How Does Welding Work?
Joining Metals
As opposed to brazing and soldering, which do not melt the base metal,
welding is a high heat process which melts the base material. Typically with
the addition of a filler material.
Heat at a high temperature causes a weld pool of molten material which
cools to form the join, which can be stronger than the parent metal. Pressure
can also be used to produce a weld, either alongside the heat or by itself.
It can also use a shielding gas to protect the melted and filler metals from
becoming contaminated or oxidised.
Joining Plastics
Plastics welding also uses heat to join the materials (although not in the case
of solvent welding) and is achieved in three stages.
Firstly, the surfaces are prepared before heat and pressure is applied and,
finally, the materials are allowed to cool to create fusion. Joining methods for
plastics can be separated into external or internal heating methods,
depending on the exact process used.
Joining Wood
Wood welding uses heat generated from friction to join the materials. The
materials to be joined are subjected to a great deal of pressure before a
linear friction movement creates heat to bond the workpieces together.
This is a fast process which allows wood to be joined without adhesives or
nails in a matter of seconds.
Common Joint Configurations
Butt Joint
A connection between the ends or edges of two parts making an angle to
one another of 135-180° inclusive in the region of the joint.
T Joint
A connection between the end or edge of one part and the face of the other
part, the parts making an angle to one another of more than 5 up to and
including 90° in the region of the joint.
Corner Joint
A connection between the ends or edges of two parts making an angle to
one another of more than 30 but less than 135° in the region of the joint.
Edge Joint
A connection between the edges of two parts making an angle to one
another of 0 to 30° inclusive in the region of the joint.
Cruciform Joint
A connection in which two flat plates or two bars are welded to another flat
plate at right angles and on the same axis.
Lap Joint
A connection between two overlapping parts making an angle to one another
of 0-5° inclusive in the region of the weld or welds.
Types of Welding Joints
Welds Based on Configuration
Slot weld
Joint between two overlapping components made by depositing a fillet weld
around the periphery of a hole in one component so as to join it to the
surface of the other component exposed through the hole.
Plug weld
Weld made by filling a hole in one component of a workpiece with filler metal
so as to join it to the surface of an overlapping component exposed through
the hole (the hole can be circular or oval).
Based on Penetration
Full penetration weld
Welded joint where the weld metal fully penetrates the joint with complete
root fusion. In US the preferred term is complete joint penetration weld (CJP,
see AWS D1.1).
Partial penetration weld
Weld in which the fusion penetration is intentionally less than full
penetration. In the US the preferred term is partial joint penetration weld
(PJP).
Welds Based on Accessibility
Features of Completed Welds
Butt weld
Fillet weld
