Also known as stick welding. Electric current is used to strike an arc between the base material and consumable electrode rod, which is made of steel and is covered with a flux that protects the weld area from oxidation and contamination by producing CO 2 gas during the welding process. The process is generally limited to welding ferrous materials.

Also known as metal inert gas or MIG welding, is a semi-automatic or automatic process that uses a continuous wire feed as an electrode and an inert or semi-inert gas mixture to protect the weld from contamination. Since the electrode is continuous, welding speeds are greater for GMAW than for SMAW. The equipment required to perform the GMAW process is more complex and expensive than that required for SMAW, and requires a more complex setup procedure. GMAW is well suited to production welding. The process can be applied to a wide variety of metals, both ferrous and non-ferrous

Related to GMAW, it uses similar equipment but uses wire consisting of a steel electrode surrounding a powder fill material. This cored wire is more expensive than the standard solid wire and can generate slag, but it permits even higher welding speed and greater metal penetration

Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is a manual welding process that uses a tungsten electrode, an inert or semi-inert gas mixture, and a separate filler material. Especially useful for welding thin materials, this method is characterized by a stable arc and high quality welds, but it requires significant operator skill and can only be accomplished at relatively low speeds. GTAW can be used on nearly all weldable metals, though it is most often applied to stainless steel and light metals.