WELDING is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence.

This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material (the weld pool) that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes used in conjunction with heat, or by itself, to produce the weld. This is in contrast with soldering and brazing, which involve melting a lowermelting-point material between the workpieces to form a bond between them, without melting the workpieces. Welding is defined as a process where two or more pieces of metal or thermoplastics are fastened together by use of heat and pressure. The process of applying heat softens the material and enables it to affix together as one in a joint Page | area when an adequate amount of pressure is applied. The concept of welding first developed in the middle ages, 1 though it did not form into the process of welding as it is today until the latest years of the 19th century. Before this, a process known as "forge welding" was the only means of joining two metal objects together. Forge welding consisted of using a flame to heat metal to extremely high temperatures and then hammering each piece together until they became one. This method was replaced around the time of the industrial revolution. Electric and gas flame heating methods proved to be much safer and faster for welders. Practically every material object that has made society what it is today, was created by welded construction tools or has been welded itself. Because of this, welders have a wide range of areas for employment, many welders specialize in pipe welding or automobile welding while others specialize in machinery. The possibilities are endless for welders seeing as welding can be performed in a diverse range of locations, including underwater, though not all forms of welding are the same. Some forms of welding use gas, while others use electric and the newest forms involve use of a laser. The process of welding that is used depends on a variety of factors but the form and thickness of the material is usually the deciding factor for which method is most effective. Arc, Electroslag, Flux-Cored, Gas Metal-Arc, Gas Tungsten-Arc, Metal Inert Gas, Plasma Arc, Shielded-Metal Arc, Submerged Arc and Tungsten Inert Gas are the most widely used welding methods. Many different energy sources can be used for welding, including a gas flame, an electric arc, a laser, an electron beam, friction, and ultrasound. While often an industrial process, welding may be performed in many different environments, including open air, under water and in outer space. Welding is a potentially hazardous undertaking and precautions are required to avoid burns, electric shock, vision damage, inhalation of poisonous gases and fumes, and exposure to intense ultraviolet radiation. Until the end of the 19th century, the only welding process was forge welding, which blacksmiths had used for centuries to join iron and steel by heating and hammering. Arc welding and oxyfuel welding were among the first processes to develop late in the century, and electric resistance welding followed soon after. Welding technology advanced quickly during the early 20th century as World War I and World War II drove the demand for reliable and inexpensive joining methods. Following the wars, several modern welding techniques were developed, including manual methods like shielded metal arc welding, now one of the most popular welding methods, as well as semi-automatic and automatic processes such as gas metal arc welding, submerged arc welding, flux-cored arc welding and electroslag welding. Developments continued with the invention of laser beam welding, electron beam welding, electromagnetic pulse welding and friction stir welding in the latter half of the century. Today, the science continues to advance. Robot welding is commonplace in industrial settings, and researchers continue to develop new welding methods and gain greater understanding of weld quality. What is welding? Welding is a joining process in which metals, or sometimes plastics, are heated, melted and mixed to produce a joint with properties similar to those of the materials being joined. There are three main components needed to create a weld. These are: A heat source such as an electric arc, a flame, pressure, or friction. The most common heat source is an electric arc. An arc is the physical gap between the end of the electrode and the base metal. The physical gap causes heat due to resistance of current flow and arc rays. The arc melts the metals to create the joint. Shielding, which is the use of gas, or another substance to protect the weld from air as the weld is being formed. Oxygen from the air makes welds brittle and porous. Filler material, which is the material used to join to the two pieces together. Other processes that join metals together include: Brazing is the joining of metals with a filler metal having a melting point above 450C (842F), but below the melting point of base metals. Soldering is the joining of metals using a filler metal with a melting point below 450C (842F). The joined metals can be different metals. The "filler"metals commonly used are lead-tin alloys. Metals can also be cut or separated by a flame or an electric arc, or removed by "gouging" with an electric arc. Is there more than one type of welding process? There are over 70 different welding processes. The most common of which are: Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), also known as Manual Metal Arc Welding, MMAW. Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) or Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) Welding.

Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW). Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), also known as Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding or hard wire welding. Plasma Arc Welding (PAW), Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC) and Gouging Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) Resistance Welding (RW) or spot welding. Air Carbon Arc Cutting and Gouging Oxyfuel Welding, Cutting and Heating (oxygen-acetylene [oxyacetylene] or oxygen-propane [oxy-propane] mixtures Page | are the most common fuel mixtures used). 2 GAS WELDING The most common gas welding process is oxyfuel welding,[13] also known as oxyacetylene welding. It is one of the oldest and most versatile welding processes, but in recent years it has become less popular in industrial applications. It is still widely used for welding pipes and tubes, as well as repair work.[13] The equipment is relatively inexpensive and simple, generally employing the combustion of acetylene in oxygen to produce a welding flame temperature of about 3100 C.[13] The flame, since it is less concentrated than an electric arc, causes slower weld cooling, which can lead to greater residual stresses and weld distortion, though it eases the welding of high alloy steels. A similar process, generally called oxyfuel cutting, is used to cut metals. ENERGY BEAM Energy beam welding methods, namely laser beam welding and electron beam welding, are relatively new processes that have become quite popular in high production applications. The two processes are quite similar, differing most notably in their source of power. Laser beam welding employs a highly focused laser beam, while electron beam welding is done in a vacuum and uses an electron beam. Both have a very high energy density, making deep weld penetration possible and minimizing the size of the weld area. Both processes are extremely fast, and are easily automated, making them highly productive. The primary disadvantages are their very high equipment costs (though these are decreasing) and a susceptibility to thermal cracking. Developments in this area include laser-hybrid welding, which uses principles from both laser beam welding and arc welding for even better weld properties, laser cladding and X-ray welding. SOLID-STATE Like the first welding process, forge welding, some modern welding methods do not involve the melting of the materials being joined. One of the most popular, ultrasonic welding, is used to connect thin sheets or wires made of metal or thermoplastic by vibrating them at high frequency and under high pressure.[17] The equipment and methods involved are similar to that of resistance welding, but instead of electric current, vibration provides energy input. Welding metals with this process does not involve melting the materials; instead, the weld is formed by introducing mechanical vibrations horizontally under pressure. When welding plastics, the materials should have similar melting temperatures, and the vibrations are introduced vertically. Ultrasonic welding is commonly used for making electrical connections out of aluminum or copper, and it is also a very common polymer welding process. Another common process, explosion welding, involves the joining of materials by pushing them together under extremely high pressure. The energy from the impact plasticizes the materials, forming a weld, even though only a limited amount of heat is generated. The process is commonly used for welding dissimilar materials, such as the welding of aluminum with steel in ship hulls or compound plates.[17] Other solid-state welding processes include friction welding (including friction stir welding),[18] electromagnetic pulse welding,[19] co-extrusion welding, cold welding, diffusion welding, exothermic welding, high frequency welding, hot pressure welding, induction welding, and roll welding. ARC WELDING Arc welding is a popular form of welding due the low cost of the process. The process begins with a device that gives off an electric current. This device can differ greatly from process to process yet it always enables electric current to move through materials that without the device, would be considered non-conductive. It is called arc welding because an electrical current is created between the welding device and the materials to be welded which at times gives an arch like appearance. The first basic form of arc welding was invented in the year 1802. Today, many other subcategories of arc welding exist. ELECTROSLAG WELDING Electroslag welding came into practice in the mid-1950s. Electroslag is a generally fast welding process used to join large materials such as thick steel plates. These plates or materials are usually arranged in a vertical position, as the Electroslag weld is designed to weld at this angle without causing distortion to the welder. The name Electroslag was derived from the use of water filled copper areas within the device, which were included and designed solely to prevent melted slag from pouring into other areas as it liquefied. FLUX-CORED WELDING

Flux-cored welding was created and put into use in the early years of the 1950s. Its purpose was to give another option to the popular use of stick welding. The Flux-Cored process is mostly used for projects that require fast speed as it is an automatic form of welding. Many construction workers use this process on the job because of the speed and the ability to use flux-cored welding in multiple situations on various materials. GAS METAL ARC WELDING The process of Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), created in the 1940s, is another automatic welding process. This method consists of the use of a welding gun which automatically feeds the weld metal through the gun for use. The Page | weld gun also automatically distributes a protective gas as a shield from the natural elements. This process saves a 3 lot of time and is best for a large quantity of welding work. It was originally developed for use with aluminum metals. Today, this method is mostly used by those welders in the automobile repair and manufacturing industries. GAS TUNGSTEN-ARC WELDING Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding is considered to be one of the most difficult and time consuming of welding processes used today (along with Plasma Arc Welding). This is because it requires a great amount of focus and skill due to the small area of space between the arc of the flame and the material being welded. Usually, small strips of metal that do not contain much iron are welded with this process. Though it is difficult, it produces extremely strong high quality welds when done correctly. Welders manufacturing bicycles and aircraft, both commercial and military, use Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding often while many other welders will never come across this process. Very little change has been made to this process since its release in 1941. MIG (METAL INERT GAS) WELDING Metal Inert Gas Welding is a process of welding that uses a gas to shield the weld metal. The gas keeps the metal being welded from being effected from natural elements in the environment, such as oxygen. This allows the welder to operate at a continuous rate, making the process fairly quick. Operation of the equipment does not require an extreme level of skill by welders, however, the equipment used in MIG Welding can only be used indoors due to the gas involved in the welding process. MIG Welding was originally released in the 1940s but underwent many upgrades until being perfected in the 1960s. PLASMA ARC WELDING Plasma Welding is very much like that of Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding (GTAW). The two processes are often compared because they basically work in the same fashion, only using a different type of torch. This method was developed in 1954, though even today, it is still being improved upon. Plasma Welding also requires more concentration than GTAW because of the smaller arc and precision of the weld. In Plasma Welding, the electrical current is passed through an extremely small nozzle which passes through the protective gases, enabling extreme accuracy when welding small areas. Plasma Welding can heat metals to very extreme temperatures which can result in deeper welds. Like GTAW, this welding process is generally used in the aircraft manufacturing industry. SHIELDED-METAL ARC WELDING Shielded-Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) is also referred to as stick welding. This process is known to be the most popular and widely used processes in welding today. The first form of SMAW was created in 1938 but the process and equipment continues to undergo upgrades. It is a manual welding process that is very simple and inexpensive to operate. The results often are not as neat as other methods and molten splatter is a common occurrence. Stick welding is mostly used by construction welders working on steel structures and other industries that require welding but do not have large budgets. SUBMERGED ARC WELDING The Submerged Arc Welding process can only be used properly on materials containing high iron contents, such as stainless steel. The device used in this process can be automatic or semi-automatic making it a fairly fast welding process. While it is a fast process, the electrical arc must constantly be covered by flux in order to protect the metal from the atmosphere during the welding process. This cover also prevents any welding spatter which makes it safer for welders than some of the other forms of welding. The process is named after this need to be submerged in a flux cover. TIG (TUNGSTEN INERT GAS) WELDING Tungsten Inert Gas welding is much like the process of Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding. The main difference between these two forms of welding is that TIG uses a tungsten current form, while MIG uses a metal electrode. Because TIG uses tungsten, it requires an additional filler placed inside the welding device as tungsten does not melt in the welding process. Tungsten is unique as it can be heated to a higher temperature before melting than all other metals. Tungsten Inert Gas Welding is usually used in industries that work with stainless steel. ARC WELDING
NAME CHARACTERISTICS APPLICATIONS

Atomic hydrogen welding

Two metal electrodes in hydrogen atmosphere

Historical Historical Copper, repair (limited) Industry, construction

Bare metal arc welding Consumable electrode, no flux or shielding gas Carbon arc welding Flux cored arc welding Carbon electrode, historical Continuous consumable electrode filled with flux

Gas metal arc welding Continuous consumable electrode and shielding gas Industry Gas tungsten arc welding Plasma arc welding Shielded metal arc welding Nonconsumable electrode, slow, high quality welds Nonconsumable electrode, constricted arc Aerospace,Construction(piping),Tool and Die Tubing, instrumentation

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Consumable electrode covered in flux, can weld any Construction, outdoors, maintenance metal as long as they have the right electrode

Submerged arc welding Automatic, arc submerged in granular flux

OXYFUEL GAS WELDING

NAME Air acetylene welding Oxyacetylene welding Oxygen/Propane welding Oxyhydrogen welding Pressure gas welding CHARACTERISTICS Chemical welding process, not popular Combustion of acetylene with oxygen produces hightemperature flame, inexpensive equipment Gas welding with oxygen/propane flame Combustion of hydrogen with oxygen produces flame Gas flames heat surfaces and pressure produces the weld Limited Pipe, railroad rails (limited) Limited Maintenance, repair APPLICATIONS

RESISTANCE WELDING
Name Resistance spot welding Resistance seam welding Projection welding Flash welding Upset welding Butt joint surfaces heated and brought together by force Characteristics Two pointed electrodes apply pressure and current to two or more thin workpieces Two wheel-shaped electrodes roll along workpieces, applying pressure and current Applications Automobile industry, Aerospace industry Aerospace industry, steel drums, tubing

SOLID-STATE WELDING
Name Coextrusion welding Cold pressure welding Diffusion welding Explosion welding Characteristics Dissimilar metals are extruded through the same die Joining of soft alloys such as copper and aluminium below their melting point No weld line visible Joining of dissimilar materials, e.g. corrosion resistant alloys to structural steels Applications Joining of corrosion resistant alloys to cheaper alloys Electrical contacts Titanium pump impellor wheels Transition joints for chemical industry and shipbuilding.

Bimetal pipelines Electromagnetic pulse welding Forge welding Friction welding Tubes or sheets are accelerated by electromagnetic forces. Oxides are expelled during impact Automotive industry, pressure vessels, dissimilar material joints

The oldest welding process in the world. Oxides must be Damascus steel removed by flux or flames. Thin heat affected zone, oxides disrupted by friction, needs sufficient pressure A rotating consumable tool is traversed along the joint line Metals are pressed together at elevated temperatures below the melting point in vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere A hot inert gas applies the pressure inside a pressure vessel, i.e. an autoclave Bimetallic materials are joined by forcing them between two rotating wheels High-frequency vibratory energy is applied to foils, thin metal sheets or plastics. Aerospace industry, railway, land transport Shipbuilding, aerospace, railway rolling stock, automotive industry Aerospace components

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Friction stir welding

Hot pressure welding

Hot isostatic pressure welding Roll welding Ultrasonic welding

Aerospace components Dissimilar materials Solar industry. Electronics. Rear lights of cars.

OTHER WELDING
Name Electron beam welding Electroslag welding Flow welding Induction welding Laser beam welding Laser-hybrid welding Deep penetration, fast, high equipment cost Combines LBW with GMAW in the same welding head, able to bridge gaps up to 2mm (between plates), previously not possible with LBW alone. Following an electrical discharge, pressure is applied which forges the materials together Exothermic reaction between alumnium powder and iron oxide powder Continuous consumable electrode, vertical positioning, steel only Welds studs to base material with heat and pressure Automotive industry Automotive, Shipbuilding, Steelwork industries Components of switch gear devices Railway tracks Storage tanks, shipbuilding Characteristics Deep penetration, fast, high equipment cost Welds thick workpieces quickly, vertical position, steel only, continuous consumable electrode. Heavy plate fabrication, construction Construction, shipbuilding. Applications

Percussion welding Thermite welding Electrogas welding Stud arc welding

Types of welding fit under categories as listed here: GAS WELDING This type of welding creates a flame from a burning gas and this creates the welding heat that is needed. You will see this in the following types of welding: Propane torches - people use this when they want to sweat a joint or when they want to solder two pieces of metal together. This is one of the lowest heats and can be used for small things. Oxyacetylene torch - this heat gets a bit hotter and many people say this is the most universal type of welding tool Page | you can find. This is used when you need a very hot flame. This type of torch will weld a variety of things as long as 6 you have the right metals and tools for it. It is generally used when you want to cut, braze, weld or solder something that requires a higher heat. You have to be careful though because it is a type of heat that can be difficult to control and it can sometimes overheat the area. Oxy-propane - this type of welding is used when you want to solder, braze or heat something. This is a cheaper form of both of the types of welding that was first listed. ARC WELDING This type of welding creates the heat through the use of an electric arc. The types of welding that are done through this type of welding include: Basic AC & DC arc welders - when you are looking for a way to weld either heavy gauge steel or cast iron this is the type of welding to use. It uses rods that you guide along the place to be weld and these are made of flux coated steel or other materials. MIG (METAL INERT GAS) This is a very quick way of welding and some say it is easier to do than regular arch welding It is done through the use of a DC arc and it uses filler metal that is used with a spool of thin wire. You use inert gas instead of flux. This is usually used with steal bodywork and is a good choice when you need to weld sheet metal. TIG (TUNGSTEN INERT GAS) This type of welding uses an AC arc that is of high frequency and it is combined with a tungsten electrode that is shielded by inert gas. This comes together to create a torch that is controllable. This is a good choice to weld very thin metals together. If you are working with aluminum or stainless steel this is a good choice. OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING Oxy-acetylene welding uses a mixture of acetylene gas and oxygen gas to feed the welding torch. Oxy-acetylene welding is the most commonly used gas welding technique. This gas mixture also provides the highest flame temperature of available fuel gases, however acetylene is generally the most expensive of all fuel gases. Acetylene is an unstable gas and requires specific handling and storage procedures. Oxy-acetylene welding uses a mixture of acetylene gas and oxygen gas to feed the welding torch. Oxy-acetylene welding is the most commonly used gas welding technique. This gas mixture also provides the highest flame temperature of available fuel gases, however acetylene is generally the most expensive of all fuel gases. Acetylene is an unstable gas and requires specific handling and storage procedures. OXY-GASOLINE WELDING Pressurized gasoline is used as a welding fuel where fabrication costs are an issue, particularly in locations where acetylene canisters are not available. Gasoline torches can be more effective than acetylene for torch-cutting thick steel plates. The gasoline can be hand-pumped from a pressure cylinder, a common practice by jewelry makers in impoverished areas. MAPP GAS WELDING Methylacetylene-propadiene-petroleum (MAPP) is a gas mixture that is much more inert than other gas mixtures, making it safer for hobbyists and recreational welders to use and store. MAPP can also be used at very high pressures, allowing it to be used in high-volume cutting operations. BUTANE/PROPANE WELDING Butane and propane are similar gases that can be used alone as fuel gases or mixed together. Butane and propane have a lower flame temperature than acetylene, but are less expensive and easier to transport. Propane torches are more frequently used for soldering, bending and heating. Propane requires a different type of torch tip to be used than an injector tip because it is a heavier gas. HYDROGEN WELDING Hydrogen can be used at higher pressures than other fuel gases, making it especially useful for underwater welding processes. Some hydrogen welding equipment works off electrolysis by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen to be used in the welding process. This type of electrolysis is often used for small torches, such as those used in jewelry making processes. Types of fusion welding include Arc welding

 Oxy-fuel welding Electric resistance welding Laser beam welding Electron beam welding Thermite welding MATERIALS Today, manufacturers use welding to join metallic and nonmetallic materials, including plastics. The type of welding Page | chosen depends on the materials to be joined and the purpose of the joint. Structural integrity is needed for all types 7 of welding, while weight reduction, appearance and longevity are also important considerations. As T.W. Eagar of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology puts it: "The perfect weld is one that works." FUSION WELDING Fusion welding joins materials by melting their touching surfaces so they merge, or coalesce, often using a filler material. It is the original, and still the most widespread, welding process, and the ASM Handbook lists 21 types of fusion welding. The common factor in all types of fusion welding is the controlled application of heat to the weld, and the gas torch and the electric arc are standard heating methods. SOLID-STATE WELDING Solid-state welding does not rely on melting the weld material to join two parts, nor does it require a filler material. Although heat is necessary, the materials coalesce at a temperature below their melting point, often with the application of pressure to the joint. SSW uses direct methods or a secondary process, such as friction, to heat the parts and is suited to joining dissimilar materials that will not fuse directly. GAS WELDING Gas welding, also called oxy-fuel welding, is the oldest type of fusion welding. Welders direct heat accurately onto joints using torches that burn a mixture of oxygen and a combustible gas, typically acetylene. Manual gas welding is slower and more costly than other types of fusion welding. OFW is often preferred for repairs and on-site welding as the equipment is portable and requires no external power source. METAL ARC WELDING Metal arc welding, the most common type of fusion welding, uses the energy of an electric arc to melt the parts to be joined. Arc welders use flux or inert gas to shield the weld and prevent oxidation of the joint. Shielded metal arc welding, often called stick welding, is a manual process that uses a consumable metal electrode as filler material. Other types of arc welding can be automated, including gas-metal arc welding and tungsten inert gas welding. RESISTANCE WELDING Resistance welding, a type of fusion welding, generates heat using electric current flowing through a high-resistance joint that is clamped together. Resistance spot welding is a means of welding thin metal panels at intervals along the joint, common in car production. Resistance seam welding forms a continuous weld along the length of the joint, and is often used for tube manufacturing. Resistance welding does not require a filler. ULTRASONIC WELDING Ultrasonic welding, a type of solid-state welding, uses high-frequency vibration to cause friction between the parts of the joint, generating heat. The application of high pressure then causes the joint materials to coalesce. Ultrasonic welding is suitable for joining metal parts of different thicknesses, and for welding plastic materials of almost any geometry. STICK WELDING Stick welding is often called Arc welding although that is kind of a misnomer because TIG welding and MIG welding are actually arc welding processes too. But ARC welding is what most people still call stick welding. Stick welding is the old school kind of welding that grandpa used to do to fix his tractor in the barn. It uses a stick electrode like a 6013, 6011, or 7018 welding rod that is chucked up in an electrode holder that looks a little bit like a battery jumper cable clamp. The rod is struck like a match to get the arc going and the rod is fed into the puddle as it burns. Stick welding is pretty simple and the stick welding machine is simple too and also pretty cheap. You can buy a Lincoln 225 AC welding machine at any Home Depot for way less than 300 dollars. MIG WELDING Mig welding is considered one of the easiest types of welding to learn. Why? Because the rod does not have to be fed as it shortens like with stick welding. A wire is fed through a cable and out the end of the mig welding gun and all the operator is required to do is to pull the trigger and weld. Sounds easy right? Well it is not that easy. It is a little bit easier to learn than stick welding but only a little. Mig welding actually kind of describes 2 types of welding...bare wire mig, AND flux core welding. Bare wire mig is cleaner, and will weld thinner metal, but flux core is easier to use outdoors and does not require a cylinder of mig welding gas or a flow meter. Flux core welding is usually either used for cheap hobby welder s where

the buyer does not want to spend the money for gas and a gas conversion kit, or for really heavy duty applications like earth moving equipment and heavy production welding. TIG WELDING TIG welding is considered one of the more difficult types of welding to learn...harder to master than mig or stick welding. That is because both hands are needed to tig weld. One hand holds a tig torch with a tungsten electrode that provides the arc and heat...and the other hand feeds the rod. TIG welding equipment is generally more expensive and more difficult to set up because there is often a remote amperage foot pedal included and it takes a Page | cylinder of argon or argon mix shielding gas to work. 8 Tig welding is the most versatile type of welding of all. Virtually all conventional metals can be welded with the tig process. Carbon and low alloy steels, stainless steel, nickel alloys, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, cobalt, and copper alloys can all be welded using this type of welding. PLASMA ARC WELDING Plasma arc welding is similar to tig welding except that the tungsten electrode is recessed inside a nozzle and the heat is created by ionizing gasses flowing around the arc. Plasma arc welding is used where high precision is required and in situations where a recessed electrode is beneficial. Plasma arc welding is used extensively in aerospace applications for dimensional restoration of air seals and jet engine blade repair where thicknesses are often below .015" and amperages used are often single digit. GAS WELDING Gas welding is one of the old school types of welding. Oxygen and Acetylene is the most popular setup for a gas welding kit and gas welding is still used a lot for automotive exhaust applications, as well as by homebuilt airplane enthusiasts for welding 4130 chromoly tubing for airplane fuselages. It works. It's portable. And it is fairly versatile... There are still some people that swear by gas welding even for welding aluminum. Some people believe that tig welding is much better than gas welding. I am one of those people. ELECTRON BEAM AND LASER WELDING. These types of welding are considered high energy welding processes because they pinpoint heat so much better than older more conventional types of welding. Electron beam welding can penetrate through 6 inches of steel without any bevel. Laser welding can pinpoint heat so precisely that weld metal can be deposited on a tool steel injection mold cavity so precisely that heat treatments can be eliminated and only minimal machining is needed in order to restore dimensions. TYPES OF WELDING FLAMES Welding with a mix of oxygen and acetylene, a flammable gas that is colorless, is called gas welding, oxy-fuel or oxyacetylene welding. Regardless the name, welding with these two components is the same process. The flame produced by the torch will vary depending on the temperature, but all welding flames generated in this process are categorized as neutral, reducing or oxidizing flames. NEUTRAL FLAME Most welding procedures require the use of the neutral flame, or a flame that does not impact the metal during the welding process. A neutral flame is created by combining equal amounts of oxygen and acetylene. The appropriate mixture of oxygen and acetylene is accomplished when the flame goes from distinctive blue and white to one single color. The temperature of a neutral flame ranges between 5,600 and 5,900 degrees Fahrenheit and is suitable for applications using cast iron, aluminum and stainless steel, among other materials. REDUCING OR CARBURIZING FLAME The reducing flame, also called a carburizing flame, is a result of a disproportionate amount of acetylene in comparison to oxygen. The visual indicator of a reducing flame is a larger whitish-blue flame that surrounds the small blue flame in the center. It is called a reducing flame because during the welding process, the whitish-blue portion of the flame removes, or reduces, oxygen from iron oxides in the steel. The approximate temperature of a reducing flame is 5,500 degrees Fahrenheit and it is generally used for welding metals that are not susceptible to the absorption of carbon, like high-carbon steel. OXIDIZING FLAME
Too much oxygen in the combination of gases will result in an oxidizing flame. It appears as the same whitish-blue and blue flame combination, but in this case the blue flame is larger and wraps around the smaller, whitish-blue portion in the center. The oxidizing flame is much smaller than the other types and burns much hotter. The temperature of an oxidizing flame ranges between 6,000 and 6,300 degrees Fahrenheit. The weld produced by the oxidizing flame is much weaker and more brittle than other types of welds, because the excess oxygen in the mixture forms oxides on the metal. The common oxidization properties of this type of weld commonly prevent it from being used with steel; however, it is appropriate for use with materials like cast iron, manganese, copper and zinc-based metals.