW because it calls for less post-welding cleaning like there is no slag to chip off the weld. It also offers a better welding pool visibility no wasted man hours or stub end losses due to a change in electrodes.

MIG welding also offers a lower skill factor that is needed to run the MIG welding torch. Its positional welding does not offer any problems when you compare it to the other welding processes. You can either use the pulsed or dip transfer mode. It is an easily automated welding process and doesn’t require fluxes in most cases and the process is ultra-low hydrogen.

Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) has a very high deposition efficiency. It does not have any slag that can chip like is the case with FCAW and SMAW. You can utilize it on thin metal materials with a lot of ease as long as you set it up correctly. The technique also offers lower hydrogen welding deposits with all the electrodes. The production factor of GMAW is higher because you don’t have to remove any slag. The other reason is that it utilizes a continuous electrode.

The productivity of MIG is higher and the time that the welders save will help them to enjoy higher productivity. Remember you will not have to change the chip away slag or rods. Besides, you don’t have to repeatedly brush the weld and they tend to work cleaner and faster.

It is simple to learn MIG welding and this can only take you a few hours. MIG is efficient and clean because it utilizes a shielding gas to protect the arc. The technique is extremely versatile and you can use it to weld several alloys and metals. It operates in several ways like high-quality welds and fully & semi-automatic to produce high quality welds much faster.

You can use GMAW on a broad range of metal materials like aluminum, stainless steel, copper, nickel and several of its alloys, magnesium, mild steel, iron, and almost all its alloys. The welding speed is much faster and it enhances the overall control and quality of your welding.

Limitations of GMAW

Like any other welding process, MIG has its own disadvantages. The first challenge of the MIG process is that it is highly sensitive to contaminants. It can handle moderate to low surface contaminants like paint, oil, dirt, mill scale, and rust. All these have the potential of creating problems like incomplete fusion, porosity, cracking and even the bad bead appearance.

The GMAW process offers a high level of portability. However, it is highly sensitive to wind because the shielding gas is easily blown away when you are welding outdoors. The wind draft and the fan of as low as 5mph is sufficient to result into porosity. The process leads to the lack of fusion because of the ability of welding at low currents.

Like any other open arc welding process, you need to take great care to shield the welder and the bystanders from the dangerous UV rays during GMAW. MIG welding has fast cooling rates and the welded metals cool at higher rates because they are not covered with slag once the weld is complete.

The initial setup of MIG is slightly high. The atmosphere that surrounds the welding process should be stable. In case of windy conditions, you will discover that the welding will be pretty tough. The additional electronic components mean that MIG has higher costs of maintenance.

This welding process is less efficient in places that call for high-duty cycle. The plant variable setting calls for high levels of skills. It has more severe radiation effects. It also needs the wire feeder which is hard to move and can a times be the repair/maintenance burden.

MIG does not have any slag system and the out of position welding is a times hard. There are high chances of lacking fusion if you don’t control the welding technique and parameters. Getting the gun in tight places is difficult and it is not ideal for the windy conditions.

It is easy to notice that the GMAW welding equipment is more complex and expensive and sacrifices on the portability. The nozzles, replacement tips, electrodes, and shielding gas of GMAW welding all add up. The welding provides limited positions and is not ideal for outdoor welding. Apart from being unportable, MIG welding also uses the shielding gas to protect the purity of the weld. Wind can course havoc to the shielding gas and affect the weld quality.

Besides, you cannot haul the MIG welder to the field to repair something like a tractor. However, it works so well for inhouse automotive work like in the garage. GMAW is not ideal for thick metals but works perfectly for thin ones. However, you cannot use it in overhead or vertical weld positions because of the fluidity and high heat input of the welding puddle. The good thing about our company is that we know how to overcome all these challenges when working on your aluminum welding.

From our offices in California, Aluminum Welding serves households and businesses in Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange County. We offer a broad range of metal fabrication services to our esteemed customers. Contact us today to learn the kind of services that you can get from us.

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