11.5 GMAW
Gas shielded arc welding is a kind of arc welding mode which adopts gas as arc media and for
protecting arc and welding zone. Gas shielded welding is a kind of open arc welding, and it does not
adopt flux-cored wire generally. It can be applied widely with high productivity. Gas shielded arc welding
can be divided into non-consumable electrode (tungsten) inert gas arc welding (TIG) and gas metal arc
welding (GMAW).
Metal inert gas arc welding, MIG for short, is a kind of welding mode which adopts the continuous
fed welding wire as the melting electrode and inert gas as the shield gas. It is one of the most commonly
used welding modes in the automotive sheet metal welding repair job, and it is mainly applied in the
welding of metal which is relatively active, such as stainless steel, heat-resistant alloy, copper alloy and
aluminum-magnesium alloy, etc.
11.5.1 Classification and application of GMAW
According to the type of shield gas, the form of welding wire and the mode of operation, GMAW can
be divided into several categories as below:
1) GMAW can be applied to the welding of most metals and alloys, and it is ideal for welding carbon
steel, low alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, copper alloy and magnesium
alloys.
2) For metal with high melting point such as high strength steel and high strength aluminum alloy, some
corresponding treatment should be done before welding
3) GMAW is not suitable for welding metal with low melting point.
4) The minimum welding thickness is 0.04inch.
5) It has a high adaptability to various welding positions.
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