Solid welding wires are still in use in the NZ welding industry and there’ll probably always be a place for them in a number of applications, especially by small end-users.
When MIG welding, a shielding gas is required, usually an Argon mix such as 75-80% Argon and 20-25% CO2, or 100% CO2.
The shielding gas protects the molten weld pool from atmospheric contaminants, however, it is more difficult to weld on site work when exposed to wind.
Care needs to be taken to protect the integrity of the weld.
Generally speaking, solid wire provides deep penetration in the root and usually has less spatter in comparison to most flux-cored wires which have a higher deposition rate, better sidewall fusion and rounder penetration profile.
Although solid wires are most popular with small trades, DIY or sheet metal workers, the productivity gains and reduced bottomline which can be found using flux cored and/or metal cored wires have seen most large scale welding work, particularly structural, switch to cored wires.
