What Typical Duty Cycles Are Achieved When Arc Welding? - TWI Global

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What typical duty cycles are achieved when arc welding?

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Frequently Asked Questions

The term duty cycle is used to describe the amount of time spent depositing weld metal (the arcing period) as a percentage of the total time taken to complete a weld. In the USA, the duty cycle is called the Operator Factor.

With the MMA process, frequent interruptions are required to allow for slag removal, inter-run dressing and changing the electrode. Consequently, the duty cycle can be quite low.

At the other extreme, a high duty cycle is possible from a programmed robot because it may be able to weld continuously for long periods with only short interruptions to allow for the work-piece to be manipulated.

While the duty cycle for each welding process will vary according to factors such as type of work, access to joints and the working practices of a particular organisation, it is possible to allocate some typical values such as those shown in the table below.

Some typical duty cycles for workshop welding

Welding process	Duty cycle
	Typical (%)	Range (%)
MMA (SMAW)	~25%	15 to 40%
MIG/MAG (GMAW) - semi-automatic	~45%	15 to 60%
MIG/MAG (GMAW) - automatic	~90%	50 to 100%
FCAW - semi-automatic	~40%	15 to 55%
SAW - mechanised	~40%	40 to 90%

It is important to note that the term duty cycle is also used to rate welding power sources and refers to the maximum welding current that they can be used for a particular operating time.

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