10.4 GMAW Operation and Welding Techniques
Stephanie Oostman
GMAW Modes of transfer
At the beginning of this chapter, you read a reference to the terms spray transfer and short circuit transfer as a “mode” in MIG welding.
But what does that mean, and what are the distinguishing differences?
We have already discussed how MIG/MAG offers versatility. That is because the operator can easily interchange the relationship between wire and heat. This, along with the ability to change wire types, sizes, and shielding gasses, creates different behavioral changes in how the electrode wire melts and gets transferred to the base metal. These are referred to as transfer modes, which are the key to this process’s diversity and utility.
Attributions
- Figure 10.15: Wire transfer mode types by Nicholas Malara, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
- Figure 10.16: Schweißen2 by Dako99 is released under CC BY-SA 3.0
When the wire electrode connects to the weld puddle and creates a literal short in the circuit, as many as 200 times per second.
In GMAW, transfer modes are the different behavioral changes in how electrode wire melts and gets transferred to the base metal. Transfer modes are controlled by the operator or welder, changing the relationship between wire and heat, write types, sizes, and shielding gasses.
