What Is Welding & How Does It Work?

So, what is welding? Welding manufacturing is when two or more parts are fused through heat, pressure, or both and then form a joint as the parts cool off. The welded joint is referred to as a weldment. Welding is often used on metals, but can also be used on things like wood. The fabrication process is critical to ensure that materials are bonded together.

How It Works

You’ll typically see a torch or gun that melts a metal part at intense heat. This process creates a molten metal pool, making joining a new metal piece easy. Sometimes, pressure is used instead of heat, but it depends on the type and thickness of the material.

Popular Welds

• Metal: A lot of the time, heat and pressure are used over a base material. A shielding gas protects the molten metal from getting any contamination or oxidation.
• Plastic welding: After surface preparation, heat and pressure are applied, and the materials are cooled at the end.
• Wood: The material has to be exposed to pressure before using the same heat that the linear friction movement creates.

Benefits of Welding

What are the benefits of welding? The procedure offers a ton of advantages including versatility and flexibility. Check out everything welding has to offer below.

• Best for material fusion
• Utmost strength and durability
• Cost-effective & speedy fabrication
• Polished appearance

Types Of Welding

Understanding the different types of welding can sometimes be overwhelming. Although each type of weld has its procedure, many may fall under the same umbrella process.

Tig Welding

So what is tig welding? TIG is also known as tungsten inert gas, and is technically referred to as GTAW or gas tungsten arc welding. Yes, you guessed right, this is where things begin to fall under the same umbrella. This process uses an electrode and a non-consumable tungsten that delivers a current to the welding arc. Once that happens, an inert gas, like argon cools and protects the tungsten and weld puddle.

Mig Welding

This is also known as metal inert gas. This particular welding technique is used for thick, large materials. It often contains a consumable wire that acts like an electrode and filler material.

Compared to TIG welding, it is much quicker and often results in shorter lead times and lower production costs. A lot of the time, it produces welds that require little to no cleaning and finishing. Although these can be used for more extensive material, these welds are less precise, firm, or clean, like something a TIG weld would do.

Arc Welding

This uses an electric arc to create heat to melt and join metals. A type of power supply makes an electric arc between an electrode that is consumable or non-consumable and the base material using either direct or alternating currents. This type of welding is more of a fusion-based process and can create heat intensities up to around 6500°F.

Pipe Welding

As you may have guessed, this type of welding joins two pipes together. A lot of the time, the specific techniques used include MIG & TIG welding. Pipe welding relates more to metal pipes.

Often, you can find this process used in the construction industry, obviously metal fabrication shops like Dimar Manufacturing, power stations, the water industry and more.

Spot Welding

This is sometimes referred to as resistance spot welding, is used primarily for welding two or more metal sheets together by applying a particular amount of pressure and heat from an electric current to a specific weld area. A lot of the time, low-carbon steels are used as a material with this.

Stick Welding

Also known as shielded metal arc welding, is a popular term in the industry because the electrode that welds the metal comes in the form of a stick. The stick uses electricity to melt a metal filler rod that melts the metal joint and electrode.

Tube Welding

This is a significant and integral part of steel processing and has been around forever! Like pipe welding, this is where two components are welded together for the part’s life. It’s often a process to create complex type structures.

Welding Test Types

It’s important always to check the quality of a weld. Each testing procedure ensures the quality is top-notch and suitable for the weld.

NDE

NDE, also known as non-destructive evaluation, is used to look at the sophistication of welds and base metal. It’s a simple examination and is popular because it’s a cost-effective solution. NDE can determine material specifics compared to NDT, which we will discuss next.

NDT

NDT, also known as non-destructive testing, inspects components or different assemblies for discontinuities or an abnormality in characteristics without destroying the serviceability of the part or system.

Let’s Get To Welding

At Dimar Manufacturing, our team of certified experts is waiting for your next welding project. For more information on what we have to offer, check out our services page or get a custom quote today.