WELDING

Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing
coalescence. Many different energy sources can be used for welding, including a gas flame, an
electric arc, a laser, an electron beam, friction, and ultrasound.

Arc Welding:

Arc welding processes use a welding power supply to create and maintain an electric arc between
an electrode and the base material to melt metals at the welding point. They can use either direct
(DC) or alternating (AC) current, and consumable or non-consumable electrodes.

In arc welding, the voltage is directly related to the length of the arc, and the current is related to
the amount of heat input.

Methods:

 Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW):

Electric current is used to strike an arc between the base material and consumable
electrode rod (steel), which is covered with a flux that protects the weld area (oxidation
and contamination by CO2). Weld times are slow.
 Gas metal arc welding (GMAW):
It is a semi-automatic or automatic welding process that uses a continuous wire feed as an
electrode and an inert or semi-inert gas mixture to protect the weld from contamination.
 Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW):
It is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the
weld. Is commonly used to weld thin sections of stainless steel and light metals such as
aluminum, magnesium, and copper alloys.

Gas welding:
Is commonly used to weld thin sections of stainless steel and light metals such as aluminum,
magnesium, and copper alloys. The equipment is relatively inexpensive and simple, generally
employing the combustion of acetylene in oxygen to produce a welding flame temperature of
more than 3000°C.

Resistance welding: (1000–100,000 A)

Resistance welding involves the generation of heat by passing current through the resistance
caused by the contact between two or more metal surfaces. Are efficient and cause little pollution,
limited applications and equipment cost can be high.
Methods: Spot welding, seam welding, flash welding, projection welding and upset welding.
Adhesive bonding:

Is a process in which two similar or no similar materials are solidly and permanently assembled
using an adhesive.

Advantages:
 More uniform stress distribution
 Production cost is generally lower than with traditional assembly methods.
 The assembly operation can be easily automated to achieve high production rates.

Limitations:
 Resistance to heat is often limited
 Mid-term durability in harsh environments (5 to 20 years).
 Disassembling is difficult.

Applications:
 Cars.
 Brake-band linings.
 Rear-view mirrors.

Brazing:

Brazing is the joining of metals through the use of heat and a filler metal. Whose melting
temperature is above 840°F(450°C) but below the melting point of the metals being joined. It is
also known as “Silver brazing," since in most cases the filler metal used is a silver alloy.

Advantages:
 Joint strength.
 Lower temperatures/lower cost.
 Dissimilar metals easily joined.

Soldering:

Soldering is the process of a making a sound electrical and mechanical joint between certain
metals by joining them with a soft solder. Solder melts at around 190°C, and the bit reaches a
temperature of over 250°C.

Joining:

There are many possible techniques for joining ceramics to themselves and to dissimilar materials.
These technologies range from mechanical fixturing to direct bonding. Generally, the two
important factors are the similarity of the materials to be joined and the required temperature
capability.

Applications:
 Can be used in high temperature, corrosive and tribological applications.
Welding of plastics:

Plastic welding processes can be divided into two groups:

1.- Processes involving mechanical movement

Ultrasonic welding
 This method uses mechanical vibrations to form the joint.
 The vibrations are of high frequency.
 The welding is limited to small components with weld lengths not exceeding few
centimeters.
Applications: valves and filters used in medical equipment.

Friction welding or spin welding

In this process one of the substrates is fixed, while the other is rotated with a controlled angular
velocity. When the parts are pressed together, frictional heat causes the polymer to melt and a
weld is created on cooling.

Vibration welding or linear friction welding

Two thermoplastic parts are rubbed together under pressure and at a suitable frequency and
amplitude, until enough heat is generated to melt the polymer.
Applications: automobile and domestic appliance industry.

2.- Processes involving external heating

Hot plate welding

A heated plate is clamped between the surfaces to be joined until they soften. The plate is then
withdrawn, and the surfaces are brought together again under controlled pressure for a specific
period. The fused surfaces are allowed to cool, forming a joint.
Temperatures are generally between 1800°C and 2300°C.

Hot gas welding and resistive

This is similar to oxy-acetylene welding of metals; the only difference is that the open flame of
oxyacetylene welding is replaced by a stream of hot gas. Compressed air, nitrogen, hydrogen,
oxygen or carbon dioxide is heated by an electric coil as it passes through a welding gun.

Implant welding.
In this process, metal inserts are placed between the parts to be joined and are then heated by
means of induction or resistance heating.
Friction Stir Welding

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is an exotic solid-state joining process (meaning the metal is not
melted during the process) and is used for applications where the original metal characteristics
must remain unchanged as far as possible. This process is primarily used on aluminum.

Advantages:
 Good mechanical properties.
 No consumables.
 Can operate in all positions.
Disadvantages:
 Exit hole left when tool is withdrawn.
 Large down forces required with heavy duty clamping necessary to hold the plates
together.
 Less flexible than manual and arc processes.

There are two tool speeds to be considered in friction stir welding; how fast the tool rotates and
how quickly it traverses the interface.

Laser Welding

Solid-state lasers operate at wavelengths on the order of 1 μm and as a result require that
operators wear special eyewear to prevent cornea damage.

Ultrasonic Welding

Ultrasonic welding is an industrial technique whereby high-frequency ultrasonic acoustic

vibrations are used to weld objects together, usually plastics, and especially for joining dissimilar
materials. It is used to build assemblies that are too small, too complex, or too delicate for more
common welding techniques.

In ultrasonic welding, there are no connective bolts, nails, soldering materials, or adhesives
necessary to bind the materials together.

All ultrasonic welding systems are composed of the same basic elements:

 A press to put the 2 parts to be assembled under pressure.

 A nest or anvil where the parts are placed and allowing the high frequency vibration to be
directed to the interfaces.

Components of an ultrasonic welding system:

1. Converter: Converts the electrical signal into a mechanical vibration.

2. Booster: Modifies the amplitude of the vibration. It is also used in standard systems to clamp
the stack in the press.

3. Sonotrode: Applies the mechanical vibration to the parts to be welded.

CUTTING

The torch's trigger blows extra oxygen at high pressure down the torch's third tube out of the
central jet into the workpiece, causing the metal to burn and blowing the resulting molten oxide
through to the other side and off the workpiece completely.

The common methods used in cutting metal are oxygas flame cutting, air carbon-arc cutting, and
plasma-arc cutting.

Oxygas cutting

The oxygas cutting torch has many uses in steelwork. At most naval activities, the Steelworker
finds the cutting torch an excellent tool for cutting ferrous metals.

Laser cutting

Laser cutting is a technology which uses a laser to cut materials, and is usually used in industrial
manufacturing. Laser cutting works by directing the output of a high power laser at the material to
be cut. The material then either melts, burns or vaporizes away leaving an edge with a high quality
surface finish.

Advantages:
 Lack of physical contact.
 Precision.
Diadvantages:
 High energy required.

Plasma cutting

Plasma cutting is a process used to cut steel and other metals (or sometimes other materials) using
a plasma torch. In this process, an inert gas (in some units, compressed air) is blown at high speed
out of a nozzle; at the same time an electrical arc is formed through that gas from the nozzle to
the surface being cut, turning some of that gas to plasma.

This plasma is sufficiently hot to melt the metal and moving sufficiently fast to blow molten metal
away from the cut.
CASTING

Casting is a process by which a fluid melt is introduced into a mold, allowed to cool in the shape of
the form, and then ejected to make a fabricated part or casing. Four main elements are required in
the process of casting: pattern, mould, cores, and the part.

The pattern, from which the mold is prepared, creates a corresponding cavity in the casting
material. Cores are used to produce tunnels or holes in the finished mold, and the part is the final
output of the process.

Methods to Melting Metal for Casting:

 Cupola melting
 Electric arc melting
 Crucible melting
 Air Furnace (Reverberatory) Melting
 Induction Melting (high frequency and low frequency)

Pouring

Depending upon the number of identical castings required, their size and the metal being cast, the
production engineer must decide whether to use a mould that can only be used once
(nonpermanent or expandable mould) or one that can be used repeatedly to make large numbers
of castings (permanent or nonexpendable mould).

Nonpermanent or expandable moulds:

Expendable mold casting is a generic classification that includes: sand, plastic, shell, and
investment (lost-wax technique) moldings. All of these involve the use of temporary and no
reusable molds, and need gravity to help force molten fluid into casting cavities. In this process the
mould is used only once.

Permanent or nonexpendable mould

Permanent moulds are not destroyed while getting the casting out. Therefore all permanent
moulds must be capable of being opened and closed repeatedly for casting removal. Steel inserts
are frequently used in non-ferrous castings to enhance strength in localized areas. This technique
includes at least four different methods: permanent, die, centrifugal, and continuous casting.

Die Casting:

Die casting is a process wherein the molten metal is forced into the mould at high velocity and
under high pressure. That pressure is maintained until the metal solidifies. Dies are in two halves
and often have side cores if the part shape includes undercuts. These cores are actuated by cams,
gears, or separate hydraulic cylinders.

Centifugal casting:
All centrifugal casting processes utilize rotation of the mould about a central axis and the resultant
centrifugal force to drive the molten metal in the desired portion of the mould.