Metals are among the most durable materials on the face of the planet. As such, it has taken noteworthy developments in engineering to mold and shape metal into the machine parts and fixtures you see and use daily. One of the steps employed in metal construction is welding, a process in which a worker melts one piece of metal with concentrated heat on a select spot and then bonds it with a corresponding metal piece. Over time, inventors have developed various methods to weld two or more pieces of metal together.
The three most common types of welding are MIG, TIG and stick. These types of welding are often found in construction and each of these methods serves a variety of welding applications. The following article covers these and other welding types and definitions.
Metal inert gas (MIG) welding is a form of manual arc welding for heavy metals, alternately known as gas metal arc welding.
MIG welding is a metal-bonding and metal-shaping process that sends an electrode through a tool gun and applies it to corresponding metal surfaces. To prevent contamination, the welding gun employs a protective gas that shields the weld area. The MIG process is an easy and accessible welding process for garage-based metal workers and hobbyists.
The process works on metals that range from 24-gauge to half an inch thick. MIG welding is popular among metal-working novices because it is a more straightforward technique to learn and master. The MIG wire does not protect metal services from rust or corrosion. Therefore, clean and brush down bare metal parts before a MIG application. To ensure a pure flow of the electrical wire, only use clean metal in the process.
MIG welding is one of the methods most commonly used in heavy-duty arc welding projects. Some of the metal components that make up your city’s sewage or water system are the result of MIG welding. The process is standard for pipe welds. As such, the water you rely on for drinking, cooking and sanitation comes through pipes that would not be possible without MIG welding.
Due to the heavy-duty nature of the method, MIG welding is a typical technique in hard facing, which entails welding rough materials onto base metals. You have MIG welding to thank for some of the parts you see on tractors, cranes and other types of rolling stock.
MIG welding has also been essential in the preparation and assembly of the nation’s railroad tracks. Thanks to the method’s ability to join thick metal pieces together with unbreakable strength, MIG welding has been responsible for railways and public streetcar tracks that rarely require maintenance. As such, MIG welding is a chief facilitator of transportation and commerce.
The auto industry also relies on MIG welding. At the factories where workers prepare and assemble auto parts into finished vehicles, they use MIG welding for the heavier metals and equipment. Additionally, MIG welding is responsible for making the factory equipment you see along production lines. MIG welding is also a popular method at auto repair shops. These applications of MIG welding play a vital role in many aspects in all of our lives.
Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is a manual arc welding process for heavy metals, alternately known as tungsten gas arc welding.
TIG welding is a metal-bonding process that employs a tungsten electrode to join one metal surface to another. During the process, argon or helium gas forms a protective shield on the applied surfaces against oxidation and other air-bound contaminants. Applications that use helium gas are also called heliarc welds. Most TIG applications rely on a middle metal. Exceptions to the rule are called autogenous welds.
The essential difference between MIG and TIG welding is that the former relies on an ongoing wire feed, whereas the latter relies on welding rods that you direct into the weld puddle.
TIG welding plays a vital role in the automotive industry, where the process is effective at bonding metal parts together for the construction of cars, vans, trucks and SUVs. The tungsten electrodes work well in the factories where workers assemble engine parts from individual pieces of metal, as well as in the plants where auto-body parts get prepared for the assembly lines.
TIG welding is also essential in the construction industry, where the equipment gets transported to worksites and used in the preparation of parts for buildings and public monuments. Many of the buildings you see along the streets and thoroughfares of your community have been the work of construction crews that rely heavily on TIG welding.
The shipping industry also employs TIG welding. The process makes it easier for shipbuilders to join shaped metal parts together for ships like aircraft carriers or cruise liners. If you have ridden a passenger ship or sailed overseas while serving in the U.S. Navy, tungsten electrodes have likely welded the body of each ship in full or in part.
TIG welding is furthermore crucial in the aerospace industry, where the process brings together the parts that comprise NASA’s rocket ships and space shuttles.
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