How are arc weld used for welding metals?

There are lots of methods for welding metals. But Arc welding has become one of the most common methods of fusing metal. This kind of welding is been used from World War II. This welding uses electrical source for creating an arc between the base substance and electrode. The arc welding tends to use direct or alternating current and consumable and non consumable electrodes. The arc here produces high heat for melting the metal and at some point of heat the arc allows the metals to fuse. The electrode used here comes in either consumable or non consumable. The consumable electrode is used only once while welding metals. Where as non consumable electrode can be reused. The work of arc welding is to transform electricity. Most of the arc welding uses direct current (DC) for welding.

When the welding area is protected by any inert gas it is known as shielding. Oxygen and nitrogen were often used as shielding gas in earlier days but the welding was bad because of these gases. When these didn’t work they tried using hydrogen which resulted better than the other gases. But today with new technologies they use carbon dioxide instead of hydrogen gas for shielding. The arc welding is utilized by factories, shipping companies, automobiles garage and many other. These are mainly used for welding steel, aluminum and cast iron. You will find three varieties of arc welding - Flux cored, Gas tungsten and Shielded metal arc welding.

Flux cored arc welding :

The process of this welding is to fed wire electrode and inert shielding gas through a welding gun to the weld. This is otherwise known as MIG weld or GMAW. Generally this kind of welding is performed on stainless steel, low and mild alloy steel and few high nickel alloys. These are light weight and are used for light fabrication. There are utilized by the farmers, automobiles and also by the home makers.

Gas tungsten arc welding :

These are more popular than the other arc welding because it can fuse variety of metals. These use non consumable tungsten electrode for welding process. This is other wise referred as GTAW or TIG weld. This is mostly used for welding aluminum, magnesium and steel.

Shielded metal arc welding :

When flux coated rods are used for completing the fusion is known as shield metal arc welding. These are other wise referred as Stick weld or SMAW. These are frequently used for welding metals such as carbon steel, stainless steel, cast and ductile iron and high and low alloy steel. These are inexpensive than gas tungsten arc welding and flux cored arc welding and can be carried any where. This is chosen by many fabricating companies because it can be welded from any position.

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