Carbon Steel
Carbon steel MIG wire may be supplied either copper-coated or copper-free. There are many grades of carbon steel, and wires are selected to match mechanical properties and composition. It is supplied in a range of diameters and pack weights.
Carbon steel MIG wires are used for welding a wide range of carbon steels. Although there is a limited number of grades available, these cover most of the carbon steels fabricated.
In carbon steels, elements such as manganese and silicon are added to improve the mechanical properties. In MIG welding carbon steels, the shielding gases used contain amounts of carbon dioxide and/or oxygen to help arc stability or improve the weld bead characteristics. These gases oxidise elements within the steel, notably manganese and silicon. To counter this, more deoxidising elements are needed and these are added via the filler wire.
The higher the oxidation potential of the shielding gas, the more deoxidising elements need to be added.
It is usual when welding carbon steels to select a filler wire that most closely matches the mechanical properties and the chemical composition of the parent plate. Each steel must be treated separately in terms of filler metal selection, although one filler wire may be suitable for welding a variety of different steels.
Types
Carbon steel MIG wires can be divided into two main groups:
- Double-deoxidised types
- Triple-deoxidised types
Double-deoxidised MIG Wires
The most common general-purpose group of MIG wires, having chemical compositions with less than 0.12% carbon, between 0.9 and 2% manganese, and about 1% silicon. Within this category there are several groups of consumables with varying levels of manganese and silicon.
Typical Double-deoxidised Carbon Steel MIG Wires |
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| Type | %C | %Mn | %Si | %S | %P | %Cu | ||||||
| G2Si* | 0.06-0.14 | 0.9-1.3 | 0.5-0.8 | 0.025 | 0.025 | 0.35 | ||||||
| G3Sil* | 0.06-0.14 | 1.3-1.6 | 0.7-1.0 | 0.025 | 0.025 | 0.35 | ||||||
| ER70-S3# | 0.06-0.15 | 0.9-1.4 | 0.45-0.75 | 0.035 | 0.025 | 0.50 | ||||||
| ER70-S6# | 0.06-0.15 | 1.4-1.85 | 0.8-1.15 | 0.035 | 0.025 | 0.50 | ||||||
| ES3+ | 0.06-0.15 | 0.90-1.40 | 0.45-0.75 | 0.035 | 0.025 | 0.50 | ||||||
| ES6+ | 0.06-0.15 | 1.40-1.85 | 0.80-1.15 | 0.035 | 0.025 | 0.50 | ||||||
Single figures are maxima
* European Specification, EN 440
# American Specification, AWS A5.18
+ Australian/New Zealand Standard, AS/NZS 2717.1
All wires are produced to conform to chemical specifications and mechanical property requirements. The deposited weld metal is required to meet minimum values of tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and impact strength. These wires are capable of giving high-quality welds, meeting radiographic standards, and having good mechanical properties, with as-welded tensile strength up to 600N/mm2, and including impacts to -30°C, or lower.
Triple-deoxidised MIG Wires
Triple-deoxidised wires have lower carbon, silicon and manganese levels than double-deoxidised types because they also contain other deoxidising elements. The extra elements used include aluminium, titanium and zirconium. These wires are best suited for welding on rusty or scaled plate because they can give high-quality welds in these circumstances. They are also used when pure carbon dioxide is used as a shielding gas, due to its much higher oxidation potential than Argoshield, argon-carbon dioxide and argon-oxygen mixtures.
Typical Triple-deoxidised Carbon Steel MIG Wires |
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| Type | %C | %Mn | %Si | %S | %P | %Cu | %Al | Others | ||||
| G2Ti* | 0.06-0.14 | 0.9-1.4 | 0.4-0.8 | 0.025 | 0.025 | 0.35 | 0.05-0.2 | 0.25-0.5%Ti + Zr | ||||
| ER70S-2# | 0.07 | 0.9-1.4 | 0.4-0.7 | 0.035 | 0.025 | 0.5 | 0.05-0.15 | 0.05-0.15%Ti 0.12-0.2%Zr | ||||
| ES2+ | 0.07 | 0.9-1.4 | 0.4-0.7 | 0.035 | 0.025 | 0.5 | 0.05-0.15 | 0.05-0.15%Ti 0.02-0.12%Zr | ||||
Single figures are maxima
* European Specification, EN 440
# American Specification, AWS A5.18
+ Australian/New Zealand Standard, AS/NZS 2717.1
Wires are produced to conform to chemical specifications and mechanical property requirements. The deposited weld metal is required to meet minimum values of tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and impact strength. All-weld metal tensile strengths up to 600N/mm2 are attainable, together with impacts to -20°C.
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