#Flux welder portable

Flux coveringĪnother type of FCAW uses a shielding gas that must be supplied by an external supply. Some disadvantages are that this process can produce excessive, noxious smoke (making it difficult to see the weld pool).įCAW Electrode cutaway image. Also, windy conditions need not be considered.

#Flux welder portable

This type of FCAW is attractive because it is portable and generally has good penetration into the base metal. However, this core contains more than just flux, it also contains various ingredients that when exposed to the high temperatures of welding generate a shielding gas for protecting the arc. This is made possible by the flux core in the tubular consumable electrode. One type of FCAW requires no shielding gas. Flux cored arc welding just like the name implies, has a hollow wire with flux in the centre, just as the name states, a ‘Flux Core’. The main difference between flux cored arc welding and GMAW welding is the way the electrode is shielded from the air. The process is widely used in construction because of its high welding speed and portability and its ability to be used in field conditions. An externally supplied shielding gas is sometimes used, but often the flux itself is relied upon to generate the necessary protection from the atmosphere, producing both gaseous protection and liquid slag protecting the weld. FCAW requires a continuously-fed consumable tubular electrode containing a flux and a constant-voltage or, less commonly, a constant-current welding power supply. They are both considered semi automatic processes, and have a very high production rate.įlux-cored arc welding (FCAW or FCA) is a semi-automatic or automatic arc welding process. The power supply for a FCAW, and a GMAW welder, are the same machine. Both processes using continues wire feeds, and similar equipment. Flux cored arc welding is a process similar to GMAW welding. It was just a new type of an electrode that can be used on a GMAW welding machine. Technically the introduction of this process was not new. This helped FCAW to overcome many of the restrictions associated with SMAW. The advantage of FCAW over SMAW is that the use of the stick electrodes used in SMAW is unnecessary. Flux core arc welding (FCAW) was introduced in the 1950’s as an alternative to shielded metal arc welding (SMAW).