Selection Of Welding Processes and Application Of welding Process

Selection of welding process

1. Resistance welding: Automobile
2. Thermit welding: Rail joints in railways
3. Tungsten inert gas welding: Aerospace and nuclear reactors
4. Submerged arc welding: Heavy engineering, ship building
5. Gas metal arc welding: Joining of metals (stainless steel, aluminum, and magnesium) sensitive to atmospheric gases

Applications of welding

General applications

The welding is widely used for the fabrication of pressure vessels, bridges, building structures, aircraft and space crafts, railway coaches, and general applications besides shipbuilding, automobile, electrical, electronic and defense industries, laying of pipelines and railway tracks, and nuclear installations.

Specific components need welding for fabrication includes

1. Transport tankers for transporting oil, water, milk, etc.
2. Welding of tubes and pipes, chains, LPG cylinders, and other items.
3. Fabrication of Steel furniture, gates, doors, and door frames, and body
4. Manufacturing white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines,
5.microwave ovens and many other items of general applications

The requirement of the welding for a specific area of the industry is given in the following section.

Oil And Gas

1. Welding is used for the joining of pipes, during the laying of crude oil and gas pipelines, construction of tankers for their storage and transportation. Offshore structures, dockyards, loading, and unloading cranes are also produced by welding.

Nuclear Industry

2. Spheres for the nuclear reactor, pipeline bends, joining of pipes carrying heavy water require welding for safe and reliable operations.

Defense industry

3. Tank body fabrication, joining of turret mounting to the main body of tanks are typical examples of applications of welding in the defense industry.

Electronic industry

4. Electronic industry uses welding to a limited extent e.g. joining leads of special transistors but other joining processes such as brazing and soldering are widely used.
5. Soldering is used for joining electronic components to printed circuit boards (PCBs).
6. Robotic soldering is very common for the joining of parts to printed circuit boards of computers, television, communication equipment, and other control equipment, etc.

Electrical Industry

7. Components of both hydro and steam power generation system, such as penstocks, water control gates, condensers, electrical transmission towers, and distribution system equipment are fabricated by welding. Turbine blades and cooling fins are also joined by welding.

Surface transport

8. Railway: Railway uses welding extensively for the fabrication of coaches and wagons, repair of a wheel, laying of new railway tracks by mobile flash butt welding machines, and repair of cracked/damaged tracks by thermite welding.
9. Automobiles: Production of automobile components like chassis, body and its structure, fuel tanks and joining of door hinges require welding.

Aerospace Industry

10. Aircraft and Spacecraft: Similar to ships, aircraft were produced by riveting in the early days but with the introduction of jet engines welding is widely used for aircraft structure and for joining of skin sheet to the body.
11. Space vehicles that have to encounter frictional heat as well as low temperatures require outer skin and other parts of special materials. These materials are welded with full success for achieving safety and reliability.

Welding Processes and their Applications : 

Applications of air acetylene welding.

1. Lead welding
2. Low melting temperature metals and alloys.

Applications of oxy-hydrogen welding.

1. Welding of aluminum
2. Welding of lead and magnesium.

Applications of gas welding.

1. Oxyacetylene welding is used extensively for joining thin steel sheets.
2. It is also used for welding of dissimilar metals, brazing, braze-welding, silver soldering, metal heating (for bending and forming), and oxyfuel cutting.

Application Of Carbon arc Welding :

1. Carbon arc welding is used to weld both ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
2. Sheets of steel, copper alloys, brass, and aluminum can be welded in this method.

Applications of SMAW.

1. Because of the versatility of the process, simplicity of its equipment and operation, shielded metal arc welding is one of the world’s most popular welding processes.
2. SMAW is often used to weld carbon steel, low and high alloy steel, stainless steel, cast iron, and ductile iron.
3. While less popular for nonferrous materials, it can be used for nickel, copper, and their alloys.
4. In rare cases, it is used for aluminum.

Applications of TIG welding.

1. Aluminum, magnesium, copper alloys can be welded easily. Inconel, carbon steels and stainless steels can be welded.
2. Can sealing, instrument diaphragms, and transistor cases can be welded very efficiently.
3. Expansion bellows and other delicate parts can be joined.
4. Atomic energy, aircraft, chemical, and instrument industries use this welding process.
5. Rocket motor chamber fabrication welding can be done by this process.

Applications of MIG welding.

1. Since temperatures are relatively low, it is suitable for a thin sheet section (less than 6 mm). Examples: Motorcar manufacture, shipbuilding, aircraft engineering, heavy electrical engineering and the manufacture of tanks, pressure vessels, and pipes;
2. It is also used in the fabrication and manufacturing industries.
3. The most common application of MIG welding is automotive repairs can be carried out on several different vehicles whether they are large, small, light, or heavy.

Applications of plasma arc welding.

1. It is used in aerospace applications.
2. It is used for melting high melting point metals.
3. It is used for welding titanium plates.
4. It is used in welding nickel alloys.
5. It is used for tube mill applications.

Applications of electro slag welding.

1. It is used mainly to join low carbon steel plates and sections are very thick.
2. It is used for welding thick sections of alloys steels and nickel alloys.
3. This process is used for large structural-steel sections such as heavy machinery, bridges, ships, and nuclear-reactor vessels.
4. Forgings and castings are welded.
5. Heavy plates can be welded.
6. It can also be used on structural steel if certain precautions are observed.

Applications of resistance welding.

1. Resistance welding is used in mass production for welding sheet metal, wire, and tubes.
2. It is used in welding bars, boxes, cans, rods pipes, and frames metals of medium and high resistance materials such as steel, stainless steel, Monel metal, and silicon bronze which are easy to weld.
3. It is used in welding aircraft and automobile parts.
4. It is used for making cutting tools.
5. It is used for making fuel tanks of cars, tractors, etc.
6. It is used for making wire fabrics, grids, grills, mesh weld, containers, etc.

Applications of spot resistance welding.

1. It is used in joining killed carbon steel, low alloy steel, high alloy steel, titanium, etc.
2. It is used in assembling sheet metal to steel structures.
3. It is used in making cookware and muffler.
4. Other applications include appliances and metal furniture i.e. virtually anything involving the joining of sheet metal.

Applications of seam welding.

1. It is used to make tin cans, leak-proof tanks, automobile mufflers, gasoline tanks, drums, radiators, household utensils, transformers, refrigerators, evaporators and condensers, automobile bodies, etc. It is also used for welding thin sheets.
2. Circumference weld is possible in rectangular or square or even in circular shapes.

Applications of Projection Welding :

1. It is used to make press-tools.
2. This process is more suitable for cross welding of several wires or rods which is commonly used to make wire fencing, shopping carts, and stove grills.

Applications of flash butt welding.

1. Butt welding is used in automobile construction of the body, axles, wheels frames, etc. Non-ferrous alloys such as lead, tin, zinc, antimony, bismuth, and their alloys cannot be welded by this method.
2. It is also used in welding motor frames, transformers tanks, and many types of sheet steel containers such as barrels and floats.

Applications of stud welding

1. In the automotive industry, the process is used to assemble heat shields, power steering and dashboard components, instrument panels, insulation, exhaust systems, lighting systems, brake lines, trim, and electrical wire routing.
2. In the farm equipment industry, it is used to assemble fenders, orackets, cabs, spreaders, shrouding, thresher teeth, wiring, and hose management parts. It is also used in lawn and garden equipment such as tractors, mowers, and seeders.
3. In the commercial appliance industry, it is used in commercial dishwashers, bottle washers, cooking equipment, and griddle plate assemblies.

Applications of solid-state welding.

1. Bonding of stainless steel liners in aluminum fry pans.
2. Ultrasonic and thermo-compression bonding in the microelectronics industry.
3. Friction welding in aerospace and automotive applications.
4. Intake/exhaust automatic valves.

Applications of cold welding:

1. It is used for joining of wire, foil to wire, wire to bi-metals, and sealing of heat-sensitive containers such as those containing explosives.
2. In the electronics industry, cold welding processes are used to seal tin-plated steel crystal cans and copper packages for heat-sensitive semiconductor devices.

Applications of diffusion welding.

1. It is used in the joining of high-strength and refractory metals based on titanium in aerospace and nuclear industries.
2. Diffusion welding is usually used on sheet metal Structures such as nuclear and electronics industries.

Applications of explosive welding.

1. This process is applied to the welding of tubes and tube plates in heat exchangers, feedwater heaters, and boiler tubes to clad tube plates.
2. The tubes may be of steel, stainless steel or copper, aluminum brass, and bronze tubes in naval brass tube plates are welded.
3. It is used for manufacturing clad tubes and pipes, pressure vessels, aerospace structures, heat exchangers, bi-metal sliding bearings, ship structures, and weld transitions.
4. It is used to clad thick plates with corrosion-resistant layers where other techniques (e.g. roll bonding) are not practical.
5. It is used in tube plugging.
6. It is used in remote joining in hazardous environments.
7. It is used in fixing cooling fins.
8. It is also used in cryogenic industries.

Applications of ultrasonic welding.

1. Ultrasonic welding is used mainly for bonding small workpieces in electronics, manufacturing communication devices, medical tools, and watches.
2. It is used in automotive, medical and toy production.
3. U is used in health care industries due to clean welds.

Applications of friction welding.

1. Because of the high quality of the weld obtained, the process is widely accepted in the aerospace and automobile industry for critical parts.
2. In the aerospace industry, turbine blade joining, seamless joining, etc. are produced using friction welding.
3. In the automobile industry, bimetallic engine valve, axle shafts, universal joint yoke, gear hub, etc. are produced using friction welding.
4. In consumer goods manufacturing, it is used for producing hand tools, sports equipment.

Applications of forge welding.

1. It is used in the production of pattern-welded blades.
2. It is used in the manufacture of shotgun barrels.
3. In some cases, the forge-welded objects are acid-etched to expose the underlying pattern of metal which is unique to each item and it provides aesthetic appeal.

Applications of roll welding.

1. It is used in the cladding of stainless steel to mild steel for corrosion resistance.
2. It is used in making bimetallic strips.
3. Roll welding is used to produce sandwich strips to convert it into coins.

Applications of hot pressure welding.

1. It is used in the aerospace industry.
2. It is used in plastic welding.
3. It is used for producing medical devices.
4. It is used in shipbuilding,
5. It is used in automotive industries.

Applications of Thermit welding process.

1. Thermit welding process is used for welding damaged wobblers and large broken crankshafts.
2. It is used in steel rolling mills.
3. It is used to restore the broken teeth on gears.
4. Joints in pipes, rails, shafts are made in this process.
5. It is used in welding and repairs of large forgings, and broken castings.

Applications Electron Beam Welding.

1. Dissimilar metals can be welded.
2. Refractory and reaching metals can be welded.
3. It is used in aircraft, missile, nuclear component, gears, and shafts.
4. It is suitable for a large scale.
5. It is used in cams.

Applications of laser beam welding.

1. Thin metals about 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm thick can be welded. It includes welding of foils, stents, sensor diaphragms, and surgical instruments.
2. It can joint dissimilar metals such as copper, nickel, chromium, stainless steel, titanium, and columbium.
3. It is very much useful in electronic components welding.
4. It is used in aircraft components joining.

Applications of friction stir welding

Friction stir welding processes are mainly used in the following industries.

1. Automobile: Bimetallic engine valve, universal joint yoke, gear hub, etc.
2. Aerospace: Turbine blade joining, seamless joining, etc.
3. Consumer: Hand tools and sports equipment.
4. Industrial machines: Spindles, tapers, and tools.

Applications of underwater welding

(i) Underwater welding is applied in marine applications and the installation of offshore oil pipelines.
(ii) It is also used to apply weld repair on massive ships inside the water.

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