Good Versus Bad Welds: Exploring Different Types of Welding
Admin • June 1, 2021
Welding is both an art and a science, offering a permanent, cost-effective solution to joining metals for fabrication purposes.
Various tests exist to determine a weld's integrity. With some helpful visual cues, you can quickly tell between a good and a bad weld.
You need to spot a bad weld before it becomes a safety hazard. But that isn't always easy, especially if you've got no idea where to look. Here is a brief outline of the common types of welding techniques and how to differentiate between a good and a bad weld.
MIG Welding
Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding is the most common technique for home and industrial projects. Here, a wire electrode is connected to a welding gun.
The consumable electrode generates an electric arc with the target piece of metal. Due to the heat generated, both metals melt and form a weld pool resulting in a joint.
Good welds will appear smooth and uniform without cracks. Also, a MIG weld won't have any distinctive patterns if done correctly. For a poorly done MIG weld, you can expect to see signs such as:
- Porosity : You can see small gas pockets inside the hardened weld. Gas pockets form because of insufficient shielding gas coverage.
- Incomplete fusion : The weld metal and base metal don't fuse completely. You'll notice bumps along the weld that make it appear less uniform.
- Weld weakness: Weld beads are too thin, decreasing the strength of your weld. The resulting joint is likely to break off.
TIG Welding
- Burnout . The end of the weld shows signs of severe melt-through. A burnout will occur after heat builds up inside the weld and base metal.
- Tungsten inclusion . You'll spot small tungsten particles stuck inside the weld. Scattered inclusion could occur if the tungsten electrode isn't big enough to handle the current passing through it.
- Inconsistent bead pattern . You see a wide flat bead instead of a distinct pattern to the finish.
Stick Welding
- Cracking : You're likely to notice sections of weld discontinuities brought on by poor joint layout.
- Spatter : Visible molten droplets from the weld pool settle around the welding. The weld joint will have a lot of spatter if the arc length exceeds certain limits.
- Undercutting : You notice a long, slender cut extending along the weld joint. Poor weaving and excess current will result in this defect.
Most Popular Types of Welding
Are you hiring a welder to get something fabricated or repaired? Sam's Welding Inc. offers the following types of welding in El Cajon: Gas metal arc welding. Perhaps the most popular of them all, this method is also known by its abbreviations GMAW or MIG, for metal inert gas. It’s an average of five times faster than electrical arc methods and includes four material transfer options: spray, pulsed spray, globular and short circuiting. Shielded metal arc welding. A form of stick welding commonly known as SMAW, this process uses electrical current to form an arc between the rod and metals in production. Uses include industrial fabrication such as the construction of iron and steel structures. Gas tungsten arc welding. This method is known as TIG or GTAW and requires the most skill, as heat is continuously regulated by means of a foot pedal. If amperage is set too high, you can end up burning holes in the metal. If it’s too low, the weld won’t flow properly. It’s especially useful for combining thick pieces of stainless steel and ironless metals. Flux-cored arc welding. Unlike MIG and TIG, FCAW keeps contamination out by means of a flux. This process doesn’t require a shielding gas, can be done outdoors and is quite efficient. Working with different positions such as horizontal, vertical and tee joints requires different machine configurations. Serving San Diego, CA Whether you need several hundred pieces or just one, we’re happy to take on the project for you. We are combat veteran owned and have more than two decades of experience handling military projects with success. We serve El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, and the entire county. We have expertise with the design and fabrication of gates and fences. You’re welcome to walk into our San Diego shop or call us anytime at 619-281-2709 .
Whether you have some new projects lined up to modify and enhance your home or there are some significant repairs that need to be done to some of the metalwork, you want to have a professional metal welder on the job. There are numerous specific instances in which having welding done by a certified military group such as Sam’s Welding Inc. in El Cajon is worth your investment. Perhaps you need a car welder to perform some precise car part welding or you need to ensure the safety of a premises with some security door welding . Of course, not everything that involves metal fabrication or repair is on a large scale. More often than not, welding is needed for smaller things that see use on a daily basis, such as: Staircases Hand railings Gates Fences As far as stairs are concerned, our professionals can help with anything from a new hand railing to a completely new and complex spiral staircase. Even if the work needs to be done outside on fences and gates where the materials need to be more durable, our nearly four decades of experience in the field have given us the knowledge of how to complete jobs in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and keeps you and your loved ones safe. Serving El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee Metalwork, whether it is basic framing or a more elaborate fence job, has a large impact on our lives every day. Therefore, when the time comes in which you decide to invest in modifications, fabrications, or repairs, you’d better be sure that you have qualified people doing the work. That’s what you’ll get when you call Sam’s Welding at 619-281-2709 . If you live in El Cajon, La Mesa or Santee, ask about our walk-in and mobile services to maximize our availability to you.
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