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Economics The
mig process can afford the user considerable cost savings when compared to other
welding processes. The
question that usually arises is whether mig will save me
money and should I use it. Most
commonly, the question
concerns a comparison to the shielded metal arc (stick electrode) process. The
only way one can decide
if the savings with the mig process can pay back the investment in new equipment,
welder training and
production changes is to evaluate it for your
shop and your product.
In order to determine this, cost studies
must be made. This section presents general techniques and related information
for estimating the welding
cost. The most
important factors in determining the welding cost are labor requirements, overhead
allocations, and
materials. Labor requirements and associated overhead allocation dominate the
cost. However, there are
many manufactured procedures associated with a completed weldment other than just
the welding where
the mig process affords economic benefits. These include weld cleaning, metal
finishing, reduced inspection
time, and a reduced number of defects. Other factors affecting the cost may be
available fixturing,
materials handling, work rules, customer requirements, welding fumes, etc. The
importance of these
areas will vary greatly from shop to shop, so they will not be included in this
discussion. However, you must
consider them. The
greatest incentives to investigate mig are the case histories over the past quarter
century. In those shops
where welding is a significant part of the product cost, the cost of a weldment
has been reduced by about
40% to 50% by using the mig process. The
standard formula presented for the major cost factors associated with making the
weld can be used for any
electric welding process.
