A Guide to 10 Welding Methods (And Why TIG & Laser Lead the Pack)

In modern manufacturing, fabrication, and repair, the process of joining metal is a fundamental necessity. But not all joints are created equal, and neither are the methods used to create them. With a diverse array of welding technologies available, from century-old arc methods to cutting-edge laser beams, selecting the right one is a critical decision that impacts cost, speed, quality, and structural integrity.

This guide will walk you through 10 common welding methods before taking a deep dive into the two technologies that are defining the future of precision and productivity: Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) Welding and Fiber Laser Welding.

A Snapshot of 10 Welding Methods：

The Broad Spectrum of Welding: A Quick Comparison

To understand why TIG and Laser are so significant, let’s first briefly survey the landscape.

The Traditional Arc “Workhorses”

• 1.Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW): Often called “stick welding,” this is the most traditional and common method. It uses a consumable, flux-covered electrode.
  • Pros: Highly portable, inexpensive, and excellent for outdoor, windy conditions (the flux provides the shield).
  • Cons: Slow, produces significant spatter and slag that must be cleaned, and weld quality is highly dependent on operator skill.
• 2.Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW/MIG): Commonly known as “MIG welding” (or CO2 welding when using that gas), this method uses a continuous solid-wire electrode fed through a welding gun, with a shielding gas to protect the weld pool.
  • Pros: Much faster than SMAW, easier to learn, and capable of high production speeds.
  • Cons: Less portable than SMAW, and the gas shield is sensitive to wind. Can have issues with “burn-through” on thin materials.
• 3.Submerged Arc Welding (SAW): A high-productivity, automated process where the arc is “submerged” under a blanket of granular flux.
  • Pros: Extremely fast deposition rates for thick steel, high-quality deep-penetrating welds.
  • Cons: Limited to flat or horizontal positions and requires bulky automation.

High-Speed & Specialized Methods

• 4.Resistance Spot Welding: Used extensively in the automotive industry. It joins overlapping sheets of metal by applying pressure and passing a strong electrical current through the joint.
  • Pros: Extremely fast (fractions of a second per weld), no consumables, and perfect for automation.
  • Cons: Limited to specific joint types (lap joints).
• 5.Flash Butt Welding: A high-speed process where two workpieces are brought together, an arc “flashes” to heat the ends, and they are then forced together.
  • Pros: Creates a full-area, high-strength joint, often stronger than the base metal.
  • Cons: Requires specialized, powerful machinery.
• 6.Friction Welding: A solid-state method where one part is rotated at high speed and forced against a stationary part, generating heat from friction to forge them together.
  • Pros: Joins dissimilar materials (e.g., aluminum to steel), creates a high-integrity bond with no filler.
  • Cons: Limited to specific geometries (often cylindrical).

Lower-Temperature Joining

• 7.Brazing : Uses a filler metal with a melting point above 450°C (but below the base metal’s) to join parts via capillary action.
  • Pros: Can join dissimilar materials (like copper to steel), minimal thermal distortion.
  • Cons: Joint strength is lower than a true weld.
• 8.Soldering : Similar to brazing, but uses a filler metal (solder) with a melting point below 450°C.
  • Pros: Excellent for delicate electronics and plumbing, very low heat input.
  • Cons: Low structural strength, used primarily for electrical conductivity or sealing.

The Champions of Modern Fabrication: TIG and Laser

The eight methods above have their place, but they often force a compromise: speed or quality, portability or precision. This is where the last two methods, TIG and Laser, have risen to dominance by offering superior solutions, especially when enhanced by modern technology.

9. TIG Welding (GTAW): The Gold Standard for Precision

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), or TIG, uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to create the arc. The weld pool is shielded by an inert gas (typically Argon), and a filler rod is often fed into the joint by hand.

The Advantages:

• Unmatched Quality: TIG produces exceptionally clean, high-purity, and precise welds.
• Aesthetic Finish: It creates the classic “stack of dimes” bead that is a hallmark of quality craftsmanship, requiring no cleanup.
• No Spatter: The stable arc and inert gas mean zero spatter.
• Versatility: Can weld a wider range of metals and alloys (stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, etc.) than any other process.

The “Traditional” Problem: Manual TIG welding is notoriously slow and requires a highly skilled, experienced operator to achieve these results. This creates a significant bottleneck in production.

The Modern Solution: All-Position Automatic Orbital TIG Welding What if you could achieve perfect TIG quality, every single time, at a faster pace, without a master welder? This is the promise of automation.

At Shiguang Laser, we partner with industry leaders to provide All-Position Automatic Orbital TIG Tube Welders. These systems clamp a specialized weld head onto a pipe or tube and perform a perfect 360-degree weld automatically.

• Real-World Application: In industries like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and high-purity piping engineering, a single microscopic flaw or crack in a weld can lead to contamination and catastrophic failure. Our automatic TIG systems are trusted in these environments to deliver:
  • 100% Repeatability: Every weld is identical, with full penetration and a perfectly smooth internal bead.
  • Documented Quality: The intelligent power source (like the AW200 or AW400) logs all weld parameters for quality control.
  • Productivity: The system completes a flawless weld in a fraction of the time it would take even a master welder.

10. Laser Welding: The New Benchmark for Speed and Versatility

Laser welding uses a highly concentrated beam of light to melt and fuse materials. The energy density is so high that it can weld with incredible speed and minimal heat input.

The Advantages:

• Extreme Speed: As our data shows, handheld laser welding can be 4 to 10 times faster than traditional TIG welding.
• Minimal Heat Affected Zone (HAZ): The heat is focused on a tiny spot, resulting in negligible deformation or warping. This is critical for thin materials.
• Superior Quality: Creates deep, narrow, and aesthetically pleasing seams with high strength.
• Ease of Use: This is the game-changer. A traditional welder takes years to master. An operator can be trained to produce high-quality laser welds in as little as 30 minutes.

The “Traditional” Problem: For decades, laser welding was confined to massive, multi-million dollar robotic cells, making it inaccessible for most shops.

The Modern Solution: The 4-in-1 Multifunctional Handheld Laser Welder The revolution is here. Our 4-in-1 Multifunctional Handheld Fiber Laser Welder puts the power of an industrial laser into a flexible, portable, and affordable package. It completely redefines workshop productivity by combining four functions into one device:

1. Welding: For fast, beautiful seams on stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, and more.
2. Cutting: Provides clean, quick cutting capabilities for sheet metal preparation.
3. Cleaning (Pre-Weld): Instantly vaporizes rust, oil, and oxides before welding.
4. Cleaning (Post-Weld): Removes weld discoloration (heat tint) for a perfect, clean finish, eliminating the need for post-weld grinding or chemical polishing.

• Real-World Application (Data-Backed):
  • In Sheet Metal Fabrication (e.g., kitchen equipment, cabinets, automotive components): A fabricator welding a stainless steel range hood traditionally requires a skilled TIG welder (slow) and a second worker to grind and polish the seams (messy and time-consuming).
  • With our 4-in-1 Handheld Laser: A single operator can weld the seam 4x faster. With a simple change of the nozzle and settings, they can then clean the weld bead in seconds. This single machine boosts energy efficiency by 80-90% and can replace two or three workers, dramatically increasing output and eliminating the entire post-processing bottleneck.

Conclusion: Welding in the 21st Century

While traditional methods like stick and MIG welding will always have their place, they cannot compete with the demands of modern manufacturing for precision, speed, and minimal distortion.

The choice is no longer just about joining two pieces of metal. It’s about a total process—from preparation to final finish.

• For applications demanding absolute, verifiable purity and joint integrity, Automatic Orbital TIG Welding is the undisputed champion.
• For applications demanding high speed, low distortion, and ultimate versatility, the 4-in-1 Handheld Laser Welder is the clear future.

Don’t let outdated, slow, and labor-intensive welding processes determine your bottom line. The technology to revolutionize your production is here.

Contact the Shiguang Laser team today to schedule a demo and discover if our Automatic TIG or 4-in-1 Laser solutions are the right fit for you.