Low-voltage GMAW transfer in which the wire tip dips into the pool, shorts, pinches off a droplet and re-arcs, roughly 20 to 200 times a second. Low heat input suits thin sheet, root passes and out-of-position work, but it is prone to lack of fusion on thick sections, so AWS D1.1 does not prequalify it and any structural procedure using it must be qualified by test. It makes the frying-bacon sound new welders learn to tune for.
Short-circuit transfer isn't prequalified for that 1-inch flange, run spray or qualify a procedure.
Also heard as
- short arc
- short circuiting transfer
- dip transfer
- GMAW-S
Related terms
GMAW
Gas metal arc welding: a continuously fed wire electrode shielded by gas, known in the shop as MIG.
Spray transfer
GMAW mode in which a stream of fine droplets sprays across the arc, giving high deposition and deep fusion.
Lack of fusion
Weld metal that failed to fuse with the base metal or a previous pass at some boundary.
Cold lap
Shop term for weld metal that rolls over onto the base metal or a previous bead without fusing to it.