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Welding Process

Last updated: March 29, 2018

What Does Welding Process Mean?

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

Manufacturing nearly any modern product involves joining various separate components. When a permanent join is required, welding is commonly used. Welding processes are frequently used in:

  • Aerospace
  • Automotive
  • Shipbuilding
  • Construction
  • Steel industries
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Corrosionpedia Explains Welding Process

In the welding process, metal is melted to bridge the parts to be joined, so that on solidification of the weld metal the parts become united. Welding is often done with pressure, sometimes in conjunction with heat, to produce the weld.

Different welding techniques include:

  • Gas metal arc welding
  • Submerged arc welding
  • Flux-cored arc welding
  • Electroslag welding
  • Laser beam welding
  • Electron beam welding

Robot welding is commonplace in industrial settings, and researchers continue to develop new welding methods and gain greater understanding of weld quality.

Many different energy sources can be used for welding, including:

  • Gas flame
  • Electric arc
  • Laser
  • Electron beam
  • Friction
  • Ultrasound

There are two categories of welding processes:

  • Fusion processes – The surfaces of two components to be joined are cleaned, placed close together and heated, forming a pool of molten metal that connects the components. A filler rod may be used to add metal to the joint. This category includes processes such as:
    • Oxyacetylene welding
    • Shielded metal arc welding
    • Gas metal arc welding
    • Gas tungsten arc welding
  • Solid phase processes – The metals to be joined are not melted. Instead, they are heated, usually by friction generated by sliding the parts together under a normal load. This softens the metals and removes surface contamination. The sliding is then stopped, the normal load is increased and the two surfaces join together. Friction welding is widely used to join axisymmetric components in two different types of steels.
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