How to Calculate Deposition Rate for Solid Wires

A common question that is asked when manufacturers are trying to determine costs associated with welding is: How many pounds of wire can I deposit per hour? Or, how many pounds of wire can I deposit at a specific amperage or wire feed speed?   There are charts to help you determine this, but it’s always […]

Modes of Metal Transfer: Globular

In our last post we explained short circuit transfer; if you missed it you can go back and read Modes of Metal Transfer: Short Circuit.  In this post we’ll spend some time going over globular transfer by covering its basics as well as its advantages and limitations. Globular transfer occurs in GMAW and MCAW processes […]

Modes of Metal Transfer: Short Circuit

The modes of metal transfer refer to the different ways in which the filler metal (electrode) is transferred through the welding arc and into the weld puddle.  We can write a book on this topic but we’ll keep it simple to provide an understanding of the different modes of transfer, what they require and what […]

Should You Consider a Different Shielding Gas

GMAW (mig welding) uses shielding gas to protect the weld puddle from the atmosphere while in a molten state.  This is general knowledge, but many in our industry believe this is the only function of the shielding gas.  Shielding gases can affect welding in many different ways and an evaluation of your current choice of […]

Proper Storage of Welding Consumables

How to store stick electrodes, and mig, flux-cored and metal-cored wires

Proper storage of both opened and unopened packages of welding consumables is crucial. It should avoid quality issues such as porosity, excessive slag fluidity, rough weld surface, difficult slag removal and more importantly, elevated levels of diffusible hydrogen which can lead to cracking. Adequate storage, handling and re-conditioning of electrodes vary according to type.  The […]

How Many Inches Of Mig Wire Per Pound

Easily calculate number of inches of wire per package size for any wire diameter

Have you ever wondered, or have you ever been asked how many inches of wire are in one pound of filler metal?  You may have been asked something like: “How many inches of wire are there in a 25LB spool of .035” ER70S-6 mig wire?”  Typically, this questions is asked when someone is trying to […]

Mig Welding With S3 vs S6 Wire

Is ER70S-3 even necessary anymore?

One of the most frequently asked questions is if there is a valid reason to use an ER70S-3 (S3) mig wire versus the more commonly used ER70S-6 (S6) wire.    Both wires belong to AWS Specification A5.18 and can be used interchangeably in most applications because they provide almost identical mechanical properties.  There is subtle difference between the two […]

7 Causes of Spatter and How to Eliminate It

Mig welding is characterized by sparks and spatter flying all over the place. It looks great on movies, but when we are doing the welding we realize spatter is a bad thing. It creates more work by increasing clean up time, it wastes material, and it can burn you if you are not wearing the […]

Advantages and Limitations of GMAW

The GMAW process is a commonly used arc welding process. As all other processes, it has its advantages and limitations. The gas metal arc welding process, most commonly known as MIG, is one of the most used joining processes in the world today. The process had its beginnings over 60 years ago, but it is […]