MIG welding

MIG Welding is a slang term that stands for Metal Inert Gas Welding, the proper name is Gas Metal Arc Welding or “GMAW", and it is also commonly referred to as “Wire Wheel Welding" by Unions. MIG  Welding is commonly used in shops and factories. It is a high production welding process that is mostly used indoors.

MIG Welders have five main components:

1. A constant voltage power supply.

2. A wire feed to feed the filler wire through the welding lead to the MIG gun.

3. A ground lead or clamp.

4. A welding lead or MIG gun.

5. Shielding gas to protect the weld area from the air.

MIG welding is not that simple when it comes to setting up the equipment but the skill required is a lot less then Stick welding. The way MIG welding works is you attach the ground clamp to the work then power source is turned on and finally the shielding gas needs to be turned on. After that you need to set the voltage, wire feed speed that is counted in IPM (inches per minute), and shielding gas flow rate that is counted in CFH (cubic feet per hour). Then simply hit the trigger and the MIG gun starts feeding shielding gas and wire to the weld joint. Once the wire hits the weld joint it begins to arc and the wire melts and starts filling the joint.