![]() We already touched on the construction differences of both wires. Read more: Shielding gas for MIG welding – What to use Wire Construction Storage can be an issue, bringing us to the flux-cored wire construction. This involves keeping various wires if you weld varying metals. With a flux-cored wire, you normally don’t need gas tanks, but you need to have the right alloy wire and flux core mixture for the weld at hand. Plus, you need accessories like hoses and regulators. Tanks are heavy and need to be handled to prevent toppling over. So, MIG welding then means you have to have tanks of compressed gas on hand, and possibly more than one if you work with more than just steel. Aluminum, for example, works best with pure Argon. That can be useful when you weld a wide range of metals. For instance, the MIG shielding gas can be changed by changing out the tank. MIG and flux-cored both bring advantages and disadvantages. For this reason, you often find flux-cored wires categorized as dual-shielded or self-shielding. This is referred to as dual-shielded welding. There are flux-cored wires that use both gases from a tank and the additional protection provided by flux. It generates a shielding gas to protect the hot weld, and the “gasless” moniker refers to the fact that you don’t need a gas tank. This ability to produce its own shielding gas earned flux-cored welding the nickname “gasless MIG.” But as we just explained, it is not gasless. Related: What is Flux used for In Welding? So, a tank of compressed gas is not needed. It also produces a shell of slag, that “crusts” over the weld. The flux reacts with the weld’s high heat at the torch and releases a protective gas. ![]() But this form of welding shields the weld using flux contained inside a hollow core inside the wire. When flux-cored welding, you face the same “air” contamination problem. That’s because it shields the weld puddle from the gasses in the air, which can react with your hot weld and cause defects. It’s very important for a successful MIG weld. This gas is fed to the torch along with the wire. The most obvious difference, the MIG process uses a tank of gas. There are more differences but let’s break these down below. The self-shielding flux-cored wire provides the shielding gas when burned. This also makes flux-core more suited to welding in windy conditions. The main difference between flux-core and MIG welding is that flux-core welding does not require a shielding gas which makes it more portable. ![]() Those who looked carefully at the diagrams of both processes will notice they are quite similar. The basic setup for gas metal arc welding (“GMAW) or metal inert gas (“MIG”) welding is shown below.įlux-Core vs. Related read: Arc Welding Explained: What is it? & How Does it Work?Īlso, both wires can weld aluminum, steel, and stainless steel, making both types versatile, although in some cases, one will be preferable, as we will cover in the next section. That’s because the process of using a consumable wire electrode is very similar for both types of wire, except for a significant difference we will discuss in a bit. While you will find dedicated MIG and flux-cored welders, many MIG units can weld using both MIG and flux-cored wire. So, both wires are vital as they carry current, support the welding arc, and supply the filler material for your weld. The wire electrode is consumed during the weld, hence the need to continuously feed wire to the torch. The wire acts as an electrode with both types of wire. ![]() This can reduce the need to constantly replace your consumable electrode, which you need to do when stick welding. MIG Welding – The SimilaritiesĪn obvious similarity, both flux-cored and MIG welding involves feeding a spool of wire automatically to the welding torch. Gas tank makes less portable than flux-coredįlux-Core vs.Wind blows away shielding gas, even light breezes can be a problem.More expensive when gas and other costs are added to the wire cost.A bit harder to set up for a weld (need to set gas flow rate).
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