by James Anderson | Last Updated on February 17, 2023
In order to master the art of welding, you need to know existing paradigms of the welding process so you can select one which turns to be your optimum solution rather in a faulty selection. Welding process is not just a process of creation but also discovering a gold standard convenient to welders need and welding material. Before you screw up at welding and start banging your head on the wall here are some important types of welding process that you must know to outshine your fellow welders.
Table of Contents
Commonly Used Welding Process
1. Mig or Gmaw
Metal Inert Gas or Gas Metal Arc Welding also notable as wire welding is a procedure which generates an electric arc in midst of an electrode wire and the work metal. Electric arcs can generate temperature up to 10000 F that permits the metal to heat up and merge metals. While melting, the wire electrode and metal piece produce a poll of molten material entitled as weld puddle. Besides, a shielding gas mainly carbon dioxide, argon or a mixture of both emits through the gun and out of the nozzle which protects the surrounding air from contamination. MIG welding has high operating factors and is super easy to learn for beginners. It can be great for home use and can be applied to metals like stainless steel, mild carbon, aluminum, nickel, and more. However, because of shorter gun lengths it is less portable and creates difficulties in linking up complicated position joints.
2. Tig Welding
Tungsten Inert Gas Welding is a modern welding process and can be challenging for beginners. In TIG welding metals are heated up amidst a heat-resistant tungsten electrode and metal work-piece. A helium/argon gas tank is connected to a torch handle to stream the gas creating an inert atmosphere in the course of welding. TIG welding can be wrapped up using no filler metal but for materials of high thickness filler material is used and controlled manually using foot pedals which requires experienced welders. TIG welding is used for highly reacting materials such as aluminum, magnesium and provides stronger joints. It is comparatively a slow welding process and requires a high capital cost.
3. Shielded Metal Arc Welding
Shielded Metal Arc Welding is one of the oldest and easiest technology. It utilizes a consumable electrode comprising of a filler metal pole that joints the workpieces together. This sort of welding process is stated as shielded metal arc welding as the arc is shielded along with flux material so that it is not welded away.
Shielding can be done faster if done properly. Stick welding can be used for steels, irons but fails to weld copper alloys. This type of welding is not too efficacious because of the low rate of filler deposition.
4. Laser Beam Welding
Laser beam welding is a type of welding process which is focused on laser beam and prompts for metal vaporization. The laser beam is an intense monochromatic coherent light source that directly falls on the base metal to be welded. The concentrated light beam generates heat which strikes on the surface creating vapor while triggering the metal workpiece to melt below.
In this process of welding filler metal is not mandatory and can be readily used to weld dissimilar metals. Laser beam welding is typically used in manufacturing industries and requires high set-up and sustentation costs.
5. Plasma Arc Welding
Plasma arc welding is almost identical to the TIG welding process. TIG welding process produces arch to weld workpieces whereas plasma arc welding uses plasma instead.
Plasma arc welding is a liquid state welding process in which metals are conjoined in a molten state. The hot ionized gases used are known as plasma which is the fourth state of matter. These ionized atoms have high heat contained which further allows us to connect two workpieces. The tungsten electrode in plasma is held by a collet. The inner gas nozzle supplies inert gases inside the torch to produce plasma whereas the outside nozzle protects the weld from oxidization by supplying shielding gases. Argon and helium are used as both inert and shielding gases.
One important advantage of plasma arc welding is that it uses less power input to generate equal heat for melting similar size weld compared to other welding processes. But plasma arc welding can be noisy and requires high qualification to operate.
6. Electron Beam Welding
Electron metals can weld both similar and dissimilar metals and is a liquid state welding process. In this welding process, high jet of electron hits at welding materials converting the kinetic energy of electrons into heat energy. The heat energy by fusion melts the workpieces converting them in the way required. A tungsten or tantalum alloy gun is used to accelerate electrons at a high velocity and focused tightly on the metals to be joined. The entire process is conducted inside a vacuum to restrict electrons from colliding to air particles which weakens the power of electrons.
This type of welding process is used in automobile industries, electronic and medical industries as electron beam welding results in high-quality welding and easily weld hard materials.
7. Flux Cored Arc Welding
Flux Cored Arc welding or FCAW is almost identical to MIG welding as they possess similar kinds of equipment. As the name implies, in this type of welding an arc is generated between a continuous tubular filler metal and workpiece. The continuous tubular filler metal is filled with flux which is melted by a puddle creating a shield. Flux-cored arc welding is suitable for all positions including flat welding, horizontal welding, and many more. Though the equipment of this welding is a bit expensive but it produces high-quality weld within less effort.
8. Atomic Hydrogen Welding
Atomic Hydrogen Welding is a special type of arc welding that welds metal pieces with two non-consumable tungsten electrodes attached to an electrode holder while producing arc surrounded by hydrogen gas. Here electric arc is produced between two electrodes rather than between electrode and work-piece. Filler rod is not necessary but if needed can be used. Atomic hydrogen welding is a quick process but limited to flat positions only.
Apart from these, there are numerous types of welding processes available for welders. These welding processes provide a brief understanding of the components and procedures each welding process follows and let you decide smartly and effortlessly an essential part of welding-types of welding process. So, buckle up yourself and develop your attention to detail welding.
Hi, I am James Anderson from Sandy, Utah. Welding has always been part of my life and I love to share my wealth of experience. I have a team of professionals who are knowledgeable about different welding processes. I hope you will be educated and informed on this website, to become better welders.