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Have you ever wanted to i
 parts on your robot, but couldnt because:

`? the equipment is too expensive

`? too difficult to learn
`? your parts are really small
`? your parts are made out of aluminum
`? you cannot get a permit to use it where you want
`? potentially very dangerous

This is where brazing excels. Brazing is significantly cheaper, much safer, can do
aluminum much easier, tiny parts no problem, equipment is much smaller, and best of all
brazing is much simpler to learn!

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Brazing is the joining of metals through the use of heat and a filler metal - one whose
melting temperature is above 840- 450C) but below the melting point of the metals
being joined. You simply join two heated but not melted) metals by melting a third metal
as a 'glue.'

Brazing is performed at relatively
i  
 , reducing the possibility of warping,

overheating or melting the metals being joined.

Brazing is ideally suited to the  



 

. You can easily join
assemblies that combine ferrous with nonferrous metals, and metals with widely varying
melting points.

Brazed joints are 

. On non-ferrous metals and steels, the tensile strength of a
properly made joint will often exceed that of the metals joined.

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Brazing works by creating a metallurgical bond between the filler metal and the surfaces of
the two metals being joined. The principle by which the filler metal is drawn through the
joint to create this bond is 




 . In a brazing operation, you apply heat broadly
to the base metals. The filler metal is then brought into contact with the heated parts. It is
melted instantly by the heat in the base metals and drawn by capillary action completely
through the joint.



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    i

. After all, silver brazing is the customary
method of joining high-reliability, controlled-strength corrosion-resistant piping such as a
nuclear submarine's seawater coolant pipes.

Welding joins metals by melting and fusing them together, usually with the addition of a
welding filler metal. In order to fuse the metals, concentrated high temperature heat is
applied directly to the joint area. This localized, pinpointed high heat is required in order to
melt the base metals the metals being joined) and the filler metals as well.

Therefore welding temperatures start at the melting point of the base metals. Because
welding heat is intense, it is impractical to apply it uniformly over a broad area. These high
temperatures can cause problems, such as possible distortion and warping of the base
metals or stresses around the weld area.

But in brazing you do not need to melt the base metals to join them. It doesn't matter if they
have widely different melting points. You can braze steel to copper as easily as steel to
steel.

Welding is usually more suited to the joining of large assemblies than brazing. Why?
Because in brazing the heat must be applied to a broad area, often to the entire assembly. If
the assembly is a large one, it's often hard to heat it to the flow point of the filler metal as
the heat tends to dessipate faster than you build it up.

What are other advantages of brazing over welding? Brazing has better joint appearance.
With minimal experience one can create professional looking joints. There is seldom any
need for grinding, filing, or mechanical finishing after a joint is completed. Speaking of
which, brazing is much easier for beginners to learn than welding. I suck at welding, but
even my first attempt at brazing was perfect. Best of all for robots, you can make tiny parts
without worry. -or thin workpieces e.g., sheet metal or thin-walled pipe) brazing is less
likely to result in burn-through. I have easily brazed .005" sheets of steel together in
seconds with zero warping.

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When making any robot part, you should consider the many ways that part can be made.
Multiple methods may work, but some just may be way faster and/or cheaper. Brazing
should be another method added to your arsenal of ways to manufacture a robot part.

Brazing also offers two other benefits that no other method except welding) could offer.
The first is good high strength water proof seals. Making a robot sub, perhaps? The second
is strong metal-to-metal joints. Mechanically-fastened joints threaded, staked, riveted, etc.)
generally don't compare to brazed joints in strength, resistance to shock and vibration, or
water-tightness. Have you ever had a screw slowly unscrew itself on a robot mechanism?
Brazing could quickly fix that problem.

Just like any other manufacturing method, you must be clever to figure out if it is the best
method to employ. -or example, let me tell you about a 1" cam follower I once made for a
robot. This is what the follower needed to look like:

The cam would ride against the left large diameter side of the part, while the long shaft
would slide in and out of a hole. The method I chose to make it was using a lathe. I took a
single rod piece and slowly cut away the unneeded material to get that shape. This is what
the original rod looked like before being cut, for comparison:

Although the manufacturing method worked and I made my parts successfully, there were
three serious problems I had. The first is that using a lathe for tiny precision parts is
difficult and time consuming. The second is that I really wanted to use steel so the follower
top wouldn't wear away under a steel cam, but cutting steel takes forever and it weighs
much more - leaving me to no choice but to use aluminum. The last issue was that I had to
make 10 of these such cams hint: mass production methods better).

-ortunately for me, when I had to build the next prototype, I thought of brazing. Instead of
making the cam follower out of a solid cylinder, why not join two seperate parts? Now that
I can simply buy two cylinders with the exact diameter I needed, the lathe was no longer
necessary. And since brazing can join two different metals, I could use steel for the cam
follower head, yet still use aluminum for the cam follower shaft. All I had to do was
bandsaw and face the 20 different cylinder parts done together, an hour of work), drill a
small hole in each to help align the parts, then braze them together - a much simpler process
than using a lathe.

This is what the two parts looked like:

And what they looked like assembled and brazed:

The 
 : if your part requires cutting away large amounts of material to
manufacture, consider using multiple simple parts brazed together. Creating a complex
solid part from separate parts is easier than creating a complex solid part from one single
machined block. As a bonus, I also got to use two different metals - making use of the
advantages of each, without suffering from the disadvantages. I used the light weight easy
to machine aluminum except where I needed the wear resistant properties of steel.


 
Total cost of all equipment you would need comes out to around ~$60 all can be bought
from 
 ). More brazing equipment can be found in the ad links at the top right
of this page.

The first and most obvious item you would need is a 

 . I personally
recommend the cheap $15 handheld types. Don't forget to only use the inner flame! I used
McMaster #75195A16.

The next item is 

.

A single $3 butane gas can will supply you 2+ hours of burn time. I used McMaster
#7694A5.
The third item you will need is the filler material, a 

. I used McMaster
#7676A4. This is the metal that melts and joins your two parts. There are many types of
brazing rods, made out of various alloys. -ind the type that is best for your particular
application. Also, the type that has silver in it is better due to a lower melting point, but
obviously will cost more. Expect to spend around $15 for a roll of brazing rods. Don't
forget - cadmium in these rods emit poisonous fumes potent enough to vegetize even the
cutest of kittens. Go to mcmaster.com and do a search for 'silver brazing alloy' and a whole
bunch should show up on the right.

The last main item you will need to buy is 



. I used McMaster #7693A2. An $8
half pound jar is way more than enough. Again, they have many types so find the type best
for your application.

Now for safety items . . .

The brazing flame can emit evil infrared and UV rays that zap you blind. -ortunately it is
not like welding. You do not need a big clunky helmet thingy that makes everything
impossible to see. Instead, you can get away with simple sunglasses rated for UV
protection. You can also buy some really ultra-cool i




 like these rated as a 3

or 4 lens shade number) for like $8:
I swear I look like a comic book action hero wearing these things . . .
The last item you will need is a $15 pair of

 
 


 .
You will probably be working with small parts, so get the type that gives you the best
possible finger articulation. I bought the dear skin type because its thin and soft good for
my stuff, but not for tough jobs).
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Capillary action will work properly only when the surfaces of the metals are clean. If they
are "contaminated" - coated with oil, grease, rust, scale or just plain dirt - those
contaminants have to be removed. If you do not remove these contaminants, they will form
a barrier between the base metal surfaces and the brazing materials. An oily base metal, for
example, will repel the flux, leaving bare spots that oxidize under heat and result in voids.
Oil and grease will carbonize when heated, forming a film over which the filler metal will
not flow. And brazing filler metal won't bond to a rusty surface. Cleaning the metal parts is
seldom a complicated job, but it has to be done in the right sequence. Oil and grease should
be removed first, because an acid pickle solution aimed to remove rust and scale won't
work on a greasy surface. If you try to remove rust or scale by abrasive cleaning, before
getting rid of the oil, you'll wind up scrubbing the oil, as well as fine abrasive powder, more
deeply into the surface.)

Start by getting rid of oil and grease. In most cases you can do it very easily either by
dipping the parts into a suitable degreasing solvent, by vapor degreasing, or by alkaline or
aqueous cleaning. Dishwashing detergent should work.

If the metal surfaces are coated with oxide or scale, you can remove those contaminants
chemically or mechanically. -or chemical removal, use an acid pickle treatment, making
sure that the chemicals are compatible with the base metals being cleaned, and that no acid
traces remain in crevices or blind holes. Mechanical removal calls for abrasive cleaning.
Particularly in repair brazing, where parts may be very dirty or heavily rusted, you can
speed the cleaning process by using emery cloth, grinding wheel, or file or grit blast,
followed by a rinsing operation.

Once the parts are thoroughly clean, it's a good idea to flux and braze as soon as possible.
That way, there's the least chance for recontamination of surfaces by dust or body oils
deposited through handling.

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The location and setup for brazing is important. Brazing outside in bright sunlight is bad, in
that you will not be able to see your flame. Brazing inside is bad in that you need poisonous
fume ventilation. I personally use a fume hood, but a shaded well ventilated area should
suffice.
Next you need to secure the parts you wish to braze. What you use to mount your parts
should have low heat conductivity resists getting hot, like ceramic, concrete, steel, etc).
When mounting your parts, try to leave a small gap between the two parts that will be
brazed. -or capillary action to be effective, joint clearances of 0.002 to 0.006 inch 50 to
150 um) are recommended.

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-lux is a chemical compound applied to the joint surfaces before brazing. Heating a metal
surface accelerates the formation of  , the result of chemical combination between the
hot metal and oxygen in the air. Oxides will inhibit the brazing filler metal from bonding to
your part surfaces. A coating of flux on the joint area, however, will shield the surfaces
from the air, preventing oxide formation. -lux will also dissolve and absorb any oxides that
form during heating or that were not completely removed in the cleaning process.

Choose the flux formulated for the specific metals, temperatures, and conditions of your
brazing application. Cover any surfaces that will be brazed completely and thoroughly right
before brazing. Think of the flux as a sort of blotter. It absorbs oxides like a sponge absorbs
water. An insufficient amount of flux will quickly become saturated and lose its
effectiveness. A flux that absorbs less oxides not only insures a better joint than a totally
saturated flux, but it is a lot easier to wash off after the brazed joint is completed. -lux can
also act as a   
  
, minimizing the chance of overheating the parts. -or
example, some types of flux become completely clear and active at brazing temperature -
telling you that the base metal is just about hot enough to melt the brazing filler metal.

Also, you may want to add some flux to the end of the filler metal rod to improve the flow.

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The actual brazing step is probably the easiest and quickest of the steps. If you are a novice,
dont worry it is really easy, almost self-explanatory. Simply heat the joint between the two
metals that you wish to join until just before they start to glow red or until the flux
becomes clear). Both metals in the assembly should be heated as uniformly as possible so
they reach brazing temperature at the same time. Then touch the filler rod to the joint, and
just let it melt right into the joint by itself. Molten brazing filler metal tends to flow toward
areas of higher temperature. Remember, the filler will spread itself through capillary action.
This is an example of proper brazing technique:

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After you've brazed the assembly, you must clean it. Cleaning is usually a two-step
operation.

`? -irst - removal of the flux residues

@? hot water bath
@? then a hot hydrochloric acid bath
`? Second - pickling to remove any oxide scale formed during the brazing process

-lux removal is a simple, but essential operation. -lux residues are chemically corrosive
and, if not removed, could weaken certain joints. Since most brazing fluxes are water
soluble, the easiest way to remove flux is to quench the assembly in i
  120-/50C
or hotter). Your best bet is to immerse them while they're still hot, just making sure that the
filler metal has solidified completely before quenching. The glass-like flux residues will
usually crack and flake off. If they're a little stubborn, brush them lightly with a wire brush
while the assembly is still in the hot water. Using live steam will work too.

The only time you run into trouble removing flux is when you haven't used enough of it to
begin with, or you've overheated the parts during the brazing process. Then the flux
becomes totally saturated with oxides, usually turning green or black. In this case, the flux
has to be removed by a mild acid solution. A 25% 


 commonly
found in some toilet bowl cleaners and etching compounds), heated to 140- 160-/60-70C,
will usually dissolve the most stubborn flux residues. Simply agitate the brazed assembly in
this solution for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. No need to brush. A word of caution: acid
solutions are potent. So when quenching hot brazed assemblies in an acid bath, be sure to
i


  



 .

After you've gotten rid of the flux, use a 



 such as Sparex precious metal
cleaner) to remove any oxides that remain on areas that were unprotected by flux during the
brazing process. The best pickle to use is generally the one recommended by the
manufacturer of the brazing materials you're using. In the few instances where you need an
ultra-clean finish, you can get it by polishing the assembly with a fine emery cloth.
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In brazing, there is always the possibility of 

  and gases rising from base
metal coatings, ink, and cadmium-bearing filler metals, and from fluorides in fluxes. The
following well-tested precautions should be followed to guard against any hazard from
these fumes.

Ventilate confined areas. Use ventilating fans and exhaust/fume hoods to carry all fumes
and gases away from work, and air supplied respirators as required. I personally just use a
fume hood, but doing the work outside will be fine too. Just don't do it on a bright sunny
day as you wont be able to see the flame from your butane torch.

Clean base metals thoroughly. A surface contaminant of unknown composition on base

metals may add to fume hazard and may cause a too rapid breakdown of flux, leading to
over heating. Heat the base metals broadly and uniformly. Intense localized heating uses up
flux, increasing the danger of fuming.

Use sufficient flux. -lux protects base metals and filler metal during heating cycle. -ull flux
coverage reduces fuming. Read the warning labels on the flux container.

Know your base metals. A cadmium coating on a base metal will volatilize and produce
toxic fumes during heating. Zinc coatings galvanized) will also fume when heated. It is
recommended to remove these coatings before parts are heated for brazing.

Be especially careful not to overheat the assembly when using filler metals that contain
cadmium. Read all warning labels on the brazing rod packaging.

Wear safety goggles and rubber gloves when using the pickling solutions. Read warning
labels. Dispose of all chemicals properly - don't just pour it down the drain!