Manufacturing

Engineering Components
Fabrication
Welding
What is welding?

 Welding is a process of joining two metal pieces as a result of significant

diffusion of the atoms of the welded pieces into the joint (weld) region.
 Welding is carried out by heating the joined pieces to melting point and fusing
them together (with or without filler material) or by applying pressure to the
pieces in cold or heated state.
Advantages of welding

 Strong and tight joining;

 Cost effectiveness;
 Simplicity of welded structures design;
 Welding processes may be mechanized and automated.
Disadvantages of welding:

 Internal stresses, distortions and changes of micro-structure in the weld

region;
 Harmful effects: light, ultra violate radiation, fumes, high temperature.
Applications of welding

 Buildings and bridges structures;

 Automotive, ship and aircraft constructions;
 Pipe lines;
 Tanks and vessels;
 Railroads;
 Machinery elements
Types of Welding

 Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)

 Oxyfuel Gas Welding (OFW)
 Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding (GTAW or TIG)
 Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW or MIG)
 Laser Beam Welding (LBW)
 Resistance Spot Welding (RSW)
Arc welding

 Arc welding is a welding process, in which heat is generated by an electric

arc struck between an electrode and the work piece.
 Electric arc is luminous electrical discharge between two electrodes through
ionized gas.
Arc welding

Any arc welding method is based on an electric circuit consisting of the

following parts:
 Power supply (AC or DC);
 Welding electrode;
 Work piece;
 Welding leads (electric cables) connecting the electrode and work piece to
the power supply.
 arc welding.png

Electric arc
between the
electrode and work
piece closes the
electric circuit. The
arc temperature
may reach 10000°F
(5500°C), which is
sufficient to fusion
the work piece
edges and joining
them.
The Arc welding process

 When a long join is required, the arc is moved along the

joint line. The front edge of the weld pool melts the
welded surfaces when the rear edge of the weld
pool solidifies forming the joint.

 When a filler metal is required for better bonding, filling

rod (wire) is used either as outside material fed to the arc
region or as consumable welding electrode, which melts
and fills the weld pool. Chemical compositions of filler
metal is similar to that of work piece.
Processes (cont.)

 Molten metal in the weld pool is chemically active and it reacts with the
surrounding atmosphere. As a result, weld may be contaminated by oxide and
nitride inclusions deteriorating its mechanical properties.
 Neutral shielding gases (argon, helium) and/or shielding fluxes are used for
protection of the weld pool from atmospheric contamination.
 Shields are supplied to the weld zone in form of a flux coating of the
electrode or in other forms.
 Shielded Metal Arc Welding Shielded metal arc welding.png

(SMAW)

Stick welding or Manual

metal arc welding
This uses an electrode of
like material composition
as the material being
welded to generate an
arc between itself and
the welded material. The
molten electrode fill the
weld gap and join the
workpieces.
Shielded metal arc welding.png

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)

 The electrodes are coated with a shielding flux of a

suitable composition. The flux melts together with the
electrode metallic core, forming a gas and a slag,
shielding the arc and the weld pool. The flux cleans the
metal surface, supplies some alloying elements to the
weld, protects the molten metal from oxidation and
stabilizes the arc.

 The slag is removed after Solidification.

Advantages of shielded Metal Arc
Welding (SMAW)
Advantages of Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW):
 Simple, portable and inexpensive equipment;
 Wide variety of metals, welding positions and electrodes
are applicable;
 Suitable for outdoor applications.
Disadvantages of Shielded Metal Arc
Welding (SMAW)
 The process is discontinuous due to limited length of the
electrodes;
 Weld may contain slag inclusions;
 Fumes make difficult the process control.
Submerged Arc Welding (SAW)

 Submerged Arc Welding is a welding process, which utilizes a bare

consumable metallic electrode producing an arc between itself and the work
piece within a granular shielding flux applied around the weld
Submerged Arc Welding (SAW)
Submerged arc welding.png
Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) Processes

 The arc heats and melts both the work pieces edges and the electrode wire.
The molten electrode material is supplied to the surfaces of the welded
pieces, fills the weld pool and joins the work pieces.

Since the electrode is submerged into the flux, the arc is invisible. The flux is
partially melts and forms a slag protecting the weld pool from oxidation and
other atmospheric contaminations.
Advantages of submerged Arc welding
(SAW)
 Very high welding rate;
 The process is suitable for automation;
 High quality weld structure.
Disadvantages of Submerged Arc Welding
(SAW)
 Disadvantages of Submerged Arc Welding (SAW):
 Weld may contain slag inclusions;
 Limited applications of the process - mostly for welding horizontally located
plates.
Tungsten Inert Gas Arc Welding (TIG, GTAW)
Tungsten Inert Gas Arc Welding (TIG,
GTAW)
 Tungsten Inert Gas Arc Welding (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) is a welding
process, in which heat is generated by an electric arc struck between a
tungsten non-consumable electrode and the work piece.

The weld pool is shielded by an inert gas (Argon, helium, Nitrogen) protecting
the molten metal from atmospheric contamination.
 The heat produced by the arc melts the work pieces edges and joins
them. Filler rod may be used, if required.

Tungsten Inert Gas Arc Welding produces a high quality weld of most of
metals. Flux is not used in the process.
Advantages of Tungsten Inert Gas Arc
Welding (TIG, GTAW)

 Weld composition is close to that of the parent metal;

 High quality weld structure
 Slag removal is not required (no slag);
 Thermal distortions of work pieces are minimal due to concentration of heat
in small zone.
Disadvantages of Tungsten Inert Gas Arc
Welding (TIG, GTAW):

 Low welding rate;

 Relatively expensive;
 Requires high level of operators skill.
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW or MIG

 Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW or MIG) is a process that utilizes a continuously
fed solid electrode, shielding gas from an externally supplied source, and
electrical power to melt the electrode and deposit this molten material in the
weld joint
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW or MIG

 The equipment used automatically regulates the electrical characteristics of

the arc.
 The only manual controls required of the welder for semi-automatic operation
are travel speed, travel direction and gun (torch) positioning.
 Given proper equipment settings, the power supply will provide the necessary
amperage to melt the electrode at the rate required to maintain the pre-
selected arc length (voltage). For example, an increased stick-out, produced
by drawing the torch back from the work piece, results in a reduction in
current from the power supply. This maintains the same heating of the
electrode and returns the arc length to its preset condition.
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW or MIG

 Filler metal selection should be closely matched to the base material being
welded. In GMAW, the filler metal not only conducts current to the arc zone
(resulting in melting the base metal and electrode), but adds reinforcement
to the completed weld joint
Gas Welding (GW)

 Gas Welding is a welding process utilizing heat of the flame from a welding
torch. The torch mixes a fuel gas with Oxygen in the proper ratio and flow
rate providing combustion process at a required temperature. The hot flame
fuses the edges of the welded parts, which are joined together forming a
weld after Solidification.
Gas Welding equipment:

 Fuel gas cylinder with pressure regulator;

 Oxygen cylinder with pressure regulator;
 Welding torch;
 Blue oxygen hose;
 Red fuel gas hose;
 Trolley for transportation of the gas cylinders.
Oxyacetylene Welding (OAW)
Gas Welding Process

 The flame temperature is determined by a type of the fuel gas and proportion
of oxygen in the combustion mixture: 4500°F - 6300°F (2500°C - 3500°C).
Depending on the proportion of the fuel gas and oxygen in the combustion
mixture, the flame may be chemically neutral (stoichiometric content of the
gases), oxidizing (excess of oxygen), carburizing (excess of fuel gas).

 Filler rod is used when an additional supply of metal to weld is

required. Shielding flux may be used if protection of weld pool is necessary.

Most of commercial metals may be welded by Gas Welding excluding reactive

metals (titanium, zirconium) and refractory metals (tungsten, molybdenum).
Popular Methods of Gas Welding

 Oxyacetylene Welding (OAW)

 Oxyhydrogen Welding (OHW)
 Pressure Gas Welding (PGW)
Oxyacetylene Welding (OAW)

 Oxyacetylene Welding (OAW)

 Oxyacetylene Welding is a Gas Welding process using a combustion mixture of
acetylene (C2H2) and oxygen (O2) for producing gas welding flame.

Oxyacetylene flame has a temperature of about 6000°F (3300°C). Combustion of

acetylene proceeds in two stages:

1. Inner core of the flame. C2H2 + O2 = 2CO + H2

2. Outer envelope of the flame: CO + H2 + O2 = CO2 + H2O

Acetylene is safely stored at a pressure not exceeding 300 psi (2000 kPa) in special
steel cylinders containing acetone. Outside of cylinder acetylene is used at a
absolute pressure not exceeding 30 psi (206 kPa). Higher pressure may cause
explosion
Advantages of Gas Welding:

 Versatile process;
 Low cost, portable equipment;
 Electricity supply is not required.

Disadvantages of Gas Welding:

 High skill operator is required;

 Flame temperature is lower, than in arc welding;
 Fumes evolved by shielding fluxes;
 Some metals cannot be welded (reactive and refractory metals).
Resistance welding
 Resistance welding
 Resistance welding uses the application
of electric current and mechanical
pressure to create a weld between two
pieces of metal. Weld electrodes
conduct the electric current to the two
pieces of metal as they are forged
together.
(http://www.weldingengineer.com/1%20
Resistance.htm)
Commonly used resistance welding
processes
 Resistance Spot Welding (RSW),
 Resistance Seam Welding (RSEW),
 Projection Welding (PW)
Resistance Spot weld
Resistance Spot weld
Projection Welding (PW)
Resistance seam weld (RSEW)
Resistance Weld Symbols
Resistance welding Process
 The welding cycle must first develop sufficient heat to
raise a small volume of metal to the molten state. This
metal then cools while under pressure until it has
adequate strength to hold the parts together. The current
density and pressure must be sufficient to produce a weld
nugget, but not so high as to expel molten metal from the
weld zone.

http://www.weldingengineer.com/1%20Resistance.htm
Resistance Welding Benefits

 High speed welding

 Easily automated
 Suitable for high-rate production
 Economical
Resistance Welding Limitations

 Initial equipment costs

 Lower tensile and fatigue strengths
 Lap joints add weight and material
Resistance Welding Problems

 Cracks
 Electrode deposit on work
 Porosity or cavities
 Pin holes
 Deep electrode indentation
 Improper weld penetration
 Surface appearance
 Weld size
 Irregular shaped welds
(http://www.weldingengineer.com/1%20Resistance.htm)
Assignment

1. What is the difference between gas and arc welding. Explain with the aid of
diagrams. 1(b) State the advantages and disadvantages of gas welding.
2. How does MIG and TIG welding differs. Use sketch diagrams to aid explanation.
3. What is resistance spot welding? Use neat sketches to illustrate its operation
4.