FCAW - Flux Core Welding Guide

FCAW Flux Core Welding, also known as Flux Core Arc Welding or FCAW for short is a welding form that does not require shielding gas cylinders as part of the welding set up. This may sound strange to many but will become clear as we explain how flux core welding works.

Flux core welding is an arc type of welding that was created in the 1950's when it was saw that there was a need for an alternative and less restrictive welding type to that of shielded metal arc welding.

Like shielded metal arc welding flux core welding uses a semi-automatic or an automatic welding process with a welding wire being fed through the welding torch. The difference between the two is that shielded metal arc welding requires a gas cylinder to produce the shielding gas required for welding, while FCAW does not need a gas cylinder as the tubular welding wire contains a flux core that when heated produces the required shielding gas.

This flux core works by containing chemicals that when heated to the right temperature combine to produce the shielding gas needed for the weld to take place.

Flux core welding does have a couple of cons when compared to the older shielded metal arc welding and these are that smoke can be caused by the flux when heated that makes it more difficult to see the work being welded and if the welder is inexperienced the weld can be inferior to that of shielded metal arc welding.

This being said overall FCAW is actually a very important and well used form of welding because of its versatility. The fact that flux core welding does not require a shielding gas cylinder means that the welder is a lot more maneuverable to other welding types and only one person is required to move the welder.

This versatility means that many welders who work out in the open or on site in large premises where there is a need to move the welder around frequently tend to choose flux core welding over any other welding type. In fact many on site welders will use flux core welding for a multitude of different welding jobs because of its versatility the ease of use.

The only area where flux core arc welding is not suitable is in industries such as the automotive industry where the final product requires painting for aesthetic value rather than simply protecting the metal surface.