Welding from the economic argon gas welding price is very costly as opposed to CO₂ – in 2024, liquid argon is being traded internationally on average for $0.8 / l ($320 per 40L cylinders), while liquid CO₂ costs a paltry $0.12 / L ($48 per cylinders of the same capacity). Taking welding of automobile chassis as a case, MIG argon blended welding (Ar+CO₂=80%:20%) single meter weld gas consumption of $0.35, compared to pure CO₂ welding ($0.18 / meter), increased by 94%, but the rate of sputtering reduction was reduced from 15% to 3%, and the subsequent grinding time decreased by 70%. A German auto production line estimates that after the use of argon shielded welding, the cost of single body welding, overall, increased from $54 to $62, but the quality claim rate dropped 1.2 percentage points, eliminating $2.3 million in the cost of after-sales activities over a year.
In terms of welding quality, TIG penetration control accuracy of ±0.2 mm (CO₂ welding ±0.5 mm), weld nitrogen content ≤0.008% (CO₂ welding 0.03%), especially suitable for aerospace titanium alloy components. In Boeing 787 fuselage skin welding, argon shielding prolongs the joint fatigue life to 120,000 cycles (80,000 CO₂ welding), conforming to FAA AC 20-107B requirements. In 304 stainless steel tube welding, pure argon shield oxidation area is less than 5% (35% for CO₂ welding), and pickling cost is reduced by 82%.
Compared with production efficiency, CO₂ welding deposition rate of 8 kg/h (3.5 kg/h for argon arc welding), used in thick plate (>10 mm) high-speed welding. For producing port crane boom, China Zhenhua Heavy Industry uses CO₂ gas welding to shorten the single welding cycle from 18 hours to 12 hours, but the deformation of welding is 2.1mm /m (argon arc welding 0.8mm /m) and adjustment process increases the working time by 23%. Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries also developed argon pulse MAG welding (frequency 250 Hz), in 6 mm aluminum alloy welding, speed was increased to 1.2 m/min (traditional CO₂ welding 0.8 m/min), porosity was reduced from 1.2% to 0.3%.
Environmental and safety factor, CO₂ welding smoke concentration up to 15 mg/m³ (argon arc welding 4 mg/m³), requires additional exhaust system (2.2 kW power, additional $1,850 yearly electricity bill). According to OSHA statistics, the respiratory disorder rate at CO₂ welding stations is 40% higher than that in argon arc welding, and the business medical expense is 2,300 US dollars per person a year. But argon is a risk of asphyxiation in confined Spaces (concentration >40% is hazardous), and the oxygen level dropped to 18.5% due to argon leakage in a 2023 Norwegian shipyard accident, necessitating an emergency evacuation and shutdown losses of $120,000.
In terms of special material adaptability, argon’s oxidation inhibition effect on magnesium alloy is 90% higher than CO₂, and argon-helium mixture (70%:30%) is used by CRRC Group to achieve the joint strength of 95% of the base material (CO₂ welding only 78%) in welding the body of high-speed iron aluminum-magnesium alloy. In high-strength steel welding (Q690D), CO₂+20%Ar alloying enhances the impact toughness to 89 J (-40°C), which is beneficial for polar equipment production than pure CO₂ welding (54 J). The pass rate of UT test in argon welding reaches 98.5% (CO₂ welding 93%) and the repair cost is reduced by 64% in accordance with AWS D1.1 standard.
The example of economic balance shows that Tesla Shanghai factory uses 82%Ar+18%CO₂ mixture in Model Y bottom plate welding, the welding cost of one car increases by $15, but the production line speed increases by 7%, the annual capacity increases by 120,000 vehicles, and the marginal revenue increases by $230 million. Budget constraint construction steel structure firms notwithstanding, CO₂ welding retains 83% of the market share – Beijing Daxing Airport steel structure project using CO₂ welding in a bid to save gas costs by 740,000 US dollars, through laser correction deformation control with tolerance within 1.5 mm/10 m.