One of the versions of the Plasma-MIG process is basically a combination of a Plasma arc with a MIG/MAG arc in a single torch. With this association, the advantages of each arc are searched. The main characteristic of it is the independence between the heat input by the process and the deposited material, resulting in greater facility for control the bead weld geometry. In current literature, there are shortage of information related to the process, and most of them remote from 70’s and 80’s years, when the available technology was not able to make the process viable for the industry. However, in the last years, the diffusion of new electronic power sources used in welding brought up again the interest in Plasma-MIG process. In this context, this work aimed to contribute to the studies related to the influence of the MIG and Plasma current balance on the geometry of the bead weld and wire fusion rate. Bead-on-plates weld were carried out with a Plasma and MIG/MAG current combinations at 3 levels each, keeping, by welding speed corrections, the bead volume the same. It was observed that the introduction of the Plasma current over the MIG/MG current reduces penetration and dilution and lead to less convex beads. On the other hand, the use of Plasma current increases the MIG/MAG wire fusion rate. However, it seems that the intensity of the Plasma current is not the governing parameter on those changes.
Welding; Plasma-MIG; Hybrid Arc
