MIG Welding Advantages and Disadvantages

Mig welding is much-hyped nowadays, and from garages to light fabrications, you can see them in use everywhere. They have gone on to achieve a lot of popularity in the last couple of decades, and it is likely to continue so. 

That is why lots of welders, especially the new ones, have been taking a lot of interest in it. But before jumping in a ship, you need to understand whether you will be able to steer it in the right direction. 

So, if you are wondering whether to learn MIG welding or not, here are a few MIG welding advantages and disadvantages for you to compare.

What advantage does MIG welding provides?

It saves time

Mig welding is a very popular way to get started welding, and one of the reasons is that it just saves a lot of time. You won’t have to deal with all the complicated parts like changing the rods or brushing the weld, and this will save quite a lot of your time. 

This is why it is recommended and being adopted by so many mig welders lately. Because who doesn’t like to save some time?

The learning curve is not so steep.

One thing that is quite helpful about MIG welding is that it doesn’t take you tons of time to learn. Yes, you still need to go through all the process and understand it correctly, but it won’t scare you away like other welding processes. 

It does not take you more than an hour to get started with basic welding, and you might cut it down to half as well.

Very easy to work with

Mig welding is just perfect for fabrication and can be used for putting things together quite easily. You can hold the part with one hand and use the gun with the other and prop the nozzle. 

It’s steadied without having to have any other person. So having to work without somebody helping you is very convenient. 

Efficient and Versatile

Mig welding is very efficient at putting down a lot of wire without that much effort. The weld also looks good and takes minimal cleanup as well. Other than being so efficient, it’s pretty versatile as well. 

So, you can weld all kinds of different thicknesses. You can even work with fragile and delicate materials like auto body panels as well.

What Disadvantages Does MIG Welding have?

Hidden Costs

It might not seem like so in the beginning; there are lots of hidden costs in the MIG welding. You might not even notice or realize unless you get started with it. There are things such as the replacement of nozzles, shielding gas, and electrodes, they will contribute significantly to the total cost.

Not suitable for Outdoor Welding

There is no way to MIG weld outdoors because the ruin is going to influence the purity of the weld severely. That is why it is deemed unsuitable for welding outdoors and generally not recommended by instructors.

Better for thinner metals

MIG welding is certainly very advantageous for doing welds to very thin metals. But when it comes to welding thicker materials, they are not so reliable. 

Mig welding cannot penetrate thicker materials that well, its application is all limited to the thinner materials.

Rust-free materials are absolutely prohibited. 

One of the issues people have with MIG welding is that it requires clean metal to work with. People generally assume they can work with rusty metals in Mig welding, only to find out there is no way you can make that work with MIG welding.

Conclusion – MIG Welding Advantages and Disadvantages

MIG welding does have both advantages and disadvantages. But from a welder’s perspective, the advantages certainly outweigh the cons. 

Because no other welding process is so flexible, and neither is easy to get started. So, we hope this article provided you a balanced insight into the whole matter and made your decision easier.