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WeldingProcesses
1.Introduction
Themanufactureofvirtuallyallsophisticatedmodernproductsinvolvesjoiningtogethermany
individualcomponents.Whereapermanentjoinisrequired,weldingisoftenagoodoption.
Otherpossibleprocessessuchasbrazing,soldering,anduseofadhesiveswillareconsidered
intheDesignmodule.

Weldingprocessescanbesplitintotwobroadcategories:

Thesurfacesoftwocomponentstobejoinedarecleaned,placedclose
togetherandheatedwhilebeingprotectedfromoxidation.Apoolof
Fusion moltenmetalformsandconnectsthecomponents,afillerrodmaybe
processes usedtoaddmetaltothejoint.
Thiscategorycoversaverywiderangeofprocesses,someofwhichare
consideredinmoredetaillater
Themetalstobejoineddonotmelt,theyareheated,usuallybyfriction
heatinggeneratedbyslidingthepartstogetherunderanormalload,this
softensthemetalsandremovessurfacecontamination.Theslidingis
Solid thenstopped,thenormalloadisincreasedandthetwosurfacesjoin
phase together.
processes Frictionweldingisthemainprocessinthisclassandiswidelyusedto
joinaxisymmetriccomponentsintwodifferenttypesofsteels.Examples
includeenginevalveswhereaheatresistantalloyheadisrequired,but
asteelthatwillslidewellintheguideisneededforthestem.

2.FusionWeldingProcesses
2.1PotentialProblems
Althoughthemajorityofweldingiscarriedoutonsteels,othermetals,particularlyaluminium,
areincreasinglybeingjoinedbywelding.Toensurethatthedesignersintentismetanumberof
precautionsneedtobeconsideredwhenspecifyingthemetalsandprocess.

DistortionAsthepartsareheatedtotheirmeltingpoint,theywillundergosignificantthermal
expansionandoncooling,contraction.Tominimisetheadverseeffectsofthisitwilloftenbe
necessarytousejigs,tackingandasuitableweldingsequenceorprocedure,ie'backstepping'.

OxidationAttheelevatedtemperaturesinvolvedinfusionwelding,metalsoxidiserapidly.
Oxidationwouldeitherpreventjoiningorresultinasubstandardjoint.Oxidationispreventedin
anumberofwaysdependingupontheprocess.Inoxyacetylenewelding,thegasesproduced
bycombustionintheflamepreventoxidation.InthemetalinertgasMIGandtungsteninert
gasTIGprocesses,thearcisshroudedbyasupplyofinertgassuchashelium,argon,carbon
dioxideoramixtureofthese.Intheelectricarcconsumableelectrodeprocesstherodiscoated
withafluxwhichformsaprotectivelayerandgasintheweldareaastherodisconsumed.

LossofMechanicalPropertiesWhereametalhasbeensubjectedtoathermalprocess,
weldingwillfrequentlyresultinlossofpropertystrengthorhardnessintheareaadjacentto
theweld,calledtheheataffectedzoneHAZ.

EmbrittlementOnesourceofembrittlementwhenweldingsteeliswhereconsumablesare
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damp,whichmayresultintheweldtakinguphydrogen.Thisproblemcanbeavoidedby
ensuringthatallmetaltobeweldedandconsumablesarestoredindryconditions.

Analternativecauseofembrittlementiswhenalloysteelsareweldedorwhena'plain'steel
withacarboncontentabove0.2%iswelded.Intheseinstancestheselfcoolingoftheparts
mayresultinmartensiticzonesadjacenttotheweldwhichareunacceptablybrittle.
Forgeneralfabricationworkinvolvingplainsteel,itisnormaltousespecifyacarboncontentof
lessthan0.15%.

Whenweldingalloysteelsappropriatepreheatingandslowpostcoolingmustbecarriedoutto
ensurethatthecoolingrateistooslowtoresultinanymartensitictransformation.

JointOrientation
Asmostweldingprocessesrelyonaweldpoolbeingformedbetweenthepartstobejoined,the
processismoststraightforwardwhentheweldpoolisstable,thatiswhenitishorizontal.This
willnotbethecasewhenverticalandoverheadjointsarerequired.Theserequiremuchmore
skillandspecialelectrodes/coatingsmaybeused.

2.2OxyAcetyleneWelding
InthisprocessheatisprovidedbythecombustionofAcetyleneinOxygenwhichgivesaflame
temperatureofabout2700oC.Thiscanbeusedtoweldsteelwithathicknessuptoabout5
mm.Afillerrodisnormallyappliedtoassistinmakingthejoin.Theprocessiswidelyusedin
jobbingshopswithmanualoperationandrequiresafairbitofskill,particularlywhenwelding
aluminiumandthinnergaugesteel.

2.3ArcWelding
Severalweldingprocessesarebasedonheatingwithanelectricarc,onlyafewareconsidered
here,startingwiththeoldest,simplearcwelding,alsoknownasshieldedmetalarcwelding
SMAWorstickwelding.
InthisprocessanelectricalmachinewhichmaybeDCorAC,butnowadaysisusuallyAC
suppliescurrenttoanelectrodeholderwhichcarriesanelectrodewhichisnormallycoatedwith
amixtureofchemicalsorflux.Aearthcableconnectstheworkpiecetotheweldingmachineto
provideareturnpathforthecurrent.Theweldisinitiatedbytapping'striking'thetipofthe
electrodeagainsttheworkpiecewhichinitiatesanelectricarc.Thehightemperaturegenerated
about6000oCalmostinstantlyproducesamoltenpoolandtheendoftheelectrode
continuouslymeltsintothispoolandformsthejoint.

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Theoperatorneedstocontrolthegapbetweentheelectrodetipandtheworkpiecewhile
movingtheelectrodealongthejoint.

IntheshieldedmetalarcweldingprocessSMAWthe'stick'electrodeiscoveredwithan
extrudedcoatingofflux.Theheatofthearcmeltsthefluxwhichgeneratesagaseousshieldto
keepairawayfromthemoltenpoolandalsofluxingredientsreactwithunwantedimpurities
suchassurfaceoxides,creatingaslagwhichfloatstothesurfaceoftheweldpool.Thisformsa
crustwhichprotectstheweldwhileitiscooling.Whentheweldiscoldtheslagischippedoff.

TheSMAWprocesscannotbeusedonsteelthinnerthanabout3mmandbeinga
discontinuousprocessitisonlysuitableformanualoperation.Itisverywidelyusedinjobbing
shopsandforonsitesteelconstructionwork.Awiderangeofelectrodematerialsandcoatings
areavailableenablingtheprocesstobeappliedtomoststeels,heatresistingalloysandmany
typesofcastiron.

2.4MetalInertGasMIGorGasMetalArcWeldingGMAW
Inthisprocessafillermetalisstoredonaspoolanddrivenbyrollerscurrentisfedintothe
wirethroughatubeintoa'torch'.Thelargeamountoffillerwireonthespoolmeansthatthe
processcanbeconsideredtobecontinuousandlong,uninterruptedweldscaneasilybemade.
Aninertgasisalsofedalongthetubeandintothetorchandexitsaroundthewire.Anarcis
struckbetweenthewireandtheworkpieceandbecauseofthehightemperatureofthearca
weldpoolformsalmostinstantly.Inthisprocesstheykeyissuesareselectingthecorrectgas
mixtureandflowrateandtheweldingwirespeedandcurrent.Oncethesehavebeenset,the
skilllevelrequiredislowerthanwiththeoxyacetyleneprocess,anditcanreadilybeautomated
andMIGweldingisnowcommonlycarriedoutbyrobots.TheMIGprocessiswidelyusedon
steelsandonaluminium.Althoughtheinertgasshieldkeepstheweldclean,dependingupon
theprocesssettings,theremaybespatterofmetalglobulesadjacenttotheweldwhichdetracts
fromitsappearanceunlesstheyareremoved.

2.5FluxCoredArcWeldingFCAW
ThisissimilartoMIGweldingexceptthattheelectrodeisintheformofahollowtubefilledwith
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fluxthatmayincludemetalpowders.Noinertgasisneeded.

2.6TungstenInertGasTIGorGasTungstenArcWeldingGTAW
Thisprocessusesanonconsumabletungstenelectrodeisusedandanarcstruckbetweenthis
andtheworkpiecesurface.

Aninertgasisusedtoshieldtheweldareaandfillerrodmaybeused.Theprocessiswell
suitedtojoiningnonferrousmetals,includingaluminium,refractoryandspecialmetalsandis
effectiveforjoiningthinsectionmetals.Ahighdegreeofskillisneeded,buthighqualitywelds
canbeproduced.

2.7OtherProcesses
Anumberofotherspecialisedprocessesareinuseincluding:electronbeamweldingEBW
whichneedstobecarriedandinavacuumandlaserbeamwelding.

ReturntoStructuresmodulehomepage

DavidJGrieve,23rdFebruary2009.

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