FABTECH College of Engineering and Research, Sangola

UNIT 11

UNIT 11 Introduction to Joining processes

Welding processes, such as gas welding, arc welding, submerged arc welding, TIG welding, MIG welding, resistance welding. Gas cutting, Plasma arc cutting etc. Brazing and soldering

Welding Process:
Welding is the process of joining the two metallic parts together by heating them to a plastic or semi-molten state, with or without the application of a pressure and with or without a fillet material.

Figure: Block diagram of Welding Process The welding process needs three input elements Electrical Energy Or Combustion of Gases or Chemical Reaction

Heat: In welding process, the heat required for fusing the two parts is obtained from: Electric energy (electric arc or electric resistance) ; or Combustion of gases ; or Chemical reaction. Heat is essential input element in welding process & Application of Pressure & Filler Material is optional
2.

Application of Pressure : The application of pressure is an optional input element in welding process. In some welding processes, the two parts to be welded are forced together by external pressure.

Manufacturing Processes

Prepared by Prof.S.C.Kulkarni & Prof. Jay Gavade

Page 120

FABTECH College of Engineering and Research, Sangola

UNIT 11

3.

Filler Material : The filter material is again an optional input element is welding process. In some welding processes, the filler material is supplied by welding rod. Advantages, Limitations and Applications of Welding:

The advantages, limitations, and applications of welding process are discussed below: Advantages of Welding: 1. Welding gives light weight construction. 2. Welded joint has strength equal to that of the material being jointed. 3. Welded joints can be produced at much faster rate. 4. Welding process can be mechanised and automated. 5. Welding can be effectively used for producing the complicated structures. 6. Welding is an effective technique for repairing the broken parts. 7. Welding is a low cost metal joining process. 8. Welding can produce fluid tight joints. Limitations of Welding: 1. As welded joint is a permanent joint, it is not possible to disassemble the two parts connected by welded joint. 2. Welded joints are weak against vibrations. 3. The quality and strength of the welded joints depend upon the skill of the operator. 4. Welding produces residual stresses and distortion of the workpiece. 5. Welding process gives harmful radiations like light, fumes and spatters. Applications of Welding: 1. Fabrication of bridges, electric towers, transmission towers 2. Manufacturing of two wheeler and four wheeler automobile bodies 3. Building of ships and aircrafts 4. Manufacturing of boilers, pressure vessels, storage tanks, pipelines, manufacturing of steel furniture, window and door frames, window grills Types of Welding: Depending upon the application of external pressure, the welding processes are broadly classified into two categories 1. Pressure Welding (Plastic Welding): In pressure (plastic) welding process, the two metal parts to be joined are heated to a plastic state and forced together by an external pressure to make the joint. The pressure (plastic) welding process does not require filler material.
Depending upon the source of heat used, the pressure welding processes are classified into three categories : Manufacturing Processes Prepared by Prof.S.C.Kulkarni & Prof. Jay Gavade Page 121

FABTECH College of Engineering and Research, Sangola

UNIT 11

Forge Welding 2. Resistance Welding (Electric Resistance Welding) 3. Pressure Thermitt Welding
1.

2. Non-Pressure Welding (Fusion Welding): In non-pressure (fusion) welding process, the two metal parts to be joined are heated to a molten (fusion) state and allowed to solidify to make the joint, without application of external pressure. The non-pressure (fusion) welding process generally requires filler material.

Figure: Types of Welding Processes

Manufacturing Processes

Prepared by Prof.S.C.Kulkarni & Prof. Jay Gavade

Page 122

FABTECH College of Engineering and Research, Sangola

UNIT 11

Resistance Welding (Electric Resistance Welding):

Resistance welding is the pressure welding process in which: i) The heating is done due to the resistance of metal parts for the flow of electric current between two electrodes; ii) The external pressure, on the parts to be jointed, is applied by two electrodes; iii) No filler material is used. In resistance welding, the amount of heat generated at the contacting area between two metal parts is given by, H= I2RT Where, H = heat generated in joules, I = current in amperes, R = resistance at the contacting area between two metal parts in ohms, t = time of current flow in seconds Principle of Operation of Resistance Welding is shown in figure:

Figure: Resistance welding In this process, the two overlapped metal parts are pressed between the tips of the two metal (copper alloy) electrodes. The electrodes are connected to the transformer. The transformer supply is low voltage (4V to 12 V) and high current (thousands of amperes) type A.C. The resistance welding process consists of following steps: Step 1: The two electrodes are pressed against the overlapped metal parts to be welded. Step 2: The current is passed through the electrodes for a definite period of time, which ranges from a fraction of second to few seconds. Due to the resistance offered by the metal parts to the flow of current, the heat is generated at the point of contact. The heat generated will melt the metals at the point of contact. Step 3 : The current is then switched off and melt metal is allowed to solidify, forming the joint with
Manufacturing Processes Prepared by Prof.S.C.Kulkarni & Prof. Jay Gavade Page 123

FABTECH College of Engineering and Research, Sangola

UNIT 11

small circular weld. Step 4 : The electrode pressure is released and spot welded part is removed. Advantages of Resistance Welding i) The resistance welding process is fast. Therefore, it gives high rate of production. ii) The process is suitable for mass production. iii) The process can be mechanised and automated. iv) The process does not require skilled operator. v) It does not require filler material vi) The heat is localized. Therefore, there is least possibility of distortion of material. vii) Both similar and dissimilar metal can be resistance welded. viii) The process is highly reliable. Limitations of Resistance Welding i) The resistance welding is suitable only for thin parts. The parts with large thickness cannot be resistance welded. ii) The cost of equipment is high. iii) Even though the duration of current flow is short, the process required high current. Therefore, KVA requirement of transformer is high. Applications of Resistance Welding The resistance welding is most suitable welding process for sheet metals. Therefore, it is widely used in i) A manufacturing automobile bodies (there are 8000-10000 spot welds per car); ii) Building of ships and aircrafts; and iii) Manufacturing of tanks, tubes. Types of Resistance Welding The following three types of resistance welding processes are widely used in engineering applications 1. Spot welding 2. Seam welding 3.Projection welding

The first two types of resistance welding process are discussed below: 1. Spot Welding: Spot welding is the resistance welding process in which the overlapped metal sheets are joined by local fusion at one or more spots obtained using bar electrodes. Figure shows the principle of operation of sport welding process. In this process, the two overlapped metal sheets are pressed between the tips of the two metal (copper alloy) electrodes. The electrodes are connected to the transformer. The transformer supply is low voltage (4V to 12V) and high current (thousands of amperes) type A.C.
Manufacturing Processes Prepared by Prof.S.C.Kulkarni & Prof. Jay Gavade Page 124

FABTECH College of Engineering and Research, Sangola

UNIT 11

Figure: Spot welding The spot welding process consists of following steps Step 1 : The two electrodes are pressed against the overlapped metal sheets to be welded. Step 2: The current is passed through the electrodes for a definite period of time, which ranges from a fraction of second to few seconds. Due to the resistance offered by the metal sheets to the flow of current, the heat is generated at the point of contact. The heat generated will melt the metals at the point of contact. Step 3: The current is then switched off and melt metal is allowed to solidify, forming the joint with small circular weld. Step 4: The electrode pressure is released and spot welded part is removed The size of the spot weld is approximately same as that of the electrode tip, which is 3 to 6 mm in diameter. The use of spot welding process is limited to thin metal sheets of thickness 0.25 mm to 4 mm. Applications of Spot Welding: The spot welding process is used for manufacturing automobile body parts, air craft and ship parts, steel furniture, sheet metal containers, etc. Seam Welding: Seam welding is the resistance welding process in which the overlapped metal sheets are joined by local fusion in a series of overlapping spots, obtained using roller electrodes. Fig. 8.7.4 shows the principle of operation of seam welding process.

Manufacturing Processes

Prepared by Prof.S.C.Kulkarni & Prof. Jay Gavade

Page 125

FABTECH College of Engineering and Research, Sangola

UNIT 11

Figure: Seam welding In this process, two overlapped metal sheets are pressed between the two copper alloy roller electrodes. The roller electrodes are connected to the transformer. The transformer supply is low voltage (0.5 to 10 V) and high current (2000 to 5000 V) type A.C. The seam welding process consists of following steps: Step 1: The two roller electrodes are pressed against the overlapped metal sheets to be welded. Step 2 : The current is passed though the roller electrodes. Step 3: The rotation is given to the roller electrodes by power drive. Due to the rotation of roller electrodes, the overlapped metal sheets move forward steadily. Because of the alternating current (A.C.), the spot weld is made every time current reaches its peak. Therefore, one spot-weld is made during each current cycle (1/50th sec), resulting into continuous seam of overlapping weld spots. The welding speed (speed of metal sheets) ranges from 0.5 to 3.5 m/min. The use of seam welding process is limited to thin metal sheets of thickness 0.25 mm to 3.2 mm. Applications of Seam Welding Seam welding is used for manufacturing tanks, tubes, pipes and other articles of steel and non-ferrous metals which must have air tight joints. Non-Pressure Welding (Fusion Welding): In non-pressure (fusion) welding process, the two metal parts to be joined are heated to a molten (fusion) state and allowed to solidify to make the joint, without application of external pressure. The non-pressure (fusion) welding process generally requires filler material. Types of Non-Pressure (Fusion) Welding

Manufacturing Processes

Prepared by Prof.S.C.Kulkarni & Prof. Jay Gavade

Page 126