In a message dated 1/21/98 3:08:45 PM Eastern Standard Time,
JAMES_S_WALLACE@HP-Canada-om1.om.hp.com writes:
> I asked what the difference was
> between MIG and TIG, and he told me that MIG is for aluminum and TIG
> is for steel.
Jim,
"MIG" stands for "Metal Insert Gas" and "TIG" stands for "Tungsten Inert Gas."
Both are good for aluminum as well as steel. Both use an inert gas to shield
the area being welding to prevent oxidation, contamination, etc. of the weld.
The types of shielding gas used is the same for either, and some types of gas
are good for both materials, some are more suited for aluminum, and some are
more suited for steel. Your local welding supply shop can give you the
details.
In a MIG welder, the filler rod is in the form of a wire, and is fed from a
reel to the weld through the hollow electrode lead. When you squeeze the
trigger, the gas flow is turned on, the power is turned on, and the wire is
fed to the weld. The wire is the "Metal" in the term "MIG," and is consumed in
the weld. An arc is struck between the wire and the material, and as it is
melted, more wire is fed into the weld. Wire is available in either aluminum
or steel.
In a TIG welder, power is applied to a Tungsten electrode, with gas flowing
around it. The tungsten electrode is never to actually touch the material
being welded. An arc is struck between the tungsten tip and the material,
creating heat. The filler rod is fed to the weld just exactly as in gas
welding. In fact, TIG welding uses exactly the same technique as gas welding.
If you can gas weld, you already have the skills for TIG welding.
Theoretically, the tungsten electrode is not consumed, but in practice, it
does gradually burn up and needs to be replaced, but you can get a lot of
welds from one electrode, and replacments are not expensive.
MIG welding is by far the easiest, while TIG welding is by far the cleanest.
There is no splatter with TIG, whereas MIG splatters almost as much as arc
welding. When using MIG to weld steel, the material surrounding the weld
typically becomes much harder than TIG, making it a little more difficult to
finish the metal, as in doing body work.
In general, if you take the time to learn, you will get much better results
with TIG than MIG.
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition, slated for a V8 soon!
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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