Metal fabricating and welding glossary - G

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Gage or Gauge

The thickness of sheet or the diameter of wire. The various standards are arbitrary and differ with regard to ferrous and non-ferrous products as well as sheet and wire. An aid for visual inspection that enables an inspector to determine more reliably whether the size or contour of a formed part meets dimensional requirements. The ability of a material to under go plastic deformation without fracture. A device used to position work in a die accurately. Another name for a checking fixture which is used to check parts.

Gas flame cutting

A metal cutting process that utilizes rapid oxidation of the metal by a jet of pressurized oxygen. Gas flame cutting is most commonly used in the manufacturing of heavy equipment and used in construction of structural members for buildings, and also in repair work. It is used to cut ferrous metals by rapid oxidation of a narrow, heated, zone. In industrial applications, oxy-fuel cutting is the predominant flame process for cutting of mild and low-alloy steels.

Gas metal arc welding (GMAW)

A welding process in which a piece of electrically charged wire being fed through a pistol grip type handle completes an electrical arc with the pieces being welded. The electrical arc provides the heat source and the advancing wire provides filler material for the weld bead. Simultaneously, inert gas flows through the end of the pistol grip type handle along with the wire. This inert gas floods a few square centimeters of work area to prevent the problems that can arise from oxidation. This welding process is used where deep penetration is necessary, speed in production is necessary, larger pieces are being joined, and the cosmetic appearance of the bead is of little concern. Gas metal arc welding is also referred to as wire feed welding and MIG welding.

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)

A welding process in which an electrical arc is struck at the tip of a tungsten stylus by completing an electrical circuit through the piece being welded and the stylus. Simultaneously, inert gas flows over the stylus and floods a few square centimeters of work area to prevent the problems that can arise from oxidation. While the electrical arc is being maintained as a heat source, filler rod is added to the weld bead area to join the two pieces of parent metal. This type of welding process is used where a neat clean weld bead is desired, where deep penetration is needed, where oxidation presents problems, where speed in production is necessary, or where robotics will be used. Gas tungsten arc welding is also referred to as TIG welding (Tungsten Inert Gas) and Heli-Arc welding.

Grooving

A machining operation that uses a single-point cutoff tool to sever a complete section of a workpiece from the raw stock cutting grooves to a specified depth in one pass by a form tool. Grooving does not sever a complete section from the workpiece. In both parting and grooving, a tool moves radially with respect to a rotating workpiece. See Tapping, Turning, Machining, and Milling.

Before-and-after illustration of the grooving operation.

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