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MIG welding settings chart: voltage, wire speed and gas by metal thickness

1/8" mild steel with .035 wire and C25 gas: 112 – 138 A, 16.2 – 18.2 V, 180.0 – 220.0 ipm of wire, short-circuit. That is the starting point for a test bead. It comes from the old shop rule of about 1 amp per 0.001" of thickness, and WeldMaster's free MIG calculator runs that math for any thickness, wire and gas, telling you when spray transfer makes more sense.

4 min read · Updated 2026-09-15

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How is a MIG settings chart built?

Roughly one amp for every thousandth of an inch of metal. That's the whole rule most charts start from. Voltage follows the amperage, and wire feed speed is the amperage times a burn rate that depends on the wire diameter — a thinner wire has to feed faster to carry the same current, which is why .023 spool looks like it's unwinding in a hurry next to .035.

WeldMaster shows its working, so you can check every number against the rule yourself:

  • Amperage: thickness in inches × 1000, then ±10%. Stainless uses 85% of that.
  • Short-circuit voltage: rises from 13 V at 40 A to 19 V at 200 A, with a 2 V window above it.
  • Wire feed: amps × 3.5 for .023, × 2.1 for .030, × 1.6 for .035 and × 1.15 for .045, in inches per minute.
  • Gas flow: 20 – 25 CFH in short-circuit, 30 – 35 CFH in spray. Polarity is always DCEP for solid wire.

What is the MIG wire speed and voltage chart from 16 gauge to 1/4"?

WeldMaster MIG results in Imperial units
Metal and thicknessWire, gasAmperageVoltageWire feedTransfer
Mild steel, 16 ga (0.0598").030, C2554 – 66 A13.7 – 15.7 V113.0 – 138.1 ipmShort-circuit
Mild steel, 1/8".035, C25112 – 138 A16.2 – 18.2 V180.0 – 220.0 ipmShort-circuit
Mild steel, 3/16".035, C25169 – 206 A18.5 – 20.5 V270.0 – 330.0 ipmShort-circuit, with a warning
Mild steel, 3/16".035, 90Ar/10CO₂169 – 206 A22.8 – 24.3 V270.0 – 330.0 ipmSpray
Mild steel, 1/4".045, 90Ar/10CO₂225 – 275 A25.4 – 26.9 V258.8 – 316.2 ipmSpray
Stainless, 16 ga.030, 98Ar/2CO₂46 – 56 A13.4 – 15.4 V96.1 – 117.4 ipmShort-circuit
Aluminum, 3/16".035, 100% Argon169 – 206 A22.8 – 24.3 V270.0 – 330.0 ipmSpray

Gas flow is 20.0 – 25.0 CFH on every short-circuit row and 30.0 – 35.0 CFH on the spray rows. The aluminum row also carries a note: over 1/8", aluminum is easier to weld in spray or pulsed spray with 100% argon.

How do you get MIG settings in WeldMaster?

  1. Open MIG from Calculators on the main screen. It is free, with no lock on any material.
  2. Under Material, pick Mild Steel, Stainless or Aluminum.
  3. Set Thickness: tap a preset (24 ga, 16 ga, 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 3/8" or 1/2"), drag the slider or use the stepper in 0.005" steps. The readout shows the fraction, the decimal inch and the millimetres.
  4. Under Consumables, choose the Wire Size on your spool and the Shielding Gas in your bottle. The gas list only shows gases that suit the material.
  5. Read Suggested Settings: Amperage, Voltage, Wire Feed, Gas Flow, Transfer and Polarity, plus any warning under them.
  6. With Pro, tap Save to keep what worked in My Setups.

Short-circuit or spray: when does MIG switch?

The app picks spray transfer when the metal is 3/16" or thicker and the gas can spray: 90Ar/10CO₂, 98Ar/2CO₂, Tri-Mix or 100% Argon. With C25 or 100% CO₂ it stays in Short-Circuit and tells you why: C25 has too much CO₂ to spray, so switch to 90/10 or a higher-argon mix, or stay in short-circuit.

That is why the two 3/16" rows in the table have the same amps and wire speed but different voltage: 18.5 – 20.5 V in short-circuit with C25, 22.8 – 24.3 V in spray with 90/10.

What are good MIG settings for thin metal?

On thin sheet, wire size matters most. The app suggests .023 under 18 gauge (0.0478"), .030 up to 1/8", .035 up to 1/4" and .045 above that, and warns when your choice differs. Its own default, 1/8" with .030, shows that warning on purpose: the usual pick for 1/8" is .035.

On 16 gauge the range starts at 54 A. If you blow holes, drop to the low end, move faster or stitch, and open the free Burn-Through entry under Troubleshooting.

What are MIG settings in metric?

Switch Measurement System to Metric in Settings and the results change units. The 1/8" mild steel example then reads 4.6 – 5.6 m/min of wire and 9.4 – 11.8 L/min of gas, and the spray rows read 14.2 – 16.5 L/min. Wire sizes stay in inches.

What are common MIG setting mistakes?

  • Reading the range as one number instead of a window. Start in the middle, run a bead on scrap, then adjust voltage and wire speed together. Burning ten minutes of scrap is better than finding out mid-joint.
  • Chasing spray with C25. It will not spray; change the gas or stay in short-circuit.
  • Using the single-pass amps on thick plate. From 3/8" up the rule gives 338 – 413 A, more than most machines have; weld in passes, as your procedure says.

Questions and answers

What MIG settings for 16 gauge steel?
With .030 wire and C25, WeldMaster gives 54 – 66 A, 13.7 – 15.7 V and 113.0 – 138.1 ipm in short-circuit, at 20.0 – 25.0 CFH. Start in the middle of the range and keep moving; 16 gauge burns through easily.
Does wire size change the voltage?
Not in WeldMaster. Amperage and voltage come from the material and thickness; the wire size only changes the wire feed speed, because a thinner wire must feed faster to carry the same current.
Is the MIG calculator free for stainless and aluminum too?
Yes. The whole MIG screen is free, with Mild Steel, Stainless and Aluminum and every wire size and gas it offers.

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