When you think about welding, you probably envision sparks flying as metal is melted and fused together. However, there are in fact two main types of welding processes, each with its own benefits and usage. The one that’s more common is known as “push” or “reflective” welding. But when it comes to mig welding, that doesn’t quite answer the question. Do you push or pull when mig welding? That depends on how you look at it. Both “push” and “pull” can be used when mig Welding — it just depends on what kind of metal you’re working with and your intended outcome.
Do You Push or Pull When Mig Welding?
This depends on the piece being welded, the location of the pieces, and your personal preference. If you find that there is too much slag on your pieces, you can use a mig push for better visibility. The opposite is also true – if you are working in a tight spot, you may prefer to use a mig pull so that you don’t knock the pieces around with your nozzle. The best way to find out what works best for you is by experimenting with different settings on your mig welder.
What Is Push Or Pull Welding?
1. Elective Welding
In reflective welding, a filler rod is pushed towards the weld joint at the same time that a welding electrode is pulled away from it. This allows them to meet at the base of the weld, forming a continuous fusion line. Elective welding is used in situations where you want to add material to an area, such as when repairing and building up worn or damaged metal. It can also be used for creating new weld joints, as opposed to joining existing ones. The “push” portion of push-pull welding refers to using a filler rod and pushing it towards the weld joint at the same time that you’re pulling your electrode away from it. The filler rod and electrode are both connected to a common power source, so they move together through their movements until they come into contact with each other.
2. Fusion Welding
As mentioned above, fusion welding involves melting filler metal along with an electrode in order to join two pieces together as one. This type of process differs from reflective welding because all that we need is heat; we don’t need additional material added to our metal — so there are no rods being pushed or pulled during this process. Fusion welding is used in situations where you want to add material to an area, such as when repairing and building up worn or damaged metal. It can also be used for creating new weld joints, as opposed to joining existing ones. Fusion welding is typically done with a MIG welder — hence the name!
3. Mig Welding
Mig welding is a reflective welding process that uses a wire feeder (also known as a wire drive) to move filler wire into the weld joint and then back out again as you complete your welds. The “pushing” part of push-pull mig Welding refers to the pushing action of the wire drive, which moves the filler wire into position and then pushes it back out again when it’s time for you to move onto your next weld joint. This push-pull motion allows you to lay down continuous beads or swirls of weld metal while working on your project.
4. Shielded Metal Arc Welding
Shielded metal arc welding, or SMAW, is an arc welding process that uses an electrode covered in flux to create a weld joint between two pieces of metal. The flux creates a slag (a combination of flux, oxides, and other impurities) that protects the weld area from air and moisture contamination as you work. In addition to protecting the weld area from contamination, the slag also acts as a filler material that helps to form your weld joint.
5. Submerged Arc Welding
Submerged arc welding is used for joining metals together when you want excellent control over the heat input and penetration — in other words when you want your welds to have a more consistent appearance throughout their length. It’s also useful when you need to join dissimilar metals together or when you need to use alloy steels and stainless steels with similar properties like tensile strength and yield strength — it’s especially good for joining aluminum alloys! Submerged arc welding is often referred to by its acronym: SAW — which is pronounced “sue”!
Rotational Welding (Pulling)
- To get started, one of the things you’ll need to know is that when you push or pull an electrode, it’s not just your hand that’s moving. The whole gun moves, too.
- As you push the electrode into the metal, the gun moves in a circular motion. This helps keep heat and friction down and allows for a smoother weld.
- When you pull the electrode out of the metal, the gun follows suit and moves in a circular motion away from it — as if you were peeling it off of something sticky!
- Pulling also helps keep the heat down because it doesn’t require as much work on your part to move through the metal since gravity is taking care of most of it for you.
- One advantage of rotational welding is that it provides a more even weld because there are fewer variations in size or shape — everything comes out looking like a perfect circle!
- However, this type of welding doesn’t work well on really thin pieces where there isn’t enough material to cover up any imperfections along the edges or seams of your workpiece. It also isn’t ideal for structural work since there are no welded corners or edges to help support things like beams or posts — they all just kind of melt together into one big blob!
Which Is More Common?
1. Push Mig Welding
The most common of all the welding processes is push mig welding. This method uses a power source that’s connected to your welder to apply pressure as you “push” the tip of the wire into the metal. The resulting weld creates a certain shape, depending on where you start and end, and how much pressure you apply. The benefit of this process is that it’s easy to learn and requires little practice. However, it’s not recommended for all types of materials because it can cause excess to spatter or slag in some cases.
2. Pull Mig Welding
Pull mig welding is a little different than push mig welding because it uses a wire feeder instead of a power source. This method works by pulling the wire into the gun at a constant rate, then pushing it through as you pull it out to form your weld. It produces cleaner results and can be used on more types of metals than push mig welding can — but since it requires more practice, this may not be ideal for beginners.
3. Push-Pull Mig Welding
This is a combination of the two processes above, with the wire being pulled in, and then pushed out. The benefit of this type of welding is that it’s more forgiving than push or pull alone because it allows you to change your hand position as you weld. It can be used on a wide range of materials and requires less practice than pull mig welding. However, it’s not quite as simple as push mig welding because there are several different hand positions to learn.
4. Focused Spot Welding
This is a much more advanced, specialized process that requires a skilled welder to perform it. It’s not common, but it can be used for certain applications of mig welding. This type of welding occurs when a focused wire creates a small weld through the metal, instead of using the entire length of the wire to create the weld. It can be used for small applications or for assembling smaller parts that would otherwise require several welds to complete.
The Benefits & Drawbacks Of Mig Welding
Mig Welding is Considered to Be a More Precise Method
When you weld with a mig welder, the wire is fed through the gun and out of the nozzle. The nozzle is then moved along the line of the joint in a back-and-forth motion. The arc of electricity flows through this wire and heats it up until it melts into the metal being joined. This welding process creates strong bonds between metals, but it’s also considered to be more precise than other methods.
Mig Welding Can Create Longer Heating Seams
One thing that mig welding does really well creates longer heating seams. These seams are created when two pieces of metal are joined together by a continuous bead of molten metal without any gaps or breaks in between them. This can be achieved with push or pull, depending on what you’re trying to do and what kind of metal you’re working with — but mig welding can definitely do it! Mig welding’s ability to create longer heating seams makes it more versatile than other methods for certain applications, such as those that involve aluminum, magnesium, or copper alloys (which tend to react with oxygen and cool down quickly). Because there aren’t any gaps in these longer seams, they hold heat better and therefore cool down slower than joints created by other methods — making them ideal for situations where you need less time in between welds (like when parts need to be stacked up quickly or in specific patterns).
Mig Welding Can Create a Thicker Joint
Mig welding can also create thicker joints than other methods. This is because the wire doesn’t need to be re-melted and reformed after each pass along the joint line — it just gets pushed out of the nozzle again and continues on its way. So, instead of a series of small welds that eventually add up to one large weld, you can create one big weld with mig welding. In addition to creating thicker joints, mig welding allows you to make them without having to worry about burn-through or undercutting — since there’s no need for a filler rod when creating these longer heating seams. This makes it an ideal method for creating large fasteners like bolts and nuts!
Conclusion
When it comes to welding, push or pull refers to which direction the torch moves. This is different from the actual type of welding that you’re doing. The two most common types of welding are reflective welding and rotational welding. When welding thinner metals, the welder uses a low-frequency machine. This type of machine is better at pushing thin metals because it doesn’t create as much heat or cause distortion. For thicker metals, the welder uses a high-frequency machine. This type of machine is better for pulling because it creates more heat, which is needed for thicker metals. Keep in mind, however, that materials are always different. Sometimes you’ll need to push and sometimes you’ll need to pull. It all depends on the materials and type of machine you’re usin
