Yeah, that's pretty much the explanation I give as well and we often cut mig wire when we need smaller diameter than what we have available in tig rod. My students come up with some interesting questions sometimes. I have also had the question of why do they use the R for rod in mig since it is spooled, the other student will say its because it is solid rod rolled onto a spool, the other- no that's what the S is for to indicate solid you don't use S for FCAW its T for tubular and it doesn't use R in its classification, well its R to indicate it is not a consumable insert or in another consumable form, the other- well then why don't they use R in SMAW it is in rod form, well probably it has a flux coating, and so on and so on. I quess its good they are interested and they think but sometimes I want them to just shut up and weld.
Depending upon the application of the weld you may wish to acetone the wire if using GMAW for GTAW since many spooled wires will come with drawing compound still on them whereas the GTAW cut wires don't.
it sounds like people are reading too much into this. The specifications are mostly to classify thing rather than be a definitive literal description so things get a nominal naming and it doesn't change for decades. for example technically most MIG welding is actually MAG welding, not a lot of people make this distinction though.
When a supplier delivers GTAW welding rod it usually is the exact same composition and batch as GMAW wire it's just straigthened cleaned and cut to a usable length. one company I worked at did just buy spools of GMAW wire for stainless steel because we mostly did MIG and the few times we did need to do GTaw on stainless steel it was easy enough to snip a piece off and use it.
And technically you could use a straight rod of wire for GMAW assuming you had a straight barrel torch.
Anyways the reason FCAW has T is because it nominally stands for tubular and also the composition varies as it has fluxes and may gain or lose alloying elements from it. T came at a later date, so if wire does not have T its assumed to be solid, no need to spell it out unless you plan on providing wire as a liquid.
If calling mig spools ER really bothers some people just tell them the R stands for "roll" as in a roll of wire.
We have some lively discussions in the welding course which is good but I agree they tend to read too much into things. I am a stickler for them understanding the classifications for when they get out into the real world though. I keep telling them that welding in the booth is the best they will ever have it so they better get damn good in here. I don't discourage them from discussing these things though. They will argue during breaks and challenge each others knowledge on certian subjects which is good.
As far as the R for roll, I never heard that one. It's funny.
Another entry for the upcoming edition of the Farm Code.
Best regards - Al
GMAW-S stands for spool, as in use a spool gun.
glad I could provide some entertainment.
I love it.
You should see some of the responses I get for tungsten electrode classifications.
One I loved, which the student put as a joke after he answered it correctly, was an answer for what does EWTh-2 mean.
His answer: Electric Welding That's hard and only 2% of my welds look good.
His answer (ironically) for EWP: what you should put on my evaluation "Exceptional Welding Potential"
You obviously gave him one bonus point for creativity. I am curious as to rather he knew enough serious answers to pass?
Have a Great Day, Brent
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