How to make the selection of welding electrodes or filler wire?
Looking for a Welding Electrode and Filler Wire Selection Chart? Access our comprehensive PDF guide to simplify your electrode and filler wire selection process. Discover the key factors to consider, such as base metal compatibility, welding position, and desired mechanical properties.
In this article, I have listed simple ways to guide Engineers to select Welding Electrodes and Filler wires for various materials based on my on-job experiences across various industries. If you find it useful, please share with your team. Make use of the Charts, Electrode selection guides for your learning.
The selection of the right welding electrodes or filler wire is an expert task performed by Welding Engineers based on factors:
- Base material types, grade e.g. Stainless steel or carbon steel, SS316, ASTM A106, etc.
- Similar material welding or dissimilar welding.
- Joining or weld overlay application.
- Metallurgy of the material, its physical, and chemical properties.
- Service conditions e.g. room temperature elevated temperature, deep-sea, etc.
- Type of available welding process.
- Availability of welding consumables in the market.
- Type of welding joint and applicable welding stresses.
- The thickness of the base metals to be joined
- Anticipated cost, and quality requirements.
These are the main summary of the points to be considered for choosing a welding electrode although there are various other associated factors that need to be considered too.
Finding Electrode for different types of materials
An easy way to find an electrode for a known type of material is via ASME Section IIC. ASME IIC contains 36 SFA from SFA 5.1 to SFA 5.36. A summary of these SFA numbers and their material types is shown in the below table.
Welding Electrode/ Filler wire/ Filler metal Selection guide
Use these charts to easily locate matching, suitable electrode or filler wire for welding to join various similar and dissimilar welding.
Welding electrode selection guide for Carbon steel, Low alloy steel, Cr-Mo Steel
Welding electrode selection for carbon steel to carbon steel, C-Mo, Cr-Mo & Nickel steels are given in the below chart. Most of the carbon steel is welded using an E7018 stick rod or ER70S-6 TIG/ MIG filler.
Carbon Steel Filler Metal Selector
Professional AWS Standard Selection Tool
How It Works
This tool selects filler metal based on AWS welding standards and field engineering practices:
- • AWS A5.1: SMAW electrodes (E6010, E7018, etc.)
- • AWS A5.18: GMAW & GTAW wires (ER70S-6, ER70S-2)
- • Standard Compliance: Considers strength matching, impact toughness, and service conditions.
These electrode’s deposit strength is higher than most commonly used carbon steel such as ASTM A36, ASTM A 516, S275 or S375, ASTM 105, A106, etc.
Refer to the below chart to find dissimilar weld combinations also. For example, if you wish to weld Carbon steel to 5Cr-1/2Mo, you can use E7018, E8018-B2, or E8018-B3 Stick rod or their equivalent TIG/ MIG filler such as ER70S-6, ER80S-B2 or ER80SB-3.
Cr-Mo Steel Filler Metal Selector
Professional Grade Selection for High-Temperature Service
Welding electrode selection guide for Carbon steel to stainless steel, All Stainless Steel
The below chart gives very detailed guidelines for stick welding (SMAW) or equivalent TIG/MIG filler wires for different types of stainless steel welding.
In these consumables, XX means -15/ -16 or -17 type. For example, E309L-XX, you can use either E309L-15 or E309L-16, or E309-17.
When choosing stainless steel electrodes, it is very essential to consider the matching electrodes to ensure the right corrosion protection properties of the weldment.
Welding electrode selection guide for Duplex Stainless steel, Duplex to carbon steel and Stainless steel
Use this chart to find welding electrodes for welding duplex stainless steel, Super Duplex stainless steel, and welding Duplex stainless steel to Carbon steel, stainless steel, and Nickel alloys.
TIG/ MIG equivalent of these given stick electrodes/ SMAW Electrodes are:
- E2209 = ER2209
- E2553 = ER2553
- E2594 = ER2594
- E309L, E309LMo = ER309L/ ER309LMo
- ENiCrMo10/ ENiCrMo14 =ERNiCrMo-10/ ERNiCrMo-10
Stainless Steel Filler Metal Selector
Austenitic, Duplex, Ferritic, Martensitic & Dissimilar Welding
This tool follows international AWS standards for stainless steel welding:
• AWS A5.4 → SMAW Electrodes (E308L, E316L, etc.)
• AWS A5.9 → TIG/MIG Bare Wires (ER308L, ER316L, etc.)
Selection logic ensures matching corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, and proper phase balance (Ferrite control).
Welding rod sizes doesn’t affect the welding electrode selection as it doesn’t affect the material mechanical properties in any manner.
Alloy & Dissimilar Metal Selector
Advanced Engineering Logic for Complex Metallurgy
Material Grade 1:
Welding Process:
Dr. Sandeep Kumar
Dr. Sandeep Kumar is a distinguished NDT Expert holding the prestigious ASNT NDT Level III certification. Backed by a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Welding Engineering, he provides expert insights into material inspection, quality assurance, and flaw detection. Dr. Kumar is dedicated to advancing NDT practices through education and technical leadership.
