There are many types and classifications of welding techniques and processes you will found, and instead of helping, you get confused about which one is suitable for you and your welding project.

Primarily, there are only a few types of welding processes, and the rest of them are taken from them. Among all, the most common and most used types of welding are arc welding and gas welding.

Arc welding and gas welding are being used for years, and over time, they are getting advanced.

To help in choosing the best welding method, you need to know the fundamental difference between them, and therefore, to address this issue, here in this article, we are going to talk about arc welding vs. gas welding briefly.

An Overview of Arc Welding

Arc welding is one of the long-established forms of welding process and yet still popular among welders. Arc welding, to weld pieces of metals together, utilizes an electrical arc.

An electrical arc is generated by an electric power supply, and when it heats to a specific temperature, it melts down the electrodes or the base material to weld the joining points.

When an electrode starts to melt, it forms a shielding gas when combined with the oxygen from the environment; it protects not only the arc but also the welding area. When a melted pool cools down, it binds the metal together.

Arc welding can further be divided mainly into two types. The one is which uses the consumable electrodes, and the other one that uses the non-consumable electrodes. Other than the electrodes, arc welding can be done using the AC and DC current.

Arc welding is a manual process; moreover, it can be changed into a semi-automatic or fully automatic function with additional tools and equipment.

Mainly, the kit required for arc welding includes a power supply machine, welding rods, cables, clamps, and electrode holders. Domestic current works well with arc welding.

Other than that, the safety of a welder is most important, and for this, you need to have a complete set of personal protective equipment. Do not perform a welding process if you do not have a welding helmet, gloves, and eye protection glasses.

As arc welding produces high heat intensity, it is mainly used for thicker materials and heavy projects. From the construction of bridges to aircraft maintenance, the use of arc welding can be seen all over.

In addition to the high level of heat intensity, arc welding gives you high speed and as well as efficiency and quality weld.

When compared to other types of welding, arc welding pieces of equipment are readily available at an affordable price and easy to move from one place to another.

On the other hand, there are a few drawbacks to using the arc welding system. Firstly, it is not preferred for thin materials, as it can melt the material due to the high-intensity heat level.

Arc welding requires changing of electrodes from time to time, and it takes time and effort to do it in a proper way. Besides that, slag is produced, and therefore, finishing is required at the end.

An Overview of Gas Welding

Gas welding is a form of welding process that uses fuel gas to weld the materials. The flame torch is generated using a fuel gas with oxygen. The flame is then used to melt the filler material and the welding pieces; once it cools down, it binds the material.

The use of gas welding is mainly carried out where the reach of electric power is not possible or complex such as in underwater or remote places.

Gas welding is as much practical and effective as any other type of welding. It is a preferred choice for many industries and trades because of low-cost equipment and labor.

Different fuel gases are being used for gas welding, and when combined with oxygen, it creates a flame that can reach to a certain level of temperature.

The choice of fuel gas, therefore, depends on the heat intensity required on the basis of the particular welding project. Among all other fuel gases, the most common are acetylene and gasoline.

Gas welding requires you to have a separate chamber or tank in which oxygen and fuel gas can be mixed; other than that, it requires a welding torch and control valves to regulate the intensity of the flame. It is necessary to take care of the ratio of oxygen to the fuel gas.

One of the main benefits of gas welding is that it requires no electricity, and the equipment cost is also relatively low and is extremely portable. Besides that, it is easier to learn and practice.

Above all, with gas welding, you can weld ferrous and non-ferrous metals easily.

Summary

Both arc welding and gas welding are quite effective and reliable ways of welding, but there are a few limitations that come with gas welding.

No matter what fuel gas you may use, it cannot reach to the temperature, which can be achieved by arc welding; this makes the gas welding not suitable for thick materials or high strength steel.

In addition, the gas welding takes time to fully reach to the required temperature; this makes the whole process slower as compared to arc welding.

As far as safety and well-being are concerned, it is very important that you must take care of it whether using arc welding or gas welding.

The probability of risk remains the same in all types of welding, and therefore you should not proceed with the welding process until and unless you wear personal protective equipment.

To be more specific, gas welding requires you to take additional safety measures such as safety of gas cylinders, ensuring there is no leakage of fuel gas and exposure to the chemical.

Proper ventilation is required, and you should not use the gas welding equipment for a more extended period of time.

If you take care of the safety protocols and follow the standard procedure, you will be able to perform the welding process smoothly and effectively, whether you are using gas welding or arc welding.

As the world is rapidly moving toward advancement and technology, welding is one of many fields that has seen a rapid change in techniques and conventional methods.

Advanced welding approaches are now being developed and taking over the old versions.

One form of advanced welding is known as ultrasonic welding, and it is increasingly becoming popular day by day.

When it comes to welding, many of us think of it as a way to join two or more materials together, especially the metal pieces, and we often relate it with heat staking.

However, there is a clear difference in both, and both of these methods are used for specific purposes. This article will highlight the important aspects of ultrasonic welding vs heat staking to clear the misconceptions between the two.

By going through the article, you will be able to clearly define the differences between the two and will know the specific purpose of each.

Ultrasonic welding

Ultrasonic welding is the fastest growing technology in the field of welding. Ultrasonic welding uses mechanical vibrations at very high frequencies that are above the audible range of a human being.

Ultrasonic welding is largely being used to weld plastics and different metals.

The mechanical vibrations generate heat, and as a result, the edge of joining pieces melts and fuse together to form a bond.

The rate of production with ultrasonic welding is much higher with accurateness and preciseness as compared to other forms of welding, and therefore it is well matched for mass production.

Ultrasonic welding machine equipment mainly consists of a power supply, transducer, booster, horn and clamping devices.

The components that need to be weld are put together and held under pressure with clamping devices.

The power supply generates a high current, which passes through the transducer. The job of the transducer is to convert the electrical current to mechanical vibrations.

The vibrations are then sent to the booster to further increasing the frequency; after that, it is forwarded to the horn linked with the welding plate.

Pressure is applied through the clamps and welding plates while the horn supplies the vibrations. As a result of it, the temperature rises due to which deformation at the interface take place and form a joint.

There are many advantages of using ultrasonic welding over other types of welding processes.

Ultrasonic welding is much faster among all other forms of welding; within a fraction of seconds, it can do the work; in addition, the whole process of it can be converted to full automation.

Ultrasonic welding is highly reliable and effective; it possesses less health risk and does not create a slag or leftover, as it does not require any bonding agent or external heat. It is a clean welding process.

Thus, it requires very less or no finishing work. Above all, Ultrasonic welding is eco and user friendly as compared to other types of welding techniques.

The benefits of ultrasonic welding make it a preferred choice for various industries. From automotive to aerospace and from medical to packaging, the use of ultrasonic welding is everywhere and increasing with time.

In short, ultrasonic welding is versatile and is being used in many different industries and trades for different purposes.

Heat staking

Heat staking is a technique that is mainly used to join two similar or dissimilar materials or pieces together. It works by raising the temperature of joining materials and then reforming it to make a bond.

Heat staking works on plastic and as well as on metals, and it also allows you to link plastic with other types of materials that are not likely to be happen with welding.

Usually, heat staking is applied on the plastic materials, one of which contains a hole and the other has a boss. A boss, in mechanical terms, is a shape of an object that fits in another material containing a particular hole.

Heat staking is also referred to as thermoplastic staking. It does not need screws and nuts; rather, the joint created through heat skating is strong and reliable.

Heat staking has versatile uses and is being used by many industries and trades, including automotive, electronics, and information technology. The other applications of it include sealing holes, bonding, and welding.

Unlike welding, it does not require huge machinery or tools, does not produce slag, and the task can be achieved in few seconds.

No mechanical vibration is formed during the process of heat skating, and thus, no damage is caused to the object, while in ultrasonic welding, high frequency vibration can cause defects in material.

The same goes with pressure; heat staking does not put much pressure or stress on the material, whereas in ultrasonic welding, it is an essential component of a whole process.

The equipment and processing cost of heat staking is much lower than ultrasonic welding, and one important thing is that for ultrasonic welding, you require a set of skill and knowledge, while for heat skating, you do not need to be an expert in the field.

No extra material or adhesive is required for heat skating, and despite of that, it offers excellent durability, as much as you can achieve with ultrasonic welding.

Furthermore, maintenance and repairing heat staking is much easier as compared to ultrasonic welding.

A welding helmet is among the most fundamental safety gear; it is something you cannot overlook while performing a welding process.

When it comes to choosing the best welding helmet, welders get confused as a wide variety of helmets are available with different specs, features and qualities.

Typically, good-quality welding helmets are divided into two categories, auto darkening welding helmets, and passive welding helmets.

Although there is a very clear difference in features and qualities of both the helmets, people still find it hard to distinguish between both the types and fail to choose the best one.

For that reason, here we are going to present you with a comprehensive view of auto darkening welding helmet vs. passive welding helmets, and after going through it, you will be able to identify the best suitable option for you, and it will become easier for you to differentiate between them both.

Auto darkening welding helmet

A welding helmet is a safety gear, which not only protects your face and head but also it gives protection to the eyes. Eyes need to be protected at all times during the welding process.

When we talk about eye protection, the one thing that comes to mind is the quality of the lenses used in a welding helmet. Lenses determine whether a helmet is useful for the protection of the eyes or not.

Auto darkening welding helmet, as clear by the name, comes with advanced lenses technology by which it can automatically turn dark or light depending on the light around it.

It can automatically adjust itself to filter light at different concentrations and intensities.

When it comes to the welding process, the lenses of auto darkening welding helmet get dark when an arc is generated, and it gets clear when you turn off the arc.

In this way, it will not only saves your time to manually turning the lenses but also protects you from the effects of accidental spark lighting.

It can be seen from here that auto darkening welding helmets are convenient and effective, and you will not require to put your helmet on and off to see your work.

Wearing auto darkening helmet, you do not need to remove your helmet, as you will get a clear view of everything during and after the welding work.

The use of auto darkening welding helmet will ultimately increase productivity as the welder will be more focused on work and will not need to set the helmet over and over again.

also makes the welder feel more comfortable and relaxed. Other than the production, accuracy, and preciseness in work will also be enhanced.

Let us see the snap of advantages and disadvantages of having an auto darkening welding helmet; it will give us a clear view of the differences and will help us in deciding the best helmet for us.

Passive welding helmets

Passive welding helmets offer great eye protection and give you a clear vision and view.  A passive welding helmet contains a standard glass viewing lens; however, it does not change dark or light as auto darkening helmet can do.

Passive welding helmets do offer UV rays protection and are comfortable and lightweight. When performing a welding process, you may need to lift and nod the passive helmet several times, which is an uncomfortable experience.

In a passive welding helmet, lenses can be easily replaced or changed as per your requirement, but when doing work, it takes a lot of your time and requires effort.

Unlike auto darkening welding helmets, a passive helmet does not require batteries or any additional thing to work and operate. In terms of cost, passive helmets are cheaper and are easily available.

Here is a quick synopsis of the benefits and the drawbacks of having a passive welding helmet.

Summary

Now you are aware of the working conditions, benefits, and downsides of auto darkening and passive welding helmets.

It can be clearly seen that auto darkening helmets contain more features and add value to the comfortability of a welder.

Having said that, the price of auto darkening helmets is much higher as compared to welding helmets and are also much heavier in weight.

One main thing about the auto darkening helmet is that it needs to be powered either by batteries or solar, while a passive helmet does not require any of it.

When it comes to repairing or replacing a part, passive helmets are better as the parts are easily available, cheap, and easy to replace. In contrast, the parts of auto darkening helmets are expensive and are difficult to replace.

Although passive helmet offers a clear optical view, auto darkening helmet is not any less. The auto darkening helmet also gives a crystal clear view of everything, even when an arc is generated.

One important thing to notice here is that if you are a beginner, you are going to face a lot of problems and difficulties with a passive helmet, while on the other hand, auto darkening welding helmet will make your work a lot easier.

No doubt, using auto darkening helmet increases overall work performance, as the welder will be more focused on his work and will not require manual adjustment; it will also save the welder from neck pain or injury.

Use of auto darkening welding helmet allows you to work in close working space, as you will not require to set the helmet again and again.

Everyone is aware of the term oxygen, as it something that we breathe in. Human life does not exist in the absence of oxygen gas, but then, is it the only use of oxygen gas?

Of course not, we all have seen many different uses of oxygen gas at different places, and that includes in the welding process.

How come it is possible? What is the thing that differentiates between welding oxygen and medical oxygen? These are some of the questions that come into our minds, and we try to look for the correct answers.

At last, your search ends here as in this article we are going to talk about welding oxygen vs. medical oxygen, and after you know the basic difference of it, you will be able to clearly identify the uses of oxygen gas.

Before discussing the differences, first of all, let us see a brief overview of oxygen gas in particular.

Oxygen

Oxygen is a colorless gas present in the air. The air contains approximately 20% oxygen, and the rest of it is a mixture of other different gases, including carbon dioxide.

Naturally, the oxygen is produced by the plants, the plants consume carbon dioxide from the air, and in return, they supply oxygen to the atmosphere.

We all know that oxygen is essential for human beings, and therefore, it has also been produced clinically. Mainly, the air liquefaction process is used for this purpose.

This method of obtaining oxygen involves the distillation of liquid air. First, you turn the air into liquid form, and then you warm it slowly; in this way, oxygen and other gases split up because of different boiling points, and then you process out the oxygen elements.

However, as time passes, there are certainly other new methods being developed to produce oxygen gas commercially.

The question arises here that is it the production method that creates a difference in medical oxygen and industrial oxygen. The answer to this question is no; the same oxygen is being developed no matter what method you use.

So what makes the difference in oxygen? Continue reading the article, and you will find the answer.

The difference between welding oxygen and medical oxygen

Oxygen grade

To put it into simple words, it is the grade of the oxygen gas that determines whether it is feasible to use for medical or for industrial purposes.

Compressed Gas Association (CGA) has classified the oxygen into seven different grades from A to G. Grades have been assigned on the basis of the level of purity. A grade being the least pure, i.e., 99.0% oxygen presence in a cylinder.

The oxygen is then further gets labeled by The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). It is a body that tells that which oxygen should be used for medical purpose and which one can be used for welding.

As far as the grade for medical oxygen is concerned, it should be at least 99.5% pure, while on the other hand, the grade for welding oxygen should have 99.2%.

Filling in the cylinders

There is one more important thing that differentiates between the welding oxygen and the medical oxygen, and that is how they are filled in the cylinders.

Whenever you go for refilling the oxygen cylinder, they will ask you the purpose you will use it for. If it is being used for medical purposes, the mechanic will first evacuate the tank and then refill it with 99.5% pure oxygen.

For welding oxygen cylinders, the tank will be checked for the presence of acetylene, and if it is found, the cylinder needs to be cleaned first, and then your tank will be refilled.

Other than that, medical oxygen requires certification, and the same goes with the oxygen cylinder.

It is necessary to make sure that no impurities are found above a certain level for medical oxygen, not even added in by the cylinder itself. The welding oxygen tank, on the other hand, may not require certification for the cylinder.

In short, we can say that medical oxygen cylinders need to be evacuated and cleaned each time they are refilled, while it is not necessary for welding oxygen cylinders.

The price of the oxygen is also determined by the factor that how much pure it is and in which cylinder it is filled. The medical oxygen in this way will be a little bit more costly than the welding oxygen cylinder.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different types of oxygen?

Mainly, there are four types of oxygen gas, and that is aviation, medical, welding, and research. Each type is being used for particular reasons.

Is oxygen gas flammable or explosive?

Oxygen itself is not flammable or explosive, but it helps other fuels in burning more rapidly.

What are some uses of medical oxygen?

Medical oxygen is mainly used for life support, anesthetics and therapy.

What are important safety guidelines for medical oxygen?

Medical oxygen cylinder should be kept in an upright position and keep it away from any type of heat source. Do not light a matchstick or spark a flame when oxygen is in use in the room.

Does medical oxygen have an expiry date?

Medical oxygen cylinder can be used for three years, and after that, it needs to be refilled. Do not use an oxygen cylinder without a Doctor’s prescription.

What is the major role of oxygen in welding?

Oxygen gas is used in welding mainly because it helps in increasing the heat intensity and temperature. It becomes necessary when you are dealing with hard-core metal materials.

Is welding oxygen safe for breathing?

Industrial or welding oxygen does not contain any harmful substance; even then, it is not preferred for breathing.