Variety of MIG welding Transfer Types

There are predominantly four different transfer types of MIG welding.

  1. Short Circuit transfer
  2. Globular Transfer
  3. Spray Transfer
  4. Pulsed Spray Transfer

Short Circuit Transfer:

In Short Circuit Transfer the welding wire touches the metal. Electricity courses through the gun and creates a short circuit. The welding wire is melted and it drips on to the metal surface creating a puddle that creates the joint between the work pieces. Carbon dioxide shielding gas is used in this type of MIG transfer with a combination of low voltage. Minimum amount of shielding gas is required and this makes this transfer type an inexpensive process.

Globular Transfer:

Globular transfer happens with a combination of high voltage and argon shielding gas. In this type of MIG transfer, the wire melts down, gets collected at the tip of the gun and drips onto the joint only a few times per second. The main disadvantage is that this type leads to spatter.

Spray Transfer:

In this type of MIG transfer, the wire melts into very fine droplets and rather gets sprayed on to the joints like mists. It makes a hissing sound unlike crackle or popping sound of the Short Circuit and Globular transfer types respectively. It is resourceful for creating clean arc between the gun and the materials to be welded. It is achieved with a combination of high voltage and argon shielding gas or gas mixture that contains 15% of Carbon dioxide. The shielding gas is quite expensive as it involves high argon content.

Pulsed Spray transfer:

This process requires high end MIG welder. The welder pulses the voltage instead of giving steady flow of voltage. The result is a transfer type that alternates between spray and globular types. It doesn’t require high voltage supply to weld products. This creates more efficient welds and incorporated greater flexibility with positions. The MIG welder is quite expensive to give such a functionality and performance.

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