5 Types of Welding Methods & Their Usage

MIG Welding

Metal Inert Gas or MIG welding is one of the easiest kinds of welding. It is one of the first welding that a beginner approaches and masters. It is also called GMAW or Gas Metal Arc welding as it is a type of arc welding. This is widely used across industries.

Lets now talk about how it occurs and what welding material is required. The process involves the metal pieces that need to be welded, between which a solid wire is heated, ultimately welding the two materials as one.

Alloys and metals like stainless steel, aluminium and other such metals in thinner sheets are ideal for MIG welding.

SMAW welding

Stick welding or Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) is a basic type of welding. It is also referred to as Manual Metal Arc Welding or MMAW or flux shielded arc welding among its other,  more common names. This welding process is considered as a traditional form of welding.

SMAW welding is done by using a metal filler electrode, also called a stick. It is put between the two materials which need to be welded and is molten by passing electricity through it. As opposed to MIG welding, SMAW welding is slightly easy to ace. 

It completes the basic needs of welding or home welding needs, small repairs while it has also shown high efficiency in manufacturing and construction works. The materials commonly welded through shielded metal arc welding are carbon steel, cast iron, low as well as high alloy steel. Other materials on which it is seldom used are nickel, copper and its alloys.

TIG Welding

Tungsten Inert Gas welding or TIG welding is an arc welding technique. It is also known as Gas Tungsten Arc Welding or GTAW. It is applicable to a wide variety of fields, but works wonderfully for industrial purposes. Since it is more advanced form other welding and thus, requires a higher level of expertise.

The process of TIG or Tungsten Inert Gas welding is more complex than others. It uses welding wire. A TIG torch is required that heats the electrode to create an arc and ultimately weld.

It can be used for a bunch of metals, including low alloy steels,  mild steels, stainless steel, nickel and it’s alloys, etc!

Plasma Arc Welding

Plasma Arc Welding is somewhat similar to TIG welding. It is also a type of arc welding. It is used in much more large-scale applications as compared to the above mentioned types of welding. The major difference between PAW and TIG is that instead of tungsten, ionizing gases create heat to create the arc which finally creates the weld. It has engine blade applications as well as aero-space ones, which makes Plasma Arc Welding, probably cooler than the other types of welding.

Laser Beam Welding

This kind of welding does not have a lot of restrictions or controlled conditions. These welds are created by using a laser. It joins two pieces of metal as the beam provides consistent and concentrated heat. Laser beam welding is commonly used in heavy-duty welds and industrial work like auto-mobile manufacturing.