Helium additions to MIG shielding gas - an economic option?

Galloway, Alexander and McPherson, Norman and Gillies, Andrew (2011) Helium additions to MIG shielding gas - an economic option? Welding and Cutting, 10 (2). pp. 118-121. ISSN 1612-3433

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Abstract

An investigation has been carried out to establish the technical and economic benefits of adding two levels of helium to a normal shielding gas. Technically no adverse issues were established using the two levels of helium, and the most significant positive one was the highly beneficial effects on travel speed increase and heat input decrease. Although helium gas carries a significant cost premium, the economic evaluation showed that overall this was a beneficial approach as the man-hour reduction associated with the welding process dominated the process cost effects.