Being a manufacturer of industrial products for combustion turbine units, we know a thing or two about sheet metal fabrication. In this blog we’ll go over a capability that is important for designing and manufacturing parts and components that stand up to the challenging conditions of power generation equipment.

Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) is a unique welding process that is versatile, fast, and produces strong joints. It can also be called metal inert gas (MIG) or metal active gas (MAG) welding. To weld metals together a welding gun is used to create an electric arc from a consumable wire electrode and the pieces which melt and join together. What makes this welding process different than others is that a shielding gas is fed through the welding gun to protect the weld from contaminants present in the air. This serves to create a very strong bond between the two pieces of metal.

Inert gases used in GMAW include carbon dioxide, argon, helium, or a mixture of gases. The welding gun consists of an automatic feed consumable wire, the shielding gas, and a current conductor. When passed over the area to be welded, the operator just needs to guide the welding gun over the area. The automatic feed of the electrode makes this a very easy process. But, even though the tools are easy to use the skill of the operator is extremely important for proper position and orientation of the welding gun.

GMAW is very suitable for automation and this fact makes it very popular in manufacturing operations. Low temperatures are generated with GMAW and it is ideal for use on thin sheets of ferrous and non-ferrous metals including aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steel, and copper. At CMF we are experts at producing the equipment and components our customers need to meet their specific applications. Our capabilities, including GMAW, bring all the pieces together quickly, efficiently, and with the highest quality.

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