Welding
Definition
THE PROCESS OF JOINING OR FUSING TWO
S E P A R AT E P I E C E S O F M E T A L T O G E T H E R U S I N G H E AT
Types of Welding
• Gas welding
o Using a combination of oxygen and
acetylene gas to heat and melt metal
• Electric Arc Welding
oUsing Electricity to heat and melt
metal
• Electric Resistance welding
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY.
o Using the electrical resistance of the
metal being welded to heat it to it's
melting point
Primarily used on thin sheet metals
Gas Welding
Components
• Two Pressure cylinders
o Oxygen
Liquid or gaseous
o Acetylene
Primarily hydrogen gas
Secondary element is carbon
Acetylene is dissolved in liquid
Acetone
Danger: Acetylene gas is violently
unstable above 15 PSI This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.
Gas Welding
Components
• Regulators
o Oxygen Regulator is high pressure (Approximately
3000 PSI)
o Acetylene Regulator is Low Pressure (No more
than 15 PSI)
Acetylene regulator has left hand threads to
prevent installation of the wrong regulator
• Hoses
o Red for Acetylene (Left hand threads)
o Green for oxygen
•Torch body and tip
oMixes gasses at the correct ratio and allows heat
to be transferred to metal
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.
Gas Welding Components
• PPE:
o Welding Apron
o Welding Goggles (Prevents the intense flame from causing vision damage)
o Welding Gloves
o Fire Extinguisher
• Filler rod
Setting up a
torch
• Connect torch to hoses and regulators
o Torches should be connected to hoses using a
flashback arrestor
Check valve that prevents a torch flashback
from traveling up the hoses and into the
cylinders
o Do not use a torch that doesn’t have flashback
arrestors installed
Explosion could result in serious injury or death
• Leak check all connections
• Open Torch needle valves one half turn
• Open pressure cylinders and adjust regulators for 5
PSI
• Close torch needle valves
Lighting a torch
• Always start with Acetylene first
o A before O, or up you go
• Open acetylene needle valve 1/6th of a turn
• Strike flame
• Adjust Acetylene until a feathery flame
shows
• Crack open oxygen needle valve
o Flame will begin to change color and
shorten
• Adjust oxygen until the desired flame type is
reached
Shutting down
the torch
• Shut off Acetylene first
• When flame is extinguished,
turn off oxygen valve
Types of Flame
• Carburizing
o "Rich" mixture
More acetylene being consumed than oxygen
Flame temperature is approximately 5700
degrees F
Causes excessive carbon to be imparted into
the weld puddle, making a brittle weld
• Oxidizing
o "Lean Mixture"
More oxygen being consumed than Acetylene
Causes oxides in weld puddle, creating
corrosion
Flame burns at 6300 degrees F
Types of Flame
• Neutral
o Stoichiometric mixture
Equal parts oxygen and acetylene being consumed
For general welding on most steels, a neutral flame is preferred
Flame temperature is 6000 degrees F
Gas welding technique
• Hold the torch with your dominant hand in a pencil grip
• Drape the hoses over your shoulder
• Hold the point of the torch flame against the metal (About 3/16")
• Move the torch in small circles
• Eventually, a small glassy puddle will form
• Work the puddle across the part, adding filler rod as needed with off hand
o Pushing the puddle too slowly will cause burn through/blowout
o Pushing the puddle too quickly will cause a weak weld
• When coming to the edge of a part, flick the torch away and pull up slowl
y
X
Electric Arc
Welding
• Shielded Metal Arc Welding
(SMAW)
o Stick Welding
• Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW)
o MIG welding
• Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
(GTAW)
o TIG welding
Shielded Metal
Arc Welding
• Metal wire road coated in flux
o Flux prevents oxides from forming in the
puddle when welding
o Metal wire acts as filler rod
• Rod is electrically connected to a holder
• Electric current can be AC or DC, depending
on material being welded
• Ground wire is connected to metal
• Electric arc is struck between filler rod and
metal being welded
• Electric arc causes filler rod and metal being
welded to melt
Gas Metal Arc
Welding
• Commonly called MIG welding (Metal Inert
Gas)
• A spool of wire is electrified in a gun
• Squeezing the trigger on the gun
electrifies the rod and feeds it off the spool
• Also opens a gas valve which pumps
Carbon Dioxide/Argon mix through the tip
of the gun
• Gas mixture shields the molten puddle,
preventing oxide formation
• Rod melts and acts as filler material
Gas Tungsten
Arc Welding
• AKA TIG
• Handle contains a tungsten
electrode
o Not consumable
• Filler rod is manually added to
weld puddle (like Oxyacetylene)
• Primarily used for magnesium
and aluminum welding
Electric Resistance Welding
• Spot Welding
• Seam Welding
• Plasma Arc Welding
Spot Welding
• Two electrodes
o One Positive, one negative
• Electrodes mechanically clamp metal sheets
together and pass a current through the metal
• The electrical resistance of the metal causes high
temperatures in the metal, fusing the sheets
together
• Spot welds only join sheets in the spot that the
electrodes are touching
Seam Welding
• Similar to spot welding
• Electrodes are changed for copper
conductive wheels
• Sheets are clamped in the wheels
and electrified
• Wheels turn and provide one
continuous weld across the seam
• Used to manufacture fuel tanks and
other airtight components
Plasma Arc
Welding (PAW)
• Similar to GTAW
• Tungsten electrode installed inside of a small
diameter copper tip
• An arc is struck between the tungsten electrode and
copper tip
o Called a pilot arc
• Argon is passed through the pilot arc, causing it to
ionize and become plasma
• Argon plasma is directed onto the welding surface
using compressed air
• Usually performed by automated machines, but may
also be used by a human operator
• Produces high quality welds with a low heat affected
zone
Oxy Acetylene Welding
Types of Torches
• Equal pressure torch
o Most common
o Uses an equal pressure of acetylene
and oxygen (from 1-15 PSI)
• Injector torch
o Uses propane or propylene gas as fuel
(Pressures from 0-2 PSI)
o Uses high pressure oxygen to pull fuel
gas along torch body (Venturi Effect)
o More prone to flashbacks
Torch Tips
• Tip opening diameter determines how much
heat is transferred to the work
o Larger tip=more heat transferred
• Tips are numbered by the manufacturer
o Number corresponds to tip diameter
• Too small of a tip = not enough heat transfer,
causing cold welds that don't penetrate
• Too large of a tip = too much heat transferred,
resulting in blow outs and warping of the
surface
• Tips build up carbon during use
oMust be cleaned with a tip cleaner
periodically
Cutting Head
• Attachment added to torch body
• Diffuses fuel and oxygen mixture to a wide pattern
oCalled preheat jets
•Lever on cutting torch head allows additional high pressure
oxygen into flame
•Excessive oxygen forms an oxide on metal, pushing it out of the
way
Additional Equipment
• Welding Goggles
o Don't use standard sunglasses
• Welding gloves
o Protect hands from serious
burns
• Welding Apron
o Made of cowhide or thick
leather
• Fire Extinguisher
• Torch Striker
Filler Rod
• Ferrous Rod
o Carbon or alloy steel, and cast iron
• Non Ferrous
o Brass, aluminum, magneseum, copper, silver
• Manufactured in various diameters from 1/16" to
3/8"
o Diameter of rod to be used depends on thickness of
material being welded
• Too small of welding rod = burn through/blowout
• Too large = low penetration of weld
Types of Welds
• Bead
• Groove
• Fillet
• Lap joint
Bead Welds
• Commonly used in a butt joint
o Butt two pieces of metal
together and weld over the
seam
oButt welds require 100
percent penetration
• Use tack welds to maintain
alignment of the joint
Groove Welds
• Another form of welding used on
butt joints when the metal is
above ¼" thick
• Grooves or bevels are cut into the
edges of the pieces being welded
• Multiple layers of weld can be
used
o Clean each layer thoroughly
Fillet Welds
• Used to make tee and lap joints
• Torch tip is held at a 45 degree
angle to the metal being
welded
Types of Joints
Tubular Structure
