Fusion-welding Process

Oxyfuel-gas welding
Electrodes arc welding
Electron beam welding

General characteristic of fusionwelding Process

Joining
Process

Operation

Advantage

Skill level
required

Welding
position

Current
type

Distortion
*

Typical
cost of
equipmen
t ($)

Oxyfuel

Manual

Portable
and flexible

High

All

2-4

Low
(500+)

*1=highest; 5=lowest
Source: Serope Kalpakjian, Manufacturing Engineering and
Technology

Oxyfuel-gas welding
Abbreviation OFG
It uses a fuel gas combined with oxygen to
produce a flame at high temperature to melt
the metals at joint.
The most popular welding process is
acetylene, also known as oxyacetylene-gas
welding (OAW)

Primary combustion process

C2H2 + O2 -> 2CO + H2 + Heat

Secondary combustion process

2CO + H2 + 1.5O2 -> 2CO2 + H2O + Heat

Types of flame
The proportional of acetylene and oxygen in the gas
mixture is an important factor in oxyfuel-gas welding.
(a) At neutral flame, the ratio of oxyfuel-gas welding is
1:1.
(b) When higher oxygen supply, the flame can be harmful
for steel because it oxidizes the metal. Known as
oxidizing flame
(c) If oxygen is insufficient, the flame is known as
reducing, or carburizing flame. Suitable for low
melting welding material.

TYPES OF FLAME

The principle of the OGW

 Filler metals used to supply additional metal

to the weld zone during welding, and may be
coated with flux.
The purpose of the flux is to retard oxidation
of the surfaces of the parts being welded.
The slag development protects the molten
puddle of metal against oxidation as the weld
cools.

Welding Practice and Equipment

OGW can be used with most ferrous and nonferrous metals for almost any workpiece
thickness, limit to 6mm less.
The equipment for OGW consists of a welding
torch, proper goggle, face shields for safety
measures.

General view and cross sectional of a

torch

Basic equipment used in oxyfuel-gas

welding

Other type of gas welding

Pressure gas welding
Termit welding

Pressure gas welding

1.
2.
3.
4.

Two components start heating the interface by a torch, using an oxyacetylene-gas

mixture
A torch is withdrawn when interface begins to melt.
A force is applied to press these two components together until solidified.
Excessive flash formation after joining process can be trimmed off.

Thermit welding

 Also known as thermite or exothermic welding

Involves mixing a metal powder with a metal
oxide and apply a high temperature ignition
source to cause an oxidation-reduction
reaction. The temperature can reach up to
2500oC.
Also combined with aluminum powder

Application of thermit welding

Electrodes for Arc Welding

Electrodes for consumable arc-welding process
are classified according to following properties:
Strength of the deposited weld metal
Current (AC or DC)
Type of coating

 Electrodes are identified by numbers and

letters or by color code if the numbers and
letters are too small to imprint.
Typical coated-electrode dimensions are in the
range from 150 to 460 mm in length and 1.5
to 8 mm in diameter.

 Specifications for electrodes and filler metals

(including dimensional tolerances, quality control
procedures, and processes) are published by the
American Welding Society (AWS) and the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Some specifications appear in the Aerospace
Materials Specifications (AMS) by the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE).
Electrodes are sold by weight and are available in
a wide variety of sizes and specifications.

Example of mild steel coated electrode

table

Functions of electrode coating

Stabilize the arc.
Generate gases as a shield against the
surrounding atmosphere.
Control the rate at which the electrode melts
Act as a flux to protect the weld against the
formation of oxides, nitrides and other
inclusions.
Add alloying elements to enhance the
properties of the joint.

Electron-beam welding
Or called (EBW), developed in the 1960s.
Heat is generated by high velocity, narrow-beam
electrons.
Requires special equipment in order to focus the
beam on the workpiece, typically in a vacuum.
The higher the vacuum, the deeper the beam
penetrates, the greater the depth-to-width ratio
There are 3 methods; EBW-HV, EBW-MV, EBW-NV

 Almost any metal can be welded and

workpiece thickness range from foil to plate.
Capacities of electron beam guns range up to
100kW.
This process has a capability of making highquality welds that are almost parallel sided,
are deep and narrow.
It can process any metal (butt and lap) with
thickness up to 150 mm.

Application of EBW

Results of EBW work

References
Serope Kalpakjian, Manufacturing Engineering
and Technology, 7th edition.
Some pictures are taken from the Google
Images.