Fabrication Welding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL6DAQ1EUtk

BrazingBrazing is where 2 pieces of metal are joined together by melting a DIFFERENT type of metal to form a joint

For example steel can be brazed using a brass brazing rod

The brazing rod can be melted using a brazing hearth (natural gas and air mixed like a bunsen burner) or by Oxy Acetylene (Hotter)

Welding Welding differs from soldering and brazing, in that the materials being joined must be the same. If a filler rod is being used then it should be the same material as that being joined.

There are a number of different methods of welding including the use of oxy-acetylene or an electric arc to generate the heat required.

Other techniques use an electric current passing through the material to fuse them together.

Oxy-acetylene Welding

This uses a mixture of oxygen and acetylene gas to create a flame that will burn at a temperature of around 2500 degrees Celsius at the hottest point. This will clearly be sufficient to melt mild steel at the joint allowing the melting of a filler rod to fuse the joint edges together.

Electric Arc

Welding

This generates sufficient heat to melt the joint edges by creating an electric current through a gap (arc) between the materials being joined and the filler rod (electrode). The electrode is coated in a flux which, when melted, prevents the joint area becoming oxidised.

MIG and TIG

MIG and TIG welding – these are more refined forms of electric arc welding which can be used to join thin sheet material. MIG (Metal Inert Gas) and TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding use a gas jet around the filler wire to prevent oxidation of the material. Different gases are used with different materials, e.g. Argon is used with aluminium.

TIG MIG

Spot WeldingBoth spot and seam welding use an electric current as the heat source. Spot welding as the name suggests provides a spot of heat to fuse the metals together. It is usual to find a series of spot welds in a structure like a car body shell. Seam welding, on the other hand, passes an electric current through the material as it passes under the rollers. A typical application for this type of joining method is tin coated mild steel food and drinks cans.

Seam Welding Spot