Arc welding
Welding Processes
Five arc welding processes cover almost all fabrication: stick for portability, MIG for speed, TIG for control, flux-cored for deposition rate, and submerged arc for heavy plate. Each page covers polarity, settings, gas and where the process fits.
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The five arc welding processes
MIG Welding (GMAW)
MIG welding feeds a solid wire electrode continuously through a gun while shielding gas protects the puddle — the fastest process to learn and the standard for production fabrication on clean steel.
TIG Welding (GTAW)
TIG welding strikes an arc from a non-consumable tungsten electrode under argon shielding, with filler added by hand — the slowest process and the one that produces the highest quality welds.
Stick Welding (SMAW)
Stick welding burns a flux-coated electrode that supplies both filler metal and shielding — the most portable, most wind-tolerant and most forgiving process on dirty or rusty steel.
Flux-Cored Welding (FCAW)
Flux-cored welding feeds a tubular wire with flux inside, combining MIG's continuous feed with stick's slag shielding — available gas-shielded for quality or self-shielded for wind.
Submerged Arc Welding (SAW)
Submerged arc welding buries the arc under a blanket of granular flux, giving enormous deposition rates with no visible arc, no spatter and no arc flash — the process for heavy plate and long seams.
Process comparisons
Head-to-head breakdowns of the process choices people actually face.