What Does Welding Wire Mean?

Welding wire is commercially available in a variety of types and classifications. Different welding jobs and base metal materials require a corresponding welding wire that is appropriate for the application.

Welding wires are gas-shielded electrodes with a range of mechanical properties, arc behavior, quality and cost. Three main types of welding wires are:

1. Solid gas metal arc welding (GMAW) wire
2. Composite GMAW (metal-cored) wire
3. Gas-shielded flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) wire

Once the appropriate wire type is determined, it is important to select the correct wire diameter and chemistry for the application. Wire burn-back is a potential downside if the wrong wire is used for a given application due to an incompatibility with the base metal being welded.