TIG, GTAW, WIG, 141 — one process, four names
TIG, GTAW, WIG, and ISO 141 all name the same welding process. Which name belongs in a WPS, which on the shop floor — and where the real differences sit.
If you have ever wondered whether TIG and GTAW are different processes, the short answer is no. The same is true of WIG and of 141. They are four names for the same thing, drawn from different languages and different standards.
The longer answer is worth two minutes, because using the wrong name in the wrong document causes real friction.
Four names, one process
| Name | Stands for | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| TIG | Tungsten Inert Gas | English-speaking world, international trade |
| GTAW | Gas Tungsten Arc Welding | AWS and ASME, i.e. US codes |
| WIG | Wolfram-Inertgas-Schweißen | German-speaking countries |
| 141 | Process number per ISO 4063 | European standards, WPS documents |
TIG and WIG differ only by language: element 74 is called tungsten in English and Wolfram in German. Both abbreviations describe the same setup — a non-consumable electrode of that element, an arc beneath it, and an inert shielding gas around it.
GTAW is the formal AWS name and the one ASME Section IX uses. ISO 4063 skips names entirely and assigns the process the number 141, which is what you will see on European procedure documents.
Which name to use where
None of the four is wrong. They belong in different places:
- In a WPS, PQR, or inspection report, use the designation the governing code uses — 141 under ISO/EN, GTAW under ASME Section IX. A procedure that says “TIG” where the code expects “GTAW” is not incorrect, but it invites questions during review.
- On the shop floor, use whatever your team uses. In English that is TIG; in a German-speaking shop it is WIG.
- When searching for equipment or corresponding internationally, expect TIG. Manufacturers print “TIG welder” and “WIG-Schweißgerät” on the same machine depending on the market.
Where the real differences are
One level down, the differences become real — and substantial. What varies is not the name but the variant of the process:
- Cold wire. The filler arrives cold and cools the weld pool. That forces a low travel speed and caps the deposition rate.
- Hot wire. A second source preheats the filler so it arrives near melting point. Deposition rises several times over without the heat input rising with it.
- Pulsed. The current alternates between two levels, keeping the pool smaller and more controllable — particularly on thin wall.
- Keyhole. A tightly concentrated arc pushes a hole through the joint and welds the full thickness in one pass. More on that: What is keyhole welding?
So when you are judging what an offer actually delivers, the useful question is not TIG or GTAW — it is which variant. That is where the differences in speed, heat input, and weld quality sit, and those are what end up in the costing.
How large that step can be is set out in the direct comparison between cold wire and hot wire TIG.
In short
TIG, GTAW, WIG and 141 are four names for one process — English, US code, German, and the ISO process number. The difference is linguistic, not technical. The differences that matter live in the variants: how the filler is fed, whether the current pulses, and whether the arc opens a keyhole.