Materials Sciences and Applications, 2021, 12, 614-621 https://www.scirp.org/journal/msa ISSN Online: 2153-1188 ISSN Print: 2153-117X DOI: 10.4236/msa.2021.1212041 Dec. 31, 2021 614 Materials Sciences and Applications Characterization of Dissimilar Welding between 304 Stainless Steel and Gray Iron Using Nickel Coated Electrode Jesús García-Lira 1 , Enrique Curiel-Reyna 1 , Yajaira Curiel-Razo 1 , Alberto Lara-Guevara 2 , Ignacio Rojas-Rodríguez 3* 1 Facultad de Estudios Superiores-Cuautitlán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuautitlán-Izcalli, Edo, México 2 División de Posgrado, Facultad de Informática, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Ave. de las Ciencias S/N, Querétaro, México 3 División Industrial, Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro, Querétaro, México Abstract This paper presents the study carried out to study the microstructure and mechanical properties of AISI 304 stainless steel and gray iron, in order to recognize the effect of welding parameters on the joint. The shielded metal arc welding technique was applied with a 3.2 mm diameter nickel coated electrode under preheating and post heat conditions at 350˚C. Vickers hard- ness test and metallographic analysis were carried out at the heat affected zone and at the interface to determine the effect on mechanical and metallur- gical characteristics. Vickers hardness differences among joint areas were di- rectly related to microstructural changes. There are no significant differences in AISI 304 hardness, but the hardness increased at the heat affected zone and decreased at the filler metal. Grey iron hardness at the heat affected zone was even lower and more slightly superior than grey iron hardness. Keywords Dissimilar Metal Welding, Gray Cast Iron, Heat Affected Zone, Preheat and Post Heat Conditions, Stainless Steel AISI 304 1. Introduction Joining two or more metals by welding is a process that has been maintained since its development until today. The earliest examples of welding come from the Bronze Age. During the Iron Age, the Egyptians and the people of the east- ern Mediterranean area learned to weld iron pieces. Many tools were found that were made around 1000 BC [1]. How to cite this paper: García-Lira, J., Cu- riel-Reyna, E., Curiel-Razo, Y., Lara-Guevara, A. and Rojas-Rodríguez, I. (2021) Characteri- zati on of Dissimilar Welding between 304 Stai nless Steel and Gray Iron Using Nickel Coated Electrode. Materials Sciences and Applications, 12, 614-621. https://doi.org/10.4236/msa.2021.1212041 Received: November 15, 2021 Accepted: December 28, 2021 Published: December 31, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access