Definition and Welding Process in Metal Manufacturing

Welding is a fabrication process in which two or more parts are joined together through heat, pressure, or both and form a joint when the parts are cold. Welding is usually used on metals and thermoplastics, but can also be used on wood. A complete welded joint can be referred to as a weld. This technique was discovered during attempts to manipulate iron into more useful forms.

Welding techniques that involve coating relatively soft and tough iron with a high carbon material, followed by forging produce strong and tough blades. The parts that are joined are known as the parent material. Materials that are added to help form the joint are called fillers or consumables. These forms of materials are referred to as main plates or pipes, filler wire, consumable electrodes, etc.

Consumables are usually selected so that their composition is similar to the parent material, thus forming a homogeneous weld. But there are times when the composition is different from the parent material such as when welding brittle cast iron, thus the weld is called heterogeneous.

How does metal welding work?

Unlike brazing and soldering which does not melt the base metal, welding or welding is a high heat process that melts the base material. As usual, this process is done by adding fillers. The heat at high temperatures causes the weld pool of the cooling liquid material to form a joint, which can be stronger than the parent metal. Pressure can also be used to produce welds, either on the heat side or on its own.

The welding process can also use a shielding gas to protect the molten metal and filler from being contaminated or oxidized.

Conclusion

By now, you should be able to see that the welding process is different from brazing and soldering, which do not melt the base metal. In addition, there are many types of welding that present more challenges than you might imagine. Duta Laserindo Metal can help you provide the best welding production results in sheet metal fabrication.