©
COPYRIGHT 1998 THE ESAB GROUP, INC. LESSON
II 2.4.6.2
The curved neck or "goose neck" type
is probably the most commonly used. It allows
the best access to a variety of weld joints. The wire is pushed to this
type of gun by the feed
rolls in the wire feeder through a feed cable or conduit that usually is 10 or
12 feet in length.
The shielding gas hose, welding current cable, and trigger switch leads
are supplied with
the welding gun. 2.4.6.3
The pistol type gun is similar to the
curved neck type, but is less adaptable for difficult
to reach joints. The pistol type is also a "push" type gun and is more suitable
for gas metal
arc spot welding applications. 2.4.6.4
The self contained type has an electric
motor in the handle and feed rolls that pull the wire
from a 1 or 2 pound spool mounted on the gun. The need for a long wire feed
cable is eliminated,
and wire feed speed may be controlled by the gun. Guns of this type are
often used for
aluminum wire up to .045" diameter, although they may also be used for feeding
steel or other
hard wires. 2.4.6.5
The pull type gun has either an electric
motor or an air motor mounted in the handle that
is coupled to a feeding mechanism in the gun. The spool of wire is located
in the control cabinet
that may be located as far as fifty feet from the gun. When feeding such
long distances,
a set of "push" rolls located in the control cabinet assist in feeding the wire.
This then
becomes known as a push-pull feed system and is especially useful in feeding the
softer wires such
as aluminum. 2.4.7
SHIELDING
GASES -
In gas metal arc welding, there are a variety of shielding
gases that can be used, either alone
or in combinations of varying degrees. The choice is
dependent on the type of metal transfer
employed, the type and thickness of metal, the bead CURVED
NECK PISTOL TYPE
SELF CONTAINED
PULL TYPE SEMI-AUTOMATIC
GMAW GUN TYPES FIGURE
15
