Selecting the Right Shielding Gas

Apr 19, 2022, 15:44 PM by System
How do you know you are using the best MIG shielding gas for your job? Choosing the right gas can improve your shop’s productivity, improve weld quality and increase your bottom line.

Finding the best shielding gas is critical to your welding operations and product quality.

Shielding gases play a critical role in many welding operations across virtually every aspect of metal fabrication. For example, MIG welding shielding gases help you protect your weld pool from exposure to nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and other elements that negatively impact your weld. Keeping these contaminants out gives you better control over the welding process, resulting in better weld, bead shape and reduced spatter levels.

Better GMAW welds require less rework and clean up – saving you time and money. It just makes sense. But sometimes just using an average MIG shielding gas isn’t enough. If you haven’t selected the best option for your application and material, you are putting your finished product quality at risk. Using the best shielding gas for your job not only enhances your metfab shop’s productivity, but can also improve weld quality and increase your bottom line. When customers call on us for help with MIG welding quality issues, often times there are a number of underlying problems,” said Chris Vihnanek, director of MetFab Productivity for Praxair Distribution. “Our team goes in, performs a Praxair StarSolver® assessment and looks at the whole welding process which can be short circuit, spray or pulsed spray. Nine out of ten times, a new MIG shielding gas is part of the team’s final recommendation.”

Praxair Selecting the Right Shielding Gas

What’s best for your welding process?

So, how do you know you are using the best shielding gas for YOUR job? There is a huge range of options for MIG welding shielding gases, from simple carbon dioxide to Praxair’s precise, high-quality argon-based gas blends – do you know which is the best for your shop? The materials, application and process used are the primary factors involved in choosing the optimum shielding gas and often there are multiple options. Since the joining of carbon steel makes up over 75 percent of all welding done, there are many more shielding gas options for steel than there are for aluminum welding. Few, if any, shielding gases are “one-size-fits all.” Different materials demand different performance features. That’s where your local Praxair representative can walk you through your welding applications and determine the shielding gas that best fits your shop.
 
Praxair’s premium, argon-based gas blends GMAW welding are the most advanced shielding gases available and are designed to enhance your arc performance, significantly reduce spatter and fumes, eliminate residual slag and increase weld speed.