Welders for all your welding needs.

The word welder could be more precise. In English, the word “welder” describes a piece of machinery that generates power during electric arc welding and the person performing welding or has the necessary skill set.

We can offer Aluminium welders, stainless steel welders, a welder to work on your site or weld your parts in our workshop. If you need a welder to do welding work for you, please call us or complete the inquiry form on the right side of this page.

 

Keep reading if you’re here to learn about welding and welders in general.

We established that welders are two things: a machine and a person. Now, we can further divide and categorise men and machine welders by welding process type and materials that welders work with. It is also possible to categorise welders even further by the areas where the welders work, their skills, and qualifications.

Types of welders available on the market

Let’s examine each type of electric arc welding. It is common practice throughout all welding literature to refer to welding machines as power sources. We are also going to use this terminology. Five different welding processes correlate to electric arc welding. They are presented by TIG welder, MIG welder, Stick welder, Sub-Arc welder, and Plasma welder. Let’s examine each one of those technologies.

    TIG welder as a machine.

We won’t be looking into the TiG welding process as a detailed article explains it all. Instead, we will look at TiG welders’ specifics and functionality. All TIG welders can be divided further into AC TiG machines and DC TiG machines. As you probably remember from the school, AC and DC are types of electricity where AC is alternating current and DC is direct current. Depending on the kind of materials that need to be welded, the welder may use AC or DC mode for the machine. It is worth mentioning that not all machines can output both types of current; however, if the machine is capable of AC, it will also be able to output DC by default (this is only valid for welders based on inverter technology as those which transformer (incredibly crude, old basic models can be opposite)). TiG welders, like any other electric arc welder, are designed to establish, maintain and control electric arc between positive and negative poles of the welder to which welding cables are connected.

Like all other welders, the TiG welder has a ground or earth cable (Which, in the case of the TiG welder, we connect to the machine’s positive terminal). TiG torch cable is a cable that the welder (operator) uses to control the welding process, and it is connected to the negative terminal of the machine. If you want to learn this welding process, please follow this link and join our free TiG welding course. TiG welders use non-consumable electrodes made out of temperature-resistant tungsten alloy, which allows them to support welding arcs without welding. This electrode is inserted into the tig torch and cooled down during the welding by the flow of inert shielding gas. Some TIG welders also have a water-cooling attachment that enables the TIG welder to cool down the TIG torch by pumping water through a small heat exchanger within the torch. The water coolant system only cools down the head of the TIG torch and enables the welder to reduce the shielding gas flow as the water does all the cooling. Water coolant systems are expensive to buy; however, they pay for themselves with time as a reduced flow of shielding gas is reflected in the lower operational cost over the long term. Shielding gas or a mixture of gases is necessary for every TIG welder. The gas pushes atmospheric oxygen away from the welding puddle and supper hot TIG electrode, protecting and cooling both. Similar to how inert gas protects tiny spiral filaments within incandescent light bulbs. Most TIG welders have a button fitted onto the TIG torch or foot pedal that the welder can use to start or stop the welding process.

   TIG Welder as a Person.

A welder using the TIG welding process is called a TIG welder. TiG welders work in the broadest range of industries as this welding process allows welders to produce very high-quality welds on most metals. Some people believe that TIG is the hardest for the welder to learn. This opinion is based on the fact that each TIG welder must simultaneously perform different manipulations with each hand and maintain complete body balance while in complete darkness. One hand of the TIG welder must operate the torch, and the other hand needs to manipulate filler wire, which the welder constantly adds to the molten metal of the welding puddle. The whole welding process is controlled by a TIG welder and observed with personal protective equipment such as welding screens, which are usually worn by the welder so that the intensity of light coming out of the electric arc can be reduced to levels safe for the eye.

    MIG welder as a power source.

MIG welders are prevalent throughout workshops and manufacturing facilities all around the world. If you want an in-depth understanding of the MIG welding process, follow this link to our free MIG welding course. Like TiG Welders, the MIG welders also use a mixture of different gases to protect the welding arc and welding pool from atmospheric oxygen. The main difference between those two welders is that MIG welders do not have temperature-resistant, non-consumable electrodes used in TiG welders. MIG welders use consumable welding electrodes in thin wires driven through the torch and “burned” (melted) when they touch the workpiece due to short circuits, heating, and melting. During a short circuit, an electric arc melts the wire and the material of the welded parts, so the droplets of molten wire fall into the melted metal of the parts, creating a fusion between the two. Naturally, if we have a wire that we feed through the welding torch, we need some wire feed mechanism to accommodate such functionality. Sometimes, the wire feed unit can be incorporated within the body of the MIG welder or stand independently as a separate unit. MIG welders that use independent wire feed units tend to be more power-full and less compact. They allow longer reach because of interconnecting cables that link the MIG welder and wire feed unit. Some mobile welders may use large diesel welding power sources to which they attach independent wire feed units, making a diesel welding generator work as a MIG welder. Typically, welding polarity within a MIG welder is configured to be electrode-positive, which means that the ground cable of a MIG welder is connected to the negative terminal, and the MIG torch cable that feeds the consumable wire electrode is connected to the positive. It is worth noting that this configuration can change as different wire types may require different polarity for welding. In some welders, changing polarity is easy; it can be done by one switch; in others (usually less advanced welders), swapping cables on the machine will be necessary.

       What kind of wires are for the MIG welder?

MIG welders use different types and sizes of welding wire. Depending on the chemical composition of the consumable wires, the finished welds will have the desired specific properties. Welding wire will require different drive rollers within the wire feed unit. The wires are differentiated by their size, type, and structure. Let’s briefly look at the various wires used by MIG welders.

            What are the sizes of MIG wire?

MIG wire comes in many sizes, and in different countries, you may find sizes available or unavailable in their respective markets. In the UK, welders who work on cars may use 0.6 mm diameter or 0.8 mm diameter wires. Welders in manufacturing or fabrication workshops will use 1mm diameter or 1.2 mm diameter wires. There are other sizes on the market, too, and generally, you can get what is available to your supplier. The fundamental concept about MIG wire that every welder should grasp is that the heavier your parts are, the thicker the wire you will need. Big, heavy materials require a lot of energy to melt, and the wires need the ability to carry or pass enough current through them. On the other hand, big, heavy wires can transfer energy easy, but if used with thin material, they will cause the material to burn away before the wire melts, resulting in no fusion.

           Structure of MIG wire.

All makes of welding wires can be divided into two categories by their structure.

1. Solid wires—As the name implies, if you were to cut the wire in cross-section, you would see that the body of the wire is completely solid metal.
2. Cored wires—these wires look like tubes with thin metal walls. Inside the tube is some powdery substance called flux. Those wires sometimes called flux wire or flux core wire.

           MIG wire types.

Three main wire types are used in MIG welders.

1. Gas-shielded wires – Those wires require protection of inert shielding gas during welding.
2. Self-shielding wires—This type of wire does not require the welding machine to supply shielding gas. It protects molten metal with gases generated when internal flux in the wire is melted during the welding.
3. Dual-shielded wires—This type of wire has a tubular structure and flux, just like self-shielding wires. However, dual-shielded wires also require additional inert gas shielding during welding.

   MIG Welder as a Person.

MIG Welders operate welding power sources in MIG welding configuration. Usually, they work on manufacturing jobs as the MIG welding process is semi-automatic and allows the longest non-stop continuous welding, which makes welding very fast. Depending on welded materials, the choice of welding wire, and the welder’s skills, they can perform welding in all possible positions at very high speeds compared to other welding methods. There is a common misconception that MIG welders are less skilled than other welders; it is entirely wrong, and it is easy to see why such an opinion may form. Today advances in synergic technology can compensate for the lack of experience of the welder as all settings and programs are within the machine and preset from the factory. People with limited knowledge of the MIG welding process think that MIG welding is easy and anyone can do it. MIG welders can often be found welding large batches of parts and, as a result, are most likely to be replaced by robots during the automation of production lines. MIG welders are mostly workshop dwellers due to the gas shielding requirements; very rarely can you see MIG  welders working on sites with self-shielding wires because the cost of consumables is astronomical.

Most importantly, when self-shielded MIG wire packaging is open, it will have to be used up, and it cannot be left over for later as moisture gets absorbed into the flux of the wire. This makes it unsuitable for long-term storage once sealed packaging is opened. Since self-shielding wire comes in spools, every MIG welder understands this welding process is not for small jobs.

 What are synergic and pulse synergic welders?

Synergic welders are a relatively new development by manufacturers of welding equipment. Technology has become more common and more accessible to implement with advances in computer-controlled inverters. Synergic welders come pre-programmed by manufacturers and can control welding parameters without allowing any drastic mistake by the operator. Synergic power sources require minimum input from the person who only needs to provide limited data, such as the thickness of materials and the computer within the welder will adjust all necessary parameters to output perfect power and wire feeding speed (in the case of MIG welders).

For this reason, the welder always operates at the optimum level as machine adjusts output according to the test conducted using the same material and thicknesses at the factory. Pulse synergic welders are machines utilising synergy controls that can increase and decrease power multiple times a second and control how fast power output rises and falls. Those welders can pulsate with their power outputs. Naturally, microprocessor does all of this after reading data like arc voltage, amperage, resistance and any arc fluctuations. Pulse synergic welders have exceptional control over welding arcs. They can weld very thin materials, minimise welding sputter, and create a ripple effect within welding beads that is visually appealing.

Stick welder as a power source.

Stick welders are the oldest form of arc welders. Technological advances have made the stick welders of today almost non-recognisable to the very first machines. The current levels of control stick welders offer are unimaginable for those who created the first machines back in the day. Stick welder: in its name, we have the word stick, a reference to a consumable welding rod used to create an arc and act as a filler metal when it melts. If you would like to learn more about welding utilising this process, you can follow this link to our free stick welding course. It is safe to assume that stick welders are the world’s most common type of welder, mainly because both MIG and TIG welders can operate as stick welders. Stick welder can work in electrode negative or electrode positive mode as they allow swapping of cables to different terminals on the machine. Experience stick welders can use the heat distribution effect of polarity to aid control of the welding process by running various combinations of welding rods and specific polarities. We already know that stick welders use consumable stick welding rods. In any welding process, consumables are not part of the equipment; however, when we look at a stick welder, consumables’ quality can dramatically influence how the stick welder works and the quality of welds it produces. Welding rods for stick welders have a specific design: a round metal core and an outer flux coating. It makes the welding rod structure look like a pencil. The flux coating is very hygroscopic and attracts water from the atmosphere; once the coating gets dump, it can contribute to the formation of welding defects and make the welding arc unstable, leading to poor control over the welding process. Some metallurgical changes happen in those welds too, but this is subject to a different conversation.

Stick welder as a person.

Considering that the stick welding process was the first electric arc welding process, there was no need to call an operator a stick welder because there was no other type of welding. Naturally, the simple term welder was used. Nowadays, since we have more than one welding method, we still call operators of welders a welder regardless of the TiG, MIG or Stick welding process. We can find welders welding with sticks all over the world and in any location on the surface of this planet. We can even find welders welding below the surface, as underwater welders use stick welding roads, too.

Investigating multi-process welder as a power source.

In the last decade, various welding equipment manufacturers started offering multi-process welders. Those welders are machines that combine technology to perform different types of welding. All welders are technically multi-processed, as every TiG welder can also do stick welding, just like MIG welders, which have that capacity too. Even though both of those welders approached the task from different perspectives, they still get the job done and can be considered for the title of Multi-process welder. Also, it is possible to equip a regular basic Stick welder with additional accessories like gas valves, TiG torches or independent MiG wire feeders and make those power sources to weld with the MIG or TiG welding process. All those setups would work, and we have used them for years. Still, they are always Substitutes and never were as comfortable and practical to use as a dedicated welder configured by the manufacturer. Makers of welding equipment saw an opportunity on the market, and they introduced multi-process welders that combined multiple welding processes and plasma cutting capacity into one machine. Those welders became popular with hobbyists and a few professionals working with low volumes and thin materials.

Multi-process welder as a person.

Most professional welders can be considered multi-process welders. Welders who work professionally at some point in their lives will need to learn different types of welding as they move from job to job, industry to industry, or company to company. Learning multiple processes is advantageous for welders not only because they gain new skills and experiences but also because, by learning new methods, they improve their understanding of everything that they already know.

What can you weld with a welder?

Depending on your type of welder, it is possible to weld anything from metals to plastics. The thing worth thinking about is the purpose of the welds. If you are doing it as a challenge, then the range of things that can be welded is enormous. In such a case, you can weld ice together by using a hot knife as a welder. What practical use you will have from doing this is beyond me, but technically, you can do it. Since we are discussing electric arc welders, we will look at metals commonly used in various industries. We remember a periodic table of elements from school that shows us different metals. In the industry, we rarely find those metals in their pure state. Metallurgists have figured out that if you mix different metals in controlled proportions, you will gain specific properties that can be beneficial to you. Such mixes are called Alloys, the materials with which most welders work. When we hear about aluminium alloys, we know aluminium takes the most significant proportion in the mix of these proportions. When we say stainless steel, we also know it is a generic name to describe a range of chrome-nickel alloys. We need to look into weld ability charts to tell if the material can be welded.

Structural steel welders.

Regular steel or mild steel is also an alloy. It is the most common metal used used by welders. It is so common because it’s easy to produce and work with, and welders can use all welding processes to join steel. Structural steel welders have created structures that are part of our everyday lives. Skyscrapers, submarines, bicycles, and complex machinery—anything that has any structure and is made out of steel—are built with the involvement of structural steel welders.

Aluminium welders.

Aluminium is the most common metallic element on the planet. Unfortunately extracting it into usable form is more challenging than iron and costly. Aluminium welders on the market are represented by AC/DC TiG welders, MIG welders, and Stick welders; all those welding processes are used in various industries. Aluminium welding is a challenging process requiring specific knowledge, understanding, and experience. Proportionately to all welders in the world, aluminium welders are a minority. Once again, let’s look deeper at what an aluminium welder stands for from the perspective of a machine and the person.

  Aluminium welder as a machine.

As we already know, MiG, TiG, and Stick welders can be used for welding aluminium. The physical properties of this metal impose additional requirements on aluminium welders. Machines must be substantially more potent than those working on steel welding or stainless steel. Aluminium welders must push out more energy to compensate for the weld’s heat loss, as aluminium rapidly transfers heat away from the weld. The other issue that needs to be addressed by the person operating the aluminium welder is aluminium oxide. The welder has to break through the oxide film to deposit molten aluminium and join parts together. Different aluminium welders address this issue differently, unlike stainless or steel, which are done through DC. The welders that weld aluminium should be able to output AC, which will break the oxide film.

On the other hand, MiG welders typically run on DC, and they operate in an electrode-positive set wh, which causes aluminium oxides to break due to the directional flow of electrons. You may wonder if welding aluminium with a DC TiG welder is possible. The answer is yes. A small percentage of welders use DC TiG for welding aluminium, but the process is way less comfortable with a bad surface finish compared to what AC TiG welder can do. The only benefit is deeper penetration, but it is at a cost that most aluminium welders try to avoid.

  Aluminium welders as a person.

Aluminium welders possess unique skills compared to others, as most welders in the trade have yet to have a chance to work with aluminium. The biggest challenge that every aluminium welder faces is that aluminium remains the same colour regardless of the temperature. When welders work with steel, they can judge how hot things become by observing colour changes in the metal. Aluminium shows no change of colour at all; for this reason, there is no warning. One moment the part looks normal; the second later, it no longer exists as it melted like ice cream. Aluminium has very high thermal conductivity, which is a double-edged sword. When working aluminium, welders struggle to heat parts to a temperature that allows the metal to melt locally so that parts can be fused. Once parts are sufficiently hot, keeping them from overheating and melting is very hard. Aluminium welders have to navigate this narrow tolerance range by adjusting their welding techniques, power outputs of the machines and through the choice of gases. Altogether, welding aluminium creates a more demanding environment where aluminium welders operate.

Stainless steel welders.

Stainless steel welders are used in the plethora of different aplications, from hyginic stainless steel welds on pipework in the food production to corrosion resitant equipment of chemical plants. Each one of those applications demands from stainless steel welder to have excellent understanding of working practices with stainless steel. Stainless steel welders relly on their experience and knowlage base acumulated by all in the trade which is expressed through education programs that stainless steel welders go through.

   Stainless steel welder as a power source.

Stainless steel welders use the same welding machines used for welding regular steel. Welders can join stainless steel by changing consumables to stainless steel. It would also be possible to weld together two pieces of stainless steel using non-stainless consumables. However, such a joint will not have the corrosion-resistant properties of stainless steel. Tig welders, Mig welders, and stick welders can all be used to weld stainless steel.

   Stainless steel welder as a person.

There is little difference between welding mild steel and stainless steel welding. Welders who can do one can do the other relatively quickly. Naturally, there is a slight difference, but it is nothing that experienced welders can’t handle. Stainless steel requires lower amps to weld as it has lower heat conductivity than mild steel. When we say we are stainless steel welders, we point out our experience level. Only experienced stainless steel welders can ensure that the corrosion properties of stainless steel joints are preserved; knowledgeable stainless steel welders can make decisions that not only going to reduce the cost of the job but will also ensure the desired functionality and long-lasting performance of parts. By selecting different welding processes, good stainless steel welders can control the final look of the part, which is very important for anyone building presentable products out of stainless steel.

Welder fabricator

Welder fabricator: this is the most accurate way to describe a welder. Unless someone works in a production environment and rolls out similar items one after the other, working at such brain-dead work where someone builds everything for them, and the welder is just there to weld. I’ve been there and done that; it’s horrible. Such a welder becomes a bio robot cranking out parts for days, months, and years. It is much more common to find a welder working on a project that forces them to use their brains to solve the problem. Such welders build everything from the ground up and then weld whatever needs to be welded. In such a scenario, welder and fabricator is one role. For the business, it is good worker to have for several reasons.

1. Parts always fit out to an excellent standard, as a fit-out person will have to handle any fit out mistakes during the welding stage.
2. All responsibilities are in one place.
3. Personnel with a broader skill set. There is no downtime because welders wait until someone builds something for them to weld.

Mobile welder.

Mobile welders are different breeds of welders altogether. Not only do they have to be welders and fabricators, but they must also have exceptional organising skills. Mobile welders provide mobile welding services to their customers wherever they need them to be. Naturally, good mobile welders will need to have all necessary tools, consumables and materials on the job so that they can complete the job instead of running back and forth for supplies.

Coded welders.

Whenever someone talks about coded welders, they refer to welders tested to a specific code or standard. Many different standards or codes exist, from international standards marked as ISO (International Standard Organisation) to a particular country like AWS (American Welding Society). It is not possible to have a welder tested to all of the codes in existence. For this reason, welders are only coded to the standards required by the job and when job requires it.

Orbital welders.

An orbital welder is a specific type of equipment designed to weld pipes. It is a robot that welds autonomously under the operator’s supervision. It was designed to replace manual welding by a person as welding pipes is the most challenging skill to master—especially small-diameter pipes. By utilising orbital welders, welds are made more consistent, faster, and cheaper in the long run, and they can be performed by personnel not capable of manual welding.

Bore Welder

Bore welders are a type of welding machine used in weld cladding systems. They restore bores, internal holes, or internals of bushes. Bore welders are designed to deposit weld inside the bore and build up material to be machined later.

How to become a welder?

There are several ways how you can become a welder. Regardless of your chosen path, it would help if you remembered that all those roots are learning roots. Even if you start today and work in the welding trade for the next 30 years, in the end, you will be precisely where you are now. You are going to be in the process of becoming a welder. Every day is a school day. What will make you a good welder is the recognition that learning will never stop. Let’s look at available options and investigate the associated pros and cons. Learning will become faster and more effective if you combine those methods together.

  Self-taught welder.

1. This option is very accessible. It also suits those who need flexibility in their learning schedule, and you can control all your costs and expences.
2. The negative side is that you need to figure out where to start, how to start, or what equipment will most suit your needs. You will have an extremely long learning curve as you have no one to look over your shoulder and correct you by explaining your mistakes.

   Join the course to become a welder.

To help people who wish to learn, we have created a theoretical online welding course that is entirely free for everyone. It will give you the theory that beginner welders need, so when you decide to practice on your own or in class with us, you will have a foundation upon which to build.

1. The positive side, you will receive all the necessary information. I will prevent you stumbling in the darkness. You will have the basic theoretical knowledge that a welder needs, and if your welding course has practical welding classes, you will have a chance to make mistakes and learn from them immediately. A day of tutoring will teach you more than a week of practising independently. You only need to buy equipment once you have some skills and knowlage.
2. This option has a negative side: It requires more commitment, especially if you are physically present in the class. It also has a cost.

   Become a welder through apprenticeship.

1. The positive side of this option is that you have a business that is interested in your learning. This business will invest in your training and ensure its investment pays off.
2. The negative side is that during your four years of apprenticeship, you are also paying into your education with time, effort, and wage, as on apprenticeship, you will make significantly less than a labourer.

Welder near me.

I do not know how many people are ever wonder, if there is any welders near me right now. Where ever you are in the world it is likely that a welder somewhere near by. Even if you will not be able to find a person or recognise them as a welder, you are most definitely will find a product of welders work.

Welders build worlds, we welcome you to the world of welding!