ELECTRIC WELDING

Welding
Welding is the process of joining two pieces of metal or non-metal at faces rendered plastic or
liquid by the applicaton of heat or pressure or both ller material may be used to effect the union.

Welding Processes
Welding processes are classified as follows
I. Fusion Welding: II. Non-fusion welding :
A. Based on heat produced by "Chemical energy"
A. Based on heat produced by "Electrical
1. Carbon are welding
energ 1. Forge welding
2.Oxy-accetylene non-fusion welding.
(i) Shielded
(ii) Unshielded.
2. Metal are welding:
B. Based on heat produced by "Mechanical energy
1. Friction welding
() Shielded 2. Ultrasonic welding.
(a) Shielded metal arc welding C. Based on heat produced by "Electrical energ
(b) Inert gas welding Resistance welding
() Spot welding
-TIG welding Gi) Seam welding
- MIG welding Cii) Projection welding
- MAG welding Civ) Butt welding
(a) Flash welding
(c) Submerged are welding (6) Upset welding
d) Atomic hydrogen welding (c) Stud welding.
(ii) Unshielded
(ii) Other processes
(a) Plasma
(b) Laser.
B. Based on heat produced by "Chemical energy"
1. Gas welding (Oxy-acetylene)
2. Thermit welding.
 Proper selection of the welding process depends on the following factor
Types of metals to joined.
Ci) Cost involved.
Ca) Nature of products to be fabricated.
iv) Techniques of production adopted.

1. Resistance welding. In this method current is passed through the inherent resistance of
the joint to be welded thereby generating the heat as per the equation Rt kilojoules
2.Are welding. In thisbetween
method the
of producing localised heat electricity is conducted in the form
of an are which is established two metallic surfaces.
Some important resistancewelding processes are:
1. Butt welding.
2. Flash welding
3. Spot welding.
4. Seam welding
5. Projection welding. Advantages. Some of the advantages ofresistance welding are as under:
1. Both similar and dissimilar metals can be welded.
2. Rapid welding action.
3. Heat is localised when required.
4. Parent metal is not harmed.
5. Comparatively lesser skill is required.
6. Difficult shapes and sections can be welded.
7. Suitable for large quantity production.
8. No filler metal is required.

Disadvantages:
1. High initial cost.
2. High maintenance cost.
 Butt welding
- Clamping pressure
In this type of
welding which is employed to join bars and Moving platen
plates together end end, one bar is held
to
Direction
in a fixed clamp in the butt welding ma- of welding
Fixed and
chine and the other bar in a movable clamp, platen
the clamp being electrically insulated, the forging
pressure
one from the other, and being connected to
a source of current. When the two ends to
bejoined are brought into contact and cur
rent is switched on, the resistance at the
Fig. Butt welding.
joint causes the ends to heat up to welding
temperature. Current is then switched off and the movable clamp forced up, so that a weld is made.
The voltage applied across the clamps is a low one, from 2 to 6 volts, and the current is usually
alternating
If the bars being joined are different in cross-section, the amounts they project from their
clamps may have to be adjusted so as to modify the heat losses and ensure both bars being brought
to the welding temperature simultaneously.

This process is being used for welding such things as steel rails whose cross-sectional area
is as much as 6.25 cm?,
Flash welding Electrode
clamps
Workpiece- Workpiec

Fixed Movable
Platen
platen Before welding

To
transforme After welding
(a) (b)
Fig. Flash welding

In this process, the parts to be welded clamped

are to
the electrode fix
tures, as in butt welding but the voltage is applied before the parts are butted together. As the pai
touch each other, an arc is established which continues as long as the parts advance at the correct
speed. This arc bursts away a portion of the material from each piece. When the welding tempera-
ture is reached, the speed of travel is increased, the power switched off and weld is upset.

Flash butt welding claims the following advantages over upset method of welding
) Power consumed is less once the are creates more heat with a given current.
(i) The weld is made in clean virgin metal as the surfaces are burned away.
ii) More quicker.
. I t is widely used in automobile construction on the body, axles, wheels, frames and other
parts. It is also employed in welding motor frames, transformer tanks and many types of
sheet steel containers such as at barrels and floats.
Spot welding

Steel, brass, copper and light alloys can be joined by this method, which forms a cheap a
satisfactory substitute for riveting. The area of fusion at each spot weld, in fact, is approximately
equal to the cross-sectional area of the rivet which would be employed for a similar gauge of material.

Water-cooled
electrode

-Plates to
be welded
Main
supply
-Clamp Spot wald
Transtormer

Fig. Spot welding

Spot welding, as the name implies, is carried out by overlapping the edges of
two sheets of metal and fusing them together between copper electrode tips at suitably spaced inter
vals by means of a heavy electrical current. The resistance offered to the current as it passes through
the metal raises the temperature of the metal between the electrodes to welding heat. The current is
cut off and meçhanical pressure is then applied by the electrodes to forge the weld. Finally the
electrodes open.
 When sheets ofunequal thickness are joined, the current and pressure setting for the thinner
sheets are used. Similarly four thickness may be welded, using the same settings as for two thickness.
Spot welding is used for galvanized, tinned a lead-coated sheets and mild steel sheet
work. This technique is also applied to non-ferrous metals such as brass, aluminium,
nickel and bronze etc.

Seam welding.

Supply leads Roller

Plated to
A.C. main supply bewelded
through
transformer

-Clamp
Seam weld

Fig. Seam welding.

 Seam welding is analogous to spot welding with ele
the difference the
trodes are in the form of rollers; and the work moves in direction perpendicular to roller axis. Th.
current is interrupted 300 to 1500 times a minute to give a series of overlapping spot welds. The
welding is usually done under water to keep the heating of the welding rollers and the work to a
minimum, and thus to give lower roller maintenance and less distortion of the work.

Seam welding is confined to welding of thin materials ranging in thickness from 2 mm to

5 mm.It is also restricted to metals having low hardenability rating such as hot-rolled grades of
alloy steels.
low

I t is employed on many type ofpressure (light or leak proof) tanks, for oil switches, trans
formers, refrigerators, evaporators and condensers, aircraft tanks, paint and varnish con-
tainers etc.
Projeetion welding

Welding
pressure

Transformer Moving platen

Die block
Insert

Supply Work

Projections
It is in effect, a form
Die block
of multi-spot welding in which a number of
Fixedplaten welds are made simultaneously. The pieces
Fig. Projection welding. to be welded are arranged between two flat
electrodes which exert pressure as the cur-
rent flows. The projections, and the areas with
which they make contact, are raised to weld-
ing heat and are joined by the pressure ex-
erted by the electrodes. The projections are
flattened during the welding.
Electric Arc Welding
Electric arc welding is the system
in which the metal is melted by the heat of an electric It be done with tha
are. can
following
methods:
1. Metallic welding.
are

2. Carbon arc welding.

3. Atomic hydrogen welding
4. Shielded arc
welding
I n metal arc welding, a fairly short are length is necessary for gettinggood welds. Short
arc length permits the heat to e concentrated on the workpiece, is more stable because
effectof magnetic blow is rec..d and the vapours from the arc surround the electrode
metal and the molten pool thereby preventing air from destroying the weld metal.
The length ofare required for welding depends on:
kind of eleetrode used, its coating. its diameter,
position of welding
amount of current used.
shorter lengths are necessary for vertical, horizontal and overhead welding than
Usually,
for flat welding.
are

.The deflection ofthe are from the weld point is called are blow. This condition is encoun-
D.C. sets and is especially noticeable when welding with bare
tered only with welding
electrodes. It is experienced most when using currents above 200 A or below 40 A.
Due to are blou, heat penetration in the required area is low which leads to incomplete
fusion and bead porosity apart from excessive weld spatter.
Arc blow can be avoided by using A.C. rather than D.C. welding machines becauserevers
ing currents in the welding leads produce magnetic fields which cancel each other out
thereby eliminating the arc blow.
Metallic arc welding n metallic arc is established between work and the
welding an arc
metal electrode. The intense heat of the arc forms a molten pool in the metal being welded, and at
filler
the same time melts the tip of the electrode. As the arc is maintained, molten filler metal from the
electrode tip is transferred across the arc, where it fuses with the molten base metal.
Arc may be formed with direct or alternating current. Petrol or diesel driven generators are
widely used for welding in open, where a normal electricity supply may not be available. D.C. may
also be obtained from electricity mains through the instrumentality of a transformer and rectifier. A
simple transformer is, however widely employed for A.C. arc welding. The transformer sets are cheaper
and simple having no maintenance cost as there are no moving parts. With arc system, the covered or
coated electrodes are used, whereas with D.C. system for cast iron and non-ferrous metals, base
electrodes can be used. In order to strike the arc an open circuit vol e of between 60 to 70 volts is
required. For maintaining the short arc 17 to 25 volts are necessary; the current required for weld-
ing, however, varies from 10 amp. to 500 amp. depending upon the class of work to be welded.
The great disadvantage entailed by D.C. welding is the presence ofarc blow (distortion of are
stream from the intended path owing to magnetic forces ofa non-uniform magnetic field). With A.C.
arc blow is considerably reduced and use of higher currents and large electrodes may be restored to
enhance the rate of weld production.
Flux-coated electrode
Electrode holder

Deposited
weld metal -Flame

Lead clamped
1o the work

Crater

The field of application of metallic arc welding includes mainly low carbon steel and the
high-alloy austenitic stainless steel. Other steels like low and medium-alloy steels can
however be welded by this system but many precautions need be taken to produce ductile Metallic are welding
joints. Leads of generator
nr traneiorm
 S. No. Aspects AC. welding D.C. welding
Power consumption Low High
Arc stability Are able Are stable
Cost Less More
Weight Light Heavy
Efficiency High Low
Operation Noiseless Noisy
Suitability Non-ferrous metals cannot Suitable for both ferrous and
be joined non-ferrous metals
B. Electrode used Only coated Bare electrodes are also used
9. Welding of thin sections Not preferred Preferred
10. Miscellaneous Work can act as cathode
while electrode acts as anode
Electrode is always negative
and the work is positive
and vice versa

Specifications
A.C. transformer: Step down, oil cooled = 3 phase, 50 Hz; Current range = 50 to 400 A; Open

circuit voltage= 50 to 90 V; Energy consumption = 4 kWh per kg of metal deposit ; Power factor =

0.4; Efficiency = 85%.

D.C. generator: Motor generator-3 phase, 50 Hz; Current range = 125 to600 A;Open cireuit
voltage 30 to 80 V; Arc voltage = 20 to 40 V; Energy consumption = 6 to 10 kWh/kg of deposit;
Power factor= 0.4 ; Efficiency = 60%.
Welding posit
The following are the four basic positions in which manual arc welding is done
1. Flat position 2. Horizontal position
3. Vertical position 4. Overhead position.

1. Flat position. Weld bead

.Of all the positions, flat position is the easiest, most economical
and the most used for all shielded are welding.
.Weld beads are exceedly smooth and free
of slag spots.
I t provides the strongest weld joints.
This position is most adaptable for welding of both ferrous and
non-ferrous metals particularly for cast iron. Fig. Flat position.

2. Horizontal position.
This position is the second most popular position.
I t also requires a short arc length because it helps in preventing
the molten puddle of the metal from sagging. CCCCCCCG
.While welding in horizontal position the major errors that occur
are: undercutting and over-lapping of weld zone.
Fig.Horizontal position.
3. Vertical position.
.In this position, the weldercan deposit the bead either in uphill or
downhill direction.
.Uphill welding is suited for thick metals because it produces stronger
welds
Downhill welding is preferred for thin metals because it is faster
than uphill welding. Fig. Vertical position.

4.Overheadposition.
I n this position, the welder has to be very eautious otherwise he
may get burnt by drops of falling metal
This position is thought to be most dangerous but not the most
difficult one.

Fig Over head

position
Electrodes:
An electrode is a filler metal in the form of a wire or rod which is
either bare or coated uniformly with the flux. As per IS : 814-1970, the
contact end of the electrode Fig. is left bare and clean to a length
of 20-30 mm for inserting it into electrode holder.
Depending on the thickness of the flux coating, coated electrodes
wav beclassified as follows Core wire
1. Lightly-dusted (or dipped) electrodes.
2. Semi-coated (or heavy coated) electrodes.
The following materials are commonly used for coating Flux coating
)Titanium oxide (i) Ferromanganese
(ii) Silica, flour Civ) Asbestos clay
(v) Calcium carbonate
(vi) Cellulose with sodium silicate often used to hold ingredients
together.
The electrode coating helps improving the weld quality as
under
Part of the coating burns in the intense heat of the arc
and provides a gaseous shield around the are which pre
vents oxygen, nitrogen and other impurities in the at-
mosphere from combining with the molten metal to cause
a poor quality brittle and weak weld.
 Another portion of the coating flux melts and mixes with the impurities in the mol
ten metal causing them to float to the top of the weld where they cool in the form of
slag. This slag improves the bead quality by protecting it from the contaminating
effects of the atmosphere and causing it to cool down more uniformly. It also helps
in controlling the basic shape of the weld bead.

The type ofelectrode used depends on the following factors

() The type of the metal to be welded. (i) The welding position.
type of electric supply (A.C. or D.C.). (iv) The polarity of the welding machine.

Advantages ofcoated electrodes

The following are the principle advantages ofusing electrode coating
(i) Arc is stabilized (since the coating contains compounds of sodium and potassium).
(ii) The impurities present on the surface being welding are fluxed away.
iii) Slag is formed over the weld which protects it from atmospheric contamination, makes it
cool uniformly thereby reducing the changes of brittleness and provides a smoother sur-
face by reducing 'ripples' caused by the welding operation.
(iv) Sputtering of metal during welding is prevented.
(w) Welding operation becomes faster due to increased melting rate.
(ui) The coating makes it possible for the electrode to be used on A.C. supply
Since the efficiency of all coated or covered electrodes is impared by the dampness, these
must always bestored in a dry place. In case, dampness is suspected the electrodes should
be dried for a few hours in a warm cabinet.
 welds:
Types of joints and types of applicable
Are welding machines :E
Following are the two general types of are welding machines:
1. D.C. welding machines:
Motor-generator set ectifiers
i)A.C. transformers
2.A.C. welding machi.
DoubleJ
Single Double Double
filot fillet beve bevol

Single fillet Double fillet

1. Tee joint-with six types of welds.
of welds.
2. Corner joint-with two types
3. Edge joint-with one type of weld.
4. Lap joint-with four types of welds.
5. Butt joint-with nine types of welds.
-
Bead Single fillet Double fllet

Plug Slot

Square Single-V Double-V Single Bevel

DE
Double Bevel Single-U Double-U Single-J Double-J

Fig. Types of joints and typos of applicable welds

Carbon arc welding

Carbon arc was the first electric welding process developed by French inventor Auguste de
Meritens in 1881.

"Carbon arc welding" differs from common shield metal arc welding in that it uses non-
consumable carbon-graphite electrodes instead ofconsumable flur-coated electrodes
Here the work is connected to nega- Carbon
tive and the carbon rod or electrode connected to the posi- electrode
Filler
tive of the electric circuit. Arc is formed in the gap, filling rod Arc flame
metal is supplied by fusing a rod or wire into the arc by Pool of
allowingthe current to jump over it and it produces a molten
porous and brittle weld because of inclusion of carbon netal
particles in the molten metal. It is therefore used for fill-
ing blow holes in the castings which are not subjected to
any of the stresses.

The voltage required for striking an are with carbon electrodes is about 30 volts (A.C.) and 40
volts (D.C.).

Applications:
1. Carbon arc welding in suitable for galvanised sheets using copper-silicon-manganese alloy
filler metal.
2. It is adaptable for automation particularly where amount of weld deposit is large and
materials to be fabricated are of simple geometrical shapes such as water tanks.
3. Useful for welding thin high-nickel alloys.
4. Can be employed for welding stainless steel of thinner gauges with excellent results.
6. With this process, monel metal can be easily welded by using a suitable coated filler rod.
Advantages:
1. The temperature ofthe molten pool can be easily controlled by simply varying the are length
2. Can be easily adapted to inert gas lding of the weld.
3. Can be used as an excellent heat source for brazing, braze welding and soldering etc.
4. Easily adaptable to automation.

Disadvantages:
1. Approximately twice the current is required to raise the work to welding temperature as
compared with metal electrode, while a carbon electrode can only be used economically on
D.C. supply.
2. A separate filler rod has to be used if any filler material is required.
3. Blow holes occur due to magnetic arc blow especially when welding near edges of the
workpiece.
4. Since arc serves only as a heat source it does not transfer any metal to help reinforce the
weld joint.

Electrodes:
Electrodes are made ofeithercarbon or graphite, are usually 300 mm long and 2.5 mm to
12 mm in diameter.
Graphite electrodes are harder, more brittle and last longer than carbon electrodes. They
can withstand higher current densities but their arc column is harder to control. Though
considered non-consumable, they do disintegrate gradually due to vapourisation and oxi-
disation.
Atomic hydrogen welding&

In this system heat is obtained

from an alternating current arc drawn between two tungsten
electrodes in an atmosphere of hydrogen. As the hydrogen
gas passes through the arc, the hydrogen molecules are
broken up into atoms and they recombine on contact with Hydrogen gas
the cooler base metal generating intense heat sufficient to Tu sten
melt the surfaces to be welded, together with the filler rod, electordes
ifused. The envelop of hydrogen gas also shields the molten
metal from oxygen and nitrogen and thus prevents weld
metal from deterioration. Filler ARC Welding
rod
flame

Fig. Atomic hydrogen welding.

Applications. Atomic hydrogen welding, being expensive is used mainly for high grade work
on stainless steel and most nonferrous metals.

Advantages:
1. Gives strong, ductile and sound welds.
2. Quite thick sections can be welded.
3. Arc and weld zone arc shrouded by burning hydrogen which, being an active reducing
agent, protects them from atmospheric contamination.
4. Can be employed for materials too
thin for gas welding.
Shielded are welding
-Flux coating
Slag -Electrode
coating
Weld Gaseous shield
In this system molteen
weld metal is protected from the action of meta -Arc stream

atmosphere by an envelope of chemically redu- Base

cing or inert gas. metal
As molten steel has an affinity for Pool of
oxygen and nitrogen, it will, if exposed to the molten metal
atmosphere, enter into combination with these Fig. Shielding are welding.
gases forming oxides and nitrides. Due to this
injurious chemical combination metal becomes
weak, britle and corrosion resistance. Thus several methods of shielding have been developed.
The simplest Fig. is the use of a flux coating on the electrode which in addition to producing a
slag which floats on the top of the molten metal and protects it from atmosphere, has organic
constituents which turn away and produce an envelope of inert gas around the arc and the weld.

Welds made with a completely shielded arc are more superior to those deposited by an
ordinary arc.
Submerged Are Welding
The submerged arc process (which may be done manually or automatically) creates an are
column between a base metallic electrode and the workpiece. The arc, the end of the electrode, and the
molten weld pool are submerged in a finely divided granulated powder that contains appropriate
deoxidizers, cleansers and any other fluxing elements. The fluxing powder is fed from a hopper that is
carried on the welding head. The tube from the hopper spreads the powder in continuous mount in
front of the electrode along the line of the weld. This flux mound is of sufficient depth to submerge
completely the arc column so that there is no splatter or smoke,
and the weld is shielded from all effects at atmospheric gases.
As a result of this unique protection, the weld beads are
exceptically smooth. The flux adjacent to the arc column melts
To power
and floats to the surface of the molten pool ; then it solidifies hopper
Supply
to form a slag on the top of the welded metal. The rest of the
flux is simply an insulator that can be reclaimed easily. The
slag that is formed by the molten flux solidifies and is easy to
remove. In fact, in many applications, the slag will crack off
by itself as it cools. The unused flux is removed and placed
back into the original hopper for use the next time. Granu-
To wire
feed
lated flux is a complex, metallic silicate that can be used over Triggen
electro
a wide range of metals.
mechanism
The process is characterised by high welding currents.
The current density in the electrode is 5 to 6 times that used Nozzle
in ordinary manual stick electrode arc welding, consequently Apparatus used in manual
the melting rate of the electrode as well as the speed of welding submerged arc welding
is much higher than in the manual stick electrode process.
 Fig. shows an apparatus used in manual submerged arc welding.
Both normal and automatic submerged arc processes are most suited for flat and slightly
downhill welding positions.

Advantages
1. Fairly thick sections can be welded in a single pass without edge preparation.
2. Welds made by this process have high strength and ductility with low hydrogen or nitrogen
content.
3. Submerged arc welding can be done
manually where automatic process is not possible
such as on curved lines and irregular joints.

Applications. This process is suitable for welding

Low-alloy, high-tensile steels;
Low carbon steels
Nickel, monel and other non-ferrous metal like copper;
High-strength steels and corrosion resistance steels etc.
This process is also capable of welding fairly thin gauge materials
"Industrial applicatons" includefabrication ofpipes, boiler, pressure vessels, railroad tank
cars, structural shapes etc. which demand welding in a straight lines.