MIG welding is a common process, and many welders in Cleveland prefer it because it’s fast and effective. You don’t have to hold a welding stick, and you can create perfect welds without a lot of practice. In fact, MIG (GMAW) welds are common in many automated welding processes, but where did this method originate? Here is information on gas metal arc welding history and some of the benefits you can receive.
Roots in the Bronze Age
Early forms of welding were not MIG methods but go back as far as 3000 years ago. Many artifacts show simple but effective welding techniques. However, it wasn’t until 1800 that Humphry Davy discovered that electricity forms arcs. About the same time, Vasily Petrov produced an electrical arc that was continuous, and this makes MIG welding possible in Cleveland today. People used electrodes made from carbon until the dawn of the 20th Century when metal electrodes were commonplace.
20th Century
By 1920, General Electric came out with a crude type of GMAW welder. The machine used DC electricity through bare electrodes and the arc voltage regulated the electrode feed rate. It didn’t use any gas to protect the weld.
Shielding Gas
Using an inert gas in the process shields the weld from many contaminants that weaken the bonding process. Early welds did not rely on shielding gas to keep them clean. Gas welding didn’t happen until the mid 20th Century. Early MIG methods were too expensive for common use because inert gasses weren’t easy to come by. However, by 1953, CO2 made the process cost-effective.
By the 1960s, short arc welding methods made it possible to bond sheet metal and thinner materials. Thanks to advances in electric power and electrode technology, MIG welding is very popular in Cleveland and all over the world. Today, the process is an exact science thanks to modern computer technology.
