How to select the correct metal welding process, MIG or TIG?

The first provides flexibility and speed, the second achieves incredible levels of precision. So let’s discover when works better one or the other.

Considering the great amount of sheet metal welding processes and the many works that a customer could ask you, it’s essential being able to recognize the process that best suits their needs, in order to make a good impression and a good job. 

This is the reason why is so important to know advantages and disadvantages of the two most used types of welding process: 

• MIG
• TIG 

Remember that matching the best welding process means guaranteeing to your customers a high level of finished product’s quality and means also defining the reputation of your activity. So let’s go on and discover together the advantages of MIG and TIG metal welding processes and when it is better to choose one or the other!

Which factors must be considered?

First of all, if you want to make the right choice, the following factors must to be considered:

• The kind of metal you need to weld;
• Dimension of the piece;
• Delivery deadline;
• Thickness and strength of materials;
• Level of precision required.

Once you have clearness on this, you can consider which among the two processes of welding of metals best suits to you. The most common metal welding processes are the Metal Inert Gas welding (MIG) and the Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG).

Applications of the best metal welding processes: MIG and TIG

What are the differences between MIG and TIG welding? When is it preferable to use one rather than the other? What are the respective advantages?

MIG welding

• The Metal Inert Gas welding – MIG - is indicated when an high flexibility is admitted. The process consists in welding metals through the creation of an arc of electricity able to create a short circuit of electricity required to weld together two or more surfaces. 
• Considering that MIG welding process uses inert gas like Argon, mainly used in welding stainless steel, aluminum, copper and other special alloys.
• You can use the MIG welding both on thin or thick surfaces, starting from your little housework till the most important projects such as in the building fields, automotive, construction industry, etc. 

The main advantage of MIG welding, in fact, is the extreme elasticity: a MIG welder can set different levels of power, different speeds and different intensities of the welding current. This autonomy allows to weld both very thick metals and thinner sheet metals reaching the best penetration and ensuring a bombproof welding, on little or enormous pieces.

TIG welding

The second metal welding process, instead, is often preferred thanks to its flawless results. Versatile and very performing,  the Tungsten Inert Gas welding - TIG - has a series of advantages, compared to the MIG one, that allow you to get the most from your metal welding process. For example, TIG welding is preferred when the a very high level of precision is required: the precise control of the arc allows to the thinnest material to be welded together.

The TIG process has the following features:

• An highly concentrated and easily controllable arc;
• Regularity of fusion;
• Good transfer of the filler material;
• It has a universal use.

With TIG welding you can obtain excellent results with aluminum, titanium, nickel, stainless steel, copper and other special alloys (provided that they’ve been cleaned from impurities) and is to the many varieties of metals that it can merge together, the TIG welding process is considered one of the most widely diffused method when high precision is a must.

If it is a matter of time, choose MIG welding

But remember, if your need and is to deliver the welded piece in a short time, maybe TIG welding is not for you; it requires longer implementation times. If your problem is time and you need to finish the work in a relative short time, then choose the MIG ones or plan carefully your deadlines.

Our metal welding service is open both to those who want to produce small batches and to those who need to produce large quantities of welded sheets. We can apply the processes mentioned above to a wide range of different metals to obtain semi-finished or finished products.