What are Welding Gases

In a couple of previous newsletters, we discussed the origins of welding, as well as the welding processes that we employ in our work. Three of the five welding processes used by Dixie require “shielding gases”. These include:

•  FCAW – Flux Core Arc Welding
• GMAW – Gas Metal Arc Welding
• GTAW – Gas Tungsten Arc Welding

In these arc welding processes, an arc of electricity is produced and reaches thousands of degrees, melting the metals and causing the metals to become one single piece of metal. During the welding process, the chemical reactions can combine with air and cause brittleness and other reactions that might weaken the weld. Thus, each of the above processes has one common denominator: an inert gas shields the molten weld puddle from air, water vapor and surface contaminants by flooding the arc region, commonly referred to as “shielding gases”. Thus, the purpose of the shielding gas is to protect the weld from contamination.

Many of these shielding gases have unique origins and methods of production. In addition, the incorrect choice of a welding gas can lead to a faulty weld. Since 2002, Dixie Mechanical has been providing spool pieces to the industrial process markets including chemical, power generation, pulp and paper, oil & gas, refining and steel manufacturing. A faulty weld can have tremendous negative financial impact on the project, not to mention the possible consequences to the health and safety of an individual.

Dixie’s Quality Department is responsible for making sure that only approved welding procedures are being used for each project. Monitoring shielding gas mixture and flow rate is an essential function of the random in-process inspection during fabrication. It is this persistent attention to detail by Dixie’s QA Department that our customers appreciate, as we have very few weld failures or rejections at site.

Please feel free to download Dixie’s welding gas PDF here