Originally Posted by
dscheidt
Because it does? GMAW welding is about an order of magnitude faster than tig. If you look at what industry does, you'll clearly see that anything that can reasonably GMAW welded is, and that tig is reserved for materials ill-suited for the common GMAW processes, or where appearance of the joint matters, or where precise control of the heat affected zone is required.
Correct.
GMAW is also well suited for robot controlled welding, which lowers production cost and is 2 to 3 times faster than GTAW, an important consideration for cost effective, high production runs.
Bottom line, there is NO single 'best' process. They all have distinct advantages and disadvantages.