Boz

I think the benefits, and costs for that matter are going to be pretty much dependent on a whole boat load of factors.

Material thickness

Position

Joint configuration

Semi Auto or Automated/robotic

Travel speed required

Penetration required

Tell us as much as you can about what kind of welds, materials and speeds you are trying to accomplish.. Than you will hear a bunch of answers comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each process.

Also........ Don't forget to have a look at MCAW if you are intending to do high speed fillets.

Neal Chapman, (A District Director) sells a weld cost comparison analysis program (uses MS Access).  It will help you with joint design variables, process variables Etc. I think it is called Weld Cost Express.  This will be very helpfull for CBA projects.

Hello bozaktwo1, if I am following your post correctly here you really aren't getting into the thick structural members with the welds that you are performing. In the 1/8" to 3/8" and even 1/2" materials, GMAW can serve you really well provided you pay some attention to the diameter of wire and shielding gas type. By coming up with the right diameter of wire and the correct choice of shielding gas you can serve your aesthetic and strength requirements very adequately. Also in this consideration, look at the cost per pound of wire comparing the solid wire to the flux-cored wires, generally the flux-cored wire will be considerably more expensive. Another consideration for the choice of one process over the other, has to do with the ability to position your work. If you have a considerable amount of out-of-position welding on say 3/8" and up materials, the FCAW/Gas would likely be a better choice. If you are galvanizing the products that you are fabricating, using GMAW will save some of the headaches associated with lack of proper slagging of finished welds. If you are manufacturing products that have a considerable amount of corner to corner fit-ups in the 1/8" to 1/4" range, using GMAW downhand may possibly save a lot of time and clean-up as opposed to trying to weld these joint configurations with FCAW/Gas. Welding speeds for the two processes can be very similar given correct choice of wire diameter and shielding gas, so this might be a wash if this is a consideration. You might very well consider using both processes and simply seperating the products that you manufacture. Using the GMAW for those that it best suits and using the FCAW/Gas process for those that it suits. Having both on hand might require a little bit more varied gas inventory, it would also likely require having a bit more variety of consumables, drive rolls, and wire inventory. But the end result might be the best and most economical overall fabrication set-up. Another consideration for this comparison would have to do with shop environment, meaning dirt, grime, and residue. If you are using a lot of FCAW/Gas and don't have good ventilation systems in place, you will have to live with much more smoke and with heavier particulates than you would with a bunch of GMAW going on. One other consideration that I just thought of that might be worth looking at, would have to do with the amount, if any, of full-penetration type weld joints that you might be doing, GMAW in many cases would allow these to be made without the use of a backing medium, whereas, FCAW/Gas might require a backing and then in some cases this might require removal of the backing after completion, adding to the cost and time. There certainly are many other things to consider and I would venture to guess that you will receive plenty of other suggestions from others here on the forum. Just my $.02 Regards, aevald