Weld Deposition Rate Calculator
Welders quote deposition rate in pounds or kilograms of weld metal laid down per hour of arc time. It decides how fast a joint fills, how much filler to order, and whether a wire-fed process beats stick on a given job. Enter wire feed speed, wire diameter, filler density and efficiency below and the tool returns both the melt-off rate and the deposition rate, in lb/hr or kg/hr, plus the arc time for a target weight.
Best for stick welding: enter your electrode burn-off rate instead of wire feed speed.
Planning estimate only. Rates here are arc-on rates: real job time adds fit-up, cleaning, slag removal, electrode changes and breaks. Real shop rates vary with arc time, operator technique and joint geometry.
Quick Answer
A MIG setup feeding 300 inches per minute of 0.045 inch steel wire at 92% efficiency deposits 7.454 lb/hr, from a melt-off rate of 8.102 lb/hr. A 50 lb target takes 6.71 hours of arc time at that rate, and the same setup reports 3.381 kg/hr in metric units. The two tabs cover both starting points: machine settings for wire processes, and a known burn-off rate for stick.
Key takeaways
- Deposition rate is melt-off rate times efficiency. Everything consumed is not deposited: spatter, slag, fume and stub ends take the rest.
- Wire area uses the square of diameter, so diameter mistakes hurt more than feed speed mistakes. Double-check wire size before quoting filler.
- Rates are arc-on rates. Job time is longer, because fit-up, cleaning and electrode changes all happen with the arc off.
- Density is what makes the tool work beyond steel. Aluminum at 0.098 lb/in³ deposits far less weight per hour at identical settings.
- Quick Answer
- How to use the weld deposition rate calculator
- The weld deposition rate formula
- Worked example: MIG wire, then stick, checked against this exact tool
- Deposition efficiency by process: presets against published ranges
- What competing calculators miss
- From arc hours to a real schedule
- Frequently asked questions
- Add This Calculator to Your Website
- References
How to use the weld deposition rate calculator
Pick the tab that matches what you actually know, then read both rates. The results stay hidden until you calculate.
- Wire parameters tab: enter wire feed speed in inches per minute, wire diameter in inches, filler density, and efficiency. The GMAW (MIG) preset is pre-filled at 92%, with 300 IPM, 0.045 inch wire and 0.283 density from the worked example.
- Consumption rate tab: enter a known electrode burn-off rate and an efficiency. Stick welders use this tab, since stick has no wire feed speed. The example values are 12 lb/hr at 85%.
- Add a target weight if you want time: the tool divides the target by the deposition rate and reports arc hours. The target is read in the unit you selected, so 50 kg is not the same job as 50 lb.
- Click Calculate deposition rate: the melt-off rate, deposition rate, wire area and the step-by-step formula all appear together. Copy or share the result from the buttons in the results box.
Invalid inputs get a plain message instead of a number: a blank feed speed, a zero or negative diameter, density or efficiency, and any efficiency above 100% are all rejected. A blank or zero target is not an error; it simply means no time line is shown.
The weld deposition rate formula
Wire mode starts from geometry, not from a baked-in constant. The wire cross-section is pi times half the diameter squared, and that area times feed speed gives volume per minute. Density turns volume into weight, 60 turns minutes into hours, and efficiency keeps only the share that becomes weld metal.
Melt-off rate = wire feed speed x area x density x 60
Deposition rate = melt-off rate x (efficiency / 100)
Arc time = target weight / deposition rate
Consumption mode is the short form of the same idea: deposition rate equals consumption rate times efficiency, and the difference between the two is the loss. The familiar steel shortcut, 13.1 x diameter² x feed speed x efficiency / 100, is this same formula with steel density folded into the constant. It works for steel and fails quietly for anything else, because it has no density input to change. That is why this calculator asks for density directly: one formula, any filler metal.
For cost work, the two rates have different jobs. Order filler on the melt-off rate, because that is what you actually consume. Schedule joint fill on the deposition rate, because that is what actually lands in the joint. Mixing them up understates filler orders by exactly the loss percentage, which on stick work is roughly 40% at the 60% preset.
Worked example: MIG wire, then stick, checked against this exact tool
Wire parameters mode, pre-filled in the calculator: 300 inches per minute, 0.045 inch wire, 0.283 density, 92% efficiency, 50 lb target.
Switch the result unit to kg/hr and the same inputs give 3.381 kg/hr, because the tool multiplies by 0.453592. Note the target trap in that switch: with a 50 kg target the time line becomes 14.79 hours, since 50 kg is heavier than 50 lb. The rate conversion is exact; the time change is the target changing units with it.
Consumption mode, also pre-filled: a stick electrode burning off at 12 lb/hr with 85% efficiency deposits 10.200 lb/hr and loses 1.800 lb/hr to spatter, slag and stubs. A 100 lb target takes 9.80 hours of arc time. The same tab in kilograms, 12 kg/hr at 85%, gives 10.200 kg/hr and the same 9.80 hours for a 100 kg target, because both numbers scale together.
| Setup | Melt-off | Deposition | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIG, 300 IPM, 0.045 in, steel, 92% | 8.102 lb/hr | 7.454 lb/hr | Worked example, 50 lb in 6.71 hours |
| Aluminum, 250 IPM, 0.035 in, 0.098, 92% | 1.414 lb/hr | 1.301 lb/hr | Same settings, far less weight: density dominates |
| Stick, 12 lb/hr burn-off, 85% | 12.000 lb/hr | 10.200 lb/hr | Loss 1.800 lb/hr, 100 lb in 9.80 hours |
| Stick, 12 lb/hr burn-off, 60% preset | 12.000 lb/hr | 7.200 lb/hr | The preset matters: 100 lb now takes 13.89 hours |
The last row is worth pausing on. The consumption tab example at 85% and the SMAW preset at 60% describe very different stick shops: 85% assumes short stubs and clean technique, 60% assumes ordinary stub loss. If your rod count says otherwise, trust the rod count and type your own efficiency.
Deposition efficiency by process: presets against published ranges
The tool presets are single numbers, but published efficiency is always a range, because gas, transfer mode, stub length and technique all move it. Industry guidance from The Fabricator puts SAW and GTAW around 99%, GMAW between 92% and 98%, FCAW around 87%, and SMAW around 65%, dropping lower with long stubs. The presets sit inside or beside those ranges, with SMAW at 60% on the conservative side and FCAW at 85% just under the published average.
| Process | Tool preset | Published range, and why it moves |
|---|---|---|
| SMAW (stick) | 60% | Around 65% published, lower with long stubs. Slag and the unusable stub end are the main losses. |
| GMAW (MIG) | 92% | 92% to 98% published, depending on gas and transfer mode. Solid wire loses little beyond spatter. |
| FCAW (flux-cored) | 85% | Around 87% published. The slag system costs a few points against solid MIG wire. |
| SAW (submerged arc) | 98% | Around 99% published. The flux blanket nearly eliminates spatter. |
| GTAW (TIG) | 99% | Around 99% published for filler use. Nearly all filler becomes weld metal, which is why TIG looks so efficient even though it is slow. |
One correction to a claim the older version of this article carried: solid MIG wire is not the most efficient common process. GTAW and SAW presets sit above it, and published ranges agree. High efficiency is not the same as high productivity, and TIG proves it: almost nothing is wasted, and the deposition rate is still low because the feed rate is low.
What competing calculators miss
Most deposition tools stop at the short formula, and the short formula is where the errors live:
- Consumption-only tools: enter a burn-off rate, multiply by efficiency, done. Fine for stick, useless for a MIG welder whose machine setting is wire feed speed, not burn-off. This tool starts from machine settings in wire mode and from burn-off in consumption mode.
- Steel-constant tools: the 13.1 shortcut bakes steel density in. It cannot price aluminum or stainless correctly, and it never tells you that. A density input fixes it without changing the steel answer by more than rounding.
- Tools whose worked examples do not reproduce: one rival example claims 300 IPM of 0.035 inch wire at 98% gives 0.449 lb/hr, while its own 13.1 formula gives about 4.72 lb/hr and the full physics gives about 4.80 lb/hr. Another claims 300 IPM, 0.035 inch, 80% gives 8.00 lb/hr, while the physics gives about 3.92 lb/hr. Check any rival example by hand before trusting its tool.
- Tools that hide the melt-off rate: a single deposition number cannot order filler. You need consumption for ordering and deposition for scheduling, and this tool shows both, plus the loss in consumption mode.
- Tools with no time answer: a rate alone does not schedule a job. The target-weight time line turns the rate into arc hours, which is the number a foreman actually plans around.
What this tool does not do is just as plain. It does not estimate travel speed, passes, joint volume or total job cost. For the money side, run the rate through the welding cost calculator, which turns length and rates into a job total. For a different kind of rate, the material removal rate calculator covers how fast material comes off rather than goes on. And when a quote needs a labour figure rather than a filler figure, the shop rate calculator is the place to build it.
From arc hours to a real schedule
Deposition rate is defined at 100% arc-on time, so arc hours are a floor, not a schedule. A manual welder commonly spends only part of a shift with the arc lit, with the rest going to fit-up, repositioning, cleaning and inspection. If your shop tracks an operating factor, divide arc hours by it: 6.71 arc hours at a 0.5 operating factor is 13.42 paid hours. If you do not track one, measure a week of arc-on against clock time before promising dates from this calculator.
Two more habits keep the numbers honest. First, weigh a spool or count rods over a known job and back out your real efficiency, instead of defending a preset. Second, re-check diameter when you change wire: a switch from 0.035 to 0.045 inch at the same feed speed raises area by about 65%, and the deposition rate follows it. Settings that look similar on the machine are not similar in the joint.
Frequently asked questions
The weight of weld metal actually deposited per hour of arc-on time, usually in pounds per hour (lb/hr) or kilograms per hour (kg/hr). It is measured with the arc lit, so it excludes fit-up, cleaning and breaks.
Multiply wire feed speed by the wire cross-sectional area, the filler density, and 60 minutes, then multiply by deposition efficiency. In symbols: rate equals WFS times pi times (diameter divided by 2) squared times density times 60 times efficiency.
Melt-off rate is all wire or electrode consumed per hour. Deposition rate is the part that becomes weld metal. Deposition rate equals melt-off rate times efficiency, and the gap between them is spatter, slag, fume and stub loss.
Start from the process preset, then replace it with a measured value when you can. Published guidance puts SAW and GTAW around 99 percent, GMAW between 92 and 98 percent, FCAW around 87 percent, and SMAW around 65 percent, lower with long stubs. Weighing filler over a known job beats any preset.
Yes. Stick welders do not have wire feed speed, so use the Consumption rate tab with your electrode burn-off rate and an efficiency. At the 60 percent SMAW preset, a 12 lb/hr burn-off deposits 7.200 lb/hr and takes 13.89 arc hours for 100 lb.
Yes. Enter aluminum density of 0.098 lb/in³ instead of steel at 0.283. At 250 inches per minute of 0.035 inch wire and 92 percent efficiency, aluminum deposits 1.301 lb/hr. Tools that hardcode the steel 13.1 constant cannot do this correctly.
Multiply by 0.453592. The calculator has a unit toggle that does it for you: 7.454 lb/hr equals 3.381 kg/hr. Remember the target weight changes units with the toggle, so a 50 kg target takes 14.79 hours at that rate while a 50 lb target takes 6.71 hours.
Divide the target weight by the deposition rate. Enter a target weight in either tab and the tool shows the arc time in hours. That is arc-on time only, so divide by your shop operating factor to get paid hours.
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References
- The Fabricator. Understanding the relationship between deposition rate, deposition efficiency, and production output (deposition rate at 100 percent arc-on time; SAW and GTAW around 99 percent, GMAW 92 to 98 percent, FCAW about 87 percent, SMAW about 65 percent). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Welding Answers. 6 Challenges When Increasing Deposition Rates (melt-off rate versus deposition rate; deposition equals melt-off times electrode efficiency; worked MIG example at 97 percent). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Fabricating and Metalworking. Pre-Calculating Wire-Feed Speed, Travel Speed and Voltage (13.1 steel shortcut, steel weld-metal weight 0.283 lb/in³, travel speed from deposition rate and weld weight per foot). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Lincoln Electric. Lincore 50 hardfacing wire: typical operating procedures (wire feed speed in inches per minute against deposition rate in kg/hr, by diameter). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 1910.252, General requirements (welding, cutting and brazing) (eye and face protection, protective clothing, ventilation and confined-space rules for welding work). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- O*NET OnLine, summarizing Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers: local wages (United States average about $25.84 per hour; use local figures for real quotes). Accessed October 24, 2026.