Classification of welding methods:

Plastic welding methods: a) Forging welding c) Resistance welding b)Thermit welding with pressure d) gas welding Fusion welding methods: a)Gas welding b) arc welding c) thermit welding without pressure Electric welding methods: Resistance welding methods: a) Butt welding d) Seam welding b) Spot welding e) percussion welding c) Projection welding Arc welding method: a)Carbon arc welding d) inert gas metal arc welding b)Metal arc welding e) submerged arc welding c)Atomic hydrogen arc welding.

RESISTANCE WELDING

In resistance, a heavy current of (about 100A) at low voltage is passed directly through the work piece. Heat is developed due to this current at the contact area due to the resistance which is given by the expression I2Rt. The heat developed at the contact area between the pieces reduces the metal to plastic state. The pieces then pressed together to complete the weld. The voltage required for resistance welding ranges from 4 to 12 volts depending upon the composition, area, thickness etc. of the metal pieces to be welded. The amount of power required ranges from 60 W to 180 W for each mm2 of area. Both A.C. and D.C. may be used for resistance welding, but A.C. is found to be the most useful source of supply, as it can provide any combination of voltage and current. The pressure required to affect the weld varies from 2.5 to 5.5Kg / mm2. The pressure may be applied manually by air pressure or by springs or by hydraulic means. After switching on the supply, the pressure is maintained on the electrodes until the weld cools. Resistance welding is mainly employed for mass production. The operation is extremely rapid and simple. Heat can be controlled by introducing an auto-transformer between supply and welding transformer.

UP SET BUTT WELDING

This type of welding is used metal pieces like bars, rods, wires, tubing, formed parts etc. The metal pieces to be welded are fixed in clamps of the machine which presses with good contact end to end. When suitable pressure is reached, heavy current is passed through the contact resistance between the ends to get heated to the welding temperature. Now extra pressure is applied so that they pushed into each other to complete the weld and joint is then cooled under pressure. The voltage required ranges from 2 to 8 V and current from 50 to several hundred amperes depending upon the material and contact area of the metal pieces

FLASH BUTT WELDING

In the above method, special preparation of faces to be welded is not required, where as it necessary in flash butt welding. This method is considered to be superior to upset butt welding The work pieces to be welded are clamped into specially designed electrodes, one of which is fixed while the other is movable. When the two metal pieces are quite close to each other, an arc or flash is set up between them which produces the necessary welding heat. As soon as the contact surfaces reach the forging temperature, pressure is applied to complete the weld and supply is cut off. The joint is cooled under pressure. Flash butt welding creates a joint which has practically full strength of the parent metal under static loading conditions. It uses considerably less current than upset butt welding.

APPLICATIONS - FLASH BUTT WELDING

Used for welding chains, rail ends, rolled sections, shaft axles etc. In the production of wheel rims for automobiles. For welding tube coils for refrigeration plants etc.

SPOT WELDING

It is the most widely used form of resistance welding. It is a form of resistance welding in which the pieces are joined at spots. The figure shows the basic parts of modern welding process. It consists of a step down transformer which can supply huge current up to 5000A for short duration of time. The lower electrode is fixed and the upper electrode is movable. The electrodes are made of low resistance hard copper alloy and are either air cooled or water cooled. Pointed electrodes are used for ferrous materials where as domed electrodes are used for non-ferrous metals. The weld size is determined by the diameter of the electrode. As the movable electrode comes down and presses the parts A and B current is passed through the assembly. The metal under the pressure zone get heated up and fuse together and completes the weld. The pressure required is about 7Kg/mm2. The voltage between electrodes is usually less than 2 V. Spot welding is applicable for joining components from plate material.

PROJECTION WELDING

It is a modified form of spot welding. This system has two flat electrodes for its operation called platens. One is movable and the other is fixed. This type of welding is usually employed on punched , formed parts or stamped parts where the projections automatically exist. The upper and lower electrodes are connected across the secondary of a step down transformer. The two pieces to be welded are held together between the flat electrodes and pressure is applied. When the movable electrode touches the fixed electrode, welding current flows through each projection. The projection areas heat up and union takes place at all projections. Then the welded points are cooled under pressure . When the two plates to be welded are of different crosssectional areas, it is necessary to have projections on thicker plate. When two plates to be welded are of different material, then the projections are to be made on high conductivity

PROJECTION WELDING
Advantages over spot welding: Projections make the welding process simple. More output is obtained since more than one weld are done at a time. Electrode life is increased due use of low current density and low pressure. Good finished appearance is obtained as the surface remains un-indented by the electrodes. It is easy to weld certain parts which cannot be weld by spot welding. Applications: Projection welding is extensively used by automanufacturers for joining nuts, bolts and studs to steel plates in car bodies. This process is especially suitable metals like brass, aluminum and copper etc. due to their high thermal conductivity.

Percussion welding

Percussion welding

In this method, heat is obtained from an arc produced by rapid discharges of electrical energy. The force is applied percussively during or immediately after the electrical discharge. A shallow layer of metal on the contact surface of the work piece is melted by the heat of the arc produced between them and one the sheet is pushed against the other, extinguishing the arc, expelling the molten metal and completing the weld. The heat input, even though for a short duration, it is intense and localized, the percussion welding is made possible. There are two percussion welding methods. i) the capacitor discharge method an d ii) magnetic force method. The capacitance discharge method is shown in figure. Metals which can be percussion welded include copper alloys, aluminum alloys, nickel alloys, low carbon steel, medium carbon steel and stainless steel.

Carbon arc welding

This is the first type of electric arc welding process. In this type of welding both A.C. and D.C. can be used, but D.C. is the most commonly used source of supply. For D.C. supply a carbon or graphite rod is used as negative and the work as positive. Mostly graphite electrodes are used as they yield longer life and capable of conducting more current. The length of the arc can be varied over wide limits without causing the arc to go out. With D.C., when negative is connected to the electrode, less heat is generated at the tip of the electrode than that at the work. Then carbon from the electrode will not fuse and mix up with the job. If positive is connected to the electrode, more heat is generated at the electrode than that at work. Then carbon electrode melts and mixes with the job. If this so happens, the resultant weld will be rich in carbon and the weld formed will be brittle and unsound. Hence in the case of carbon arc welding, only D.C. supply is preferred. This method is normally adopted where addition of filler material is not required and is used for welding sheet steel, copper alloys, bronze and aluminum. Temperature is at about 3200c on the ve electrode & 3900c on + ve electrode There are two methods of carbon arc welding. In one method, no flux is used and in the other method flux either in the form of powder or paste is used to prevent the weld from oxidation.

Metal arc welding

A metal rod of the same material as that of the work, form one of the electrodes. It also serves as the filler rod. No separate filler rod is required. When the supply is switched on, the electrode is pulled back by a small distance to strike the arc. Due to the heat generated by the arc, a portion of the work melts and forms a metal pool. The tip of the electrode also melts and flows across the arc into the metal pool. Then the electrode is removed and weld is allowed to cool to form a welded joint. Metal in the molten state has an affinity for foreign elements such as oxygen, nitrogen etc. In order to prevent this for entering welded joints, coated electrodes are used. Both A.C. and D.C. can be used for this welding. For D.C. welding, 50 V to 60 V supply is used and for A.C. 70 V to 100 V supply is used. Welding with D.C. gives raise to arc blow due to due to magnetic forces created by the current. This trouble does not exist with A.C. welding. The temperature produced is about 2, 400 C. to 2, 6000 C on the negative electrode and positive electrode respectively. For currents above 750 A, A.C. equipment is preferred as it has high

Atomic hydrogen arc welding

In this type of arc welding, an arc is struck between two non-consumable tungsten electrodes and a stream of hydrogen under pressure of 0.5 Kg / cm2 is passed through the arc and around the electrode. For this type of welding, A.C. supply is used to obtain equal consumption of electrodes. The hydrogen is usually supplied from steel cylinders and serves two fold purposes---i) As a protective screen for the arc and ii) As a cooling agent for the glowing tungsten electrode points As the molecules of hydrogen gas pass through the electric arc, they are changed into atomic state and absorbs a considerable amount of energy, resulting in cooling of glowing tungsten electrodes. These atoms recombine into molecules just outside the arc, liberating a large amount of heat. This extra heat, added to the intense heat of arc, produces a temperature of about 40000C as compared to 2,0000C produced by the combination of normal hydrogen and oxygen. This is used for making fusion welds. When additional heat is required, filler rods are melted into the joint. Arc currents up to 150 A can be used. The open circuit is about 300 V for striking the arc and the voltage required for maintaining the arc lies between 80 v and 100 V. This type of arc welding is used for welding any ferrous or non-ferrous metals. Welding of thin sheets, production of tubing and repairing of expensive tools and dies are some of common uses of this method. Due to concentration of heat, high welding speeds may be obtained. This process is capable of producing smooth, uniform, strong and ductile welds.

Inert gas metal arc welding

In this method, an arc is formed between a continuously fed consumable electrode wire and the material to be welded. The consumable bare electrode wire producing the filler metal is automatically fed from reel on to the job through a welding gun which also carries a nozzle. Helium or argon gas is blown through this nozzle around the arc and on to the weld. This inert gas acts as a shield to protect the weld from the oxidizing effect of atmosphere. Both A.C. and D.C. can be used for this type of welding. This process is particularly employed for welding light alloys, stainless steel, and nonferrous metals such as copper, aluminum and their alloys.