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9. Forging
Forging practice, forgeability of metals and alloys, forging equipments, spring power hammer, pneumatic power hammer,
automatic forging machines, drop forging process, upset forging.
Introduction:
Forging: is the process of shaping heated metal by the application of sudden blows (i.e.,
hammer forging) or steady pressure (i.e., press forging) and makes use of the characteristic of
plasticity of the material.
A metal such as steel can be shaped in a cold state but the application of heat lowers the yield
point and makes permanent deformation easier.
Forging by machine involves the use of dies and is generally used in mass-production.
Hand forging or Black-smithy is employed for small quantity production and for special work. It
is essentially a manually controlled process even though some machinery such as power
hammers are sometimes used.
Black-smithy is, therefore, a process by which metal may be heated and shaped to its
requirements by the use of blacksmithy tools either by hand or power hammer.
In smithy small parts are shaped by heating them in an open fire or hearth. Shaping is done
under hand control using hand tools. This work is done in a smithy shop.
Forging refers to the production of medium size and heavy parts in large scale using closed
heating furnaces and heavy hammers, forging presses and machines.
Advantages:
Although the metal piece has to be heated to the correct forging temperature before shaping,
less metal will be used than if the shape were machined from a solid block of metal.
It enhances the mechanical properties of metals and improves the grain flow which in turn
increases the strength and toughness of the forged components.
Forgeable materials:
Ductility refers to the capacity of a material to undergo deformation under tension without
rupture.
The selection of a forging material is made on the basis of certain desirable mechanical
properties inherent in the composition and/or for those which can be developed by forging
Listed below are some of forgeable materials, in order of increasing forging difficulty:
Forging temperatures:
Before forging, the metal workpiece is heated to a proper temperature so that it gains required
plastic properties before deformation, which are essential for satisfactory forging.
Excessive temperatures may result in the burning of the metal, which destroys the cohesion of
the metal.
Insufficient temperatures will not introduce sufficient plasticity in the metal to shape it properly
by hammering etc. Moreover under these conditions, the cold working defects (e.g., hardening,
cracking etc.) are liable to come into product.
The finishing temperature of the workpiece should be that at which no grain growth takes
place, so that the workpiece possesses a fine grained structure.
Given below are the forging temperatures for different metals and alloys:
Forging because
b of its
i inherent improveme
ent in the grain size an
nd introducttion of un-in
nterrupted grain
g
flow in the omponent, has the following adva
e finished co antages:
1. Grreater stren
ngth and tou
ughness
2. Re
eduction in weight of th
he finished part
3. Sa
aving in the material
5. Ab
bility to withstand unpre
edictable lo
oads during service.
6. Miinimum of machine
m fin
nish to be ca
arried out on ponent especially whe
o the comp en it is forge
ed in
die
es.
Forging Equipment
E t:
Anvil:
he anvil servves as a wo
Th ork bench to
o the blacks
smith, wherre the metal to be beate
en is placed
d.
An
nvils are ma
ade of cast or wroughtt iron with a tool steel face
f welded
d on or of a single piecce of
ca
ast or forged
d tool steel.
Th
he flat top has
h two holes; the wid
der is called
d the hardy hole, wherre the square shank off the
ha
ardy fits.
Chisel:
Th
hey are harrdened and tempered at the cuttiing edge while the hea oft so it will not
ad is left so
cra
ack when hammered.
h e of two type
Chisels are es, the hot and
a cold chisels.
Th
he cold chissel is used for
f cutting cold metals while
w the ho
ot chisel is ffor hot meta
als.
M
M.K.Ravishanka
ar, Associate Pro
ofessor, AED, MCE,
M Hassan – 573 201. 83
AU306 MANUFACTURING PROCESS - I: PART – D
Usually the hot chisels are thinner and therefore can not be substituted with the cold chisel.
Tongs:
Tongs are used by the blacksmith for holding hot metals securely. The mouths are made in various
shapes to suit the gripping of various shapes of metal.
• Tong type 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10, II, 12, 13 and 14 are used for holding workpieces as
shown in Figure itself.
• Type 7 is used for holding round bars or links cross-wise.
• Type 15 is known as a pick-up tong and is used for picking up fallen workpieces.
Fuller:
Fullers are forming tools of different shapes used in making grooves or hollows.
They are often used in pairs, the bottom fuller has a square shank which fits into the hardy
hole in the anvil while the top fuller has a handle.
The work is placed on the bottom fuller and the top is placed on the work and struck with a
hammer.
The top fuller is also used for finishing round corners and for stretching or spreading metal.
Smith’s hammers
Hardy:
It is used as a chisel or hammer for cutting both hot and cold metals.
It has a square shank that fits into the hardy hole in the anvil, with the cutting edge facing
upwards.
The metal to be cut is placed on the cutting edge and struck with a hammer.
Swage block:
Top view of a swage block showing various Right side view of the above swage
sized holes and sections block
A swage block is a large, heavy block of cast iron or steel used in smithing, with variously-
sized holes in its face and usually with forms on the sides.
The through-holes are of various shapes and sizes and are used to hold, support or back up a
hot bar of metal for further shaping.
The sides are scalloped to present formed shapes for forging operations.
Shapes are for example the curve of a wheel, which could be used to finish a wheel rim, using
a suitable hammer.
Other shapes, such as the half hexagon, can be used with a matching fuller (die) to form a
hexagonal cross-section on a bar.
The image shows a 15-inch, square swage block with various semi-circular, hexagonal, and
square shapes around its perimeter along with a selection of through-holes.
There are many different kinds of forging processes available; however they can be grouped into three
main classes:
9 Roll forging,
9 Swaging,
9 Cogging,
9 Open-die forging,
9 Impression-die forging,
9 Press forging,
9 Upsetting.
Upsetting:
Upsetting or heading is the process of increasing the thickness of a bar at the expense of its
length and is bought about by end pressure.
The pressure may be obtained by driving the end of the bar against the anvil, by supporting on
the anvil and hitting with the hammer, by placing in swage block hole and hitting with the
hammer or by clamping in a vice and then hammering.
Commonly known as die forging or drop forging, impression-die forging makes use of cavities in
specially prepared dies to produce forged shapes in quantities, the finished forging being
commercial negatives or duplicates of each other.
This process generally contains preliminary shaping steps to permit the change from the original
forging block to the finished forging without mechanical defects.
1. Edger: serves to proportion the cross-sectional area along the length by flowing metal from a
section being reduced to a section being enlarged
2. Fullering step or fuller: reduces the cross-sectional area between the ends of the forging block
without appreciable change to the end sections.
3. Bending step or bender: forms the length of the forging stock to a shape for the finishing
impression.
4. The preform may be further shaped to bring it closer to the final configuration in a so called
blocker die which assures proper distribution of material but not the final shape.
5. Excess material is allowed to run out between the flat die surfaces and this flash is sometimes
removed or trimmed prior to forging in finishing die.
6. The excess material is again allowed to escape into a flash, which must now be thin to assure
die filling close tolerances.
7. The flash is reduced to its minimum thickness over only a small width called flash land, and the
rest is allowed to flow into a flash gutter.
A spring hammer has a simple design to regulate the speed and force of its blows.
As shown in figure, the frame 5 supports the bearing 4 in which oscillates the leaf spring 3, as
the connecting rod 1 moves up and down when the sheave 2 which is connected to the crank
gear commences to rotate.
As the spring oscillates, the ram 7 moves up and down between the guides 8, and strikes the
job placed on the anvil.
Spring hammer
• The hammer has two cylinders: compressor cylinder and ram cylinder.
• The piston of the compressor cylinder compresses air, and delivers it to the ram cylinder where
it actuates the piston which is integral with ram delivering the blows to the work.
• The reciprocation of the compressor piston is obtained from a crank drive which is powered
from a motor through a reducing gear.
• The air distribution device between the two cylinders consists of rotary valves with ports
through which air passes into the ram cylinder, below and above the piston alternatively.
• The size of a pneumatic hammer may vary in a range from 50 to 1000 kg. Hammers operate at
70 to 190 blows per minute.
1. Compressor cylinder, 2. Ram cylinder, 3. Piston, 4. Ram, 5. Crank driver, 6. Motor, 7. Reducing gear,
8 & 9. Rotary valves, 10. Foot treadle, 11. Ram die, 12. Anvil die, 13. Cap
Introduction: Classification, preparation of base metal and joint, fluxes- need and types.
Welding:
Welding is defined as the metallurgical joining together of two metal pieces to produce essentially a
single piece of metal, achieved by coalescence, induced by a combination of temperature, pressure
and metallurgical conditions.
Arc welding:
Bare metal arc welding Consumable electrode, no flux or shielding gas Historical
Flux cored arc welding Continuous consumable electrode filled with flux Industry, construction
Shielded metal arc welding ³ Consumable electrode covered in flux, steel only Construction, outdoors
Submerged arc welding Automatic, arc submerged in granular flux Ship industry
1. Also known as metal inert gas (MIG) welding or metal active gas (MAG) welding
Resistance welding:
Flash welding
Pressure-controlled
resistance welding
Projection welding
Solid-state welding:
Coextrusion welding
Cold welding
Diffusion welding
Explosion welding
Forge welding
Aerospace industry,
Friction welding Thin heat affected zone, need sufficient pressure
railway, land transport
Ultrasonic welding
Other welding:
Welds thick workpieces quickly, vertical position, steel Heavy plate fabrication,
Electroslag welding
only construction
Flow welding
Induction welding
Laser beam welding Deep penetration, fast, high equipment cost Automotive industry
Percussion welding
It always necessary to prepare the surfaces before welding, so that welding carried out will be
effective. This involves,
The base metal should be free of oil, grease, paint, moisture and other materials which may
interfere with the welding processes; as a result, the surfaces should be thoroughly cleaned.
Many oxides, for example Al2O3 have higher melting temperatures than their metals namely
Aluminium, resulting in improper fusion between base metal and weld metal.
This involves, leveling the edges properly and then to clean the surfaces to remove duct, oil, grease
etc.
While welding butt joints, the edge preparations recommended are as follows:
a) Square: can be used for thicknesses from 3 to 5 mm. Further, the edges of the plate are
spaced about 3 mm apart before welding.
b) Single V: recommended for plates having thicknesses from 8 to 16 mm. The edges are
beveled to form an included angle of 700 to 900.
c) Double B: is recommended when plates are over 16 mm thick and facilitates welding on both
sides of the plate.
d) Single and double U: are generally recommended when metal thickness is beyond 20 mm.
Types of joints:
In industrial practice various types of joints are used depending on the relative positions
of the two pieces being joined.
9 Butt joint
9 Lap joint
9 Edge joint
Fluxes are chemical compounds used to prevent oxidation and other chemical reactions.
Fluxes react with oxides to produce slag with adequately low melting temperatures.
The resulting slag is more a fluid and readily floats to the surface of the molten metal puddle.
Moreover, slag covers the molten metal puddle and help to keep out atmospheric oxygen,
nitrogen and other gases.
Thus, fluxes are used to reduce oxidation, to remove any oxide formed and other impurities.
Use of flux also makes the welding operation simple and gives a stronger and more ductile
joint.
Types of flux:
i) Oxy-acetylene process:
Flux used in oxyacetylene welding acts in the same way as other welding processes.
It makes the operation much easier, helps in achieving better bond with the parent metal.
Fluxes used for bronze, brass and copper are essentially one of the borax types.
For aluminum alloys, the flux used consists of Lithium chloride, Potassium fluoride, potassium
chloride and sodium chloride.
After welding, the surfaces should be treated with 5% nitric acid in water to remove traces of
flux.
For cast iron, fluxes contain sodium, potassium borates, carbonates and bicarbonates etc.
In addition it provides a shield of gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide which prevents
the molten metal and parent metal from reacting with oxygen and nitrogen of the atmosphere
to form oxides and nitrides.
Rutile, which is a mineral consisting of upto 88 to 90% TiO2 is one of the most widely used
material for electrode coating.
Other materials used are, Ilmenite (FeTiO3), calcium carbonate or limestone, fluorspar,
solkafloc (cellulose acetone), feldspar (anhydrous aluminium silicate), Ball clay, sodium
aginate (extracted from sea weed), etc.
In solid extrusion, the flux in the form of a plate is forced under pressure around the wire core,
and this is the most widely used process while for certain a special application, dipping is used.
Arc Welding:
Arc welding is a group of welding processes wherein coalescence is produced by heating with an
electric arc or arcs, mostly without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler metal
depending upon the base plate thickness.
Classification:
1. Carbon-arc welding
6. Electroslag welding
7. Electrogas welding
A shield
ding gas (A
Argon helium
m, nitrogen
n, etc.) is us
sed to avoiid atmospheric contam
mination of
the molten weld po
ool.
A filler metal
m may be
b added, iff required.
Gas
s tungsten arc weldin
ng:
The we
eld area is protected
p fro
om atmosph
heric contam g gas (usually an inert
mination by a shielding
gas such as argo
on), and a filler meta
al is norma
ally used, though
t som
me welds, known as
autogen
nous welds, do not req
quire it.
A consttant-currentt welding po
ower supplyy produces energy wh
hich is cond
ducted acro
oss the arc
through
h a column of
o highly ion
nized gas and metal va
apors known as a plasm
ma.
er, GTAW is comparattively more complex and difficult to master, and furtherrmore, it is
Howeve
antly slowerr than most other welding techniques.
significa
Ope
eration:
GTAW
W weld area
a
96 M.K.Ravvishankar, Asso
ociate Professorr, AED, MCE, Ha
assan – 573 20
01.
AU306 MANUFACTURING PROCESS - I: PART – D
Manual gas tungsten arc welding is often considered the most difficult of all the welding
processes commonly used in industry. Because the welder must maintain a short arc length,
great care and skill are required to prevent contact between the electrode and the workpiece.
Unlike most other welding processes, GTAW normally requires two hands, since most
applications require that the welder manually feed a filler metal into the weld area with one
hand while manipulating the welding torch in the other. However, some welds combining thin
materials (known as autogenous or fusion welds) can be accomplished without filler metal;
most notably edge, corner, and butt joints.
To strike the welding arc, a high frequency generator provides a path for the welding current
through the shielding gas, allowing the arc to be struck when the separation between the
electrode and the workpiece is approximately 1.5–3 mm (0.06–0.12 in).
Bringing the two into contact in a "touch start" ("scratch start") also serves to strike an arc. This
technique can cause contamination of the weld and electrode.
Once the arc is struck, the welder moves the torch in a small circle to create a welding pool,
the size of which depends on the size of the electrode and the amount of current. While
maintaining a constant separation between the electrode and the workpiece, the operator then
moves the torch back slightly and tilts it backward about 10–15 degrees from vertical.
Filler metal is added manually to the front end of the weld pool as it is needed.
Welders often develop a technique of rapidly alternating between moving the torch forward (to
advance the weld pool) and adding filler metal.
The filler rod is withdrawn from the weld pool each time the electrode advances, but it is never
removed from the gas shield to prevent oxidation of its surface and contamination of the weld.
Filler rods composed of metals with low melting temperature, such as aluminum, require that
the operator maintain some distance from the arc while staying inside the gas shield. If held
too close to the arc, the filler rod can melt before it makes contact with the weld puddle.
As the weld nears completion, the arc current is often gradually reduced to allow the weld
crater to solidify and prevent the formation of crater cracks at the end of the weld.
Operation Modes:
GTAW can use a positive direct current, negative direct current or an alternating current,
depending on the power supply set up.
A negative direct current from the electrode causes a stream of electrons to collide with the
surface, generating large amounts of heat at the weld region. This creates a deep, narrow
weld.
This mode also helps to remove oxide layers from the surface of the region to be welded,
which is good for metals such as Aluminium or Magnesium.
A shallow, wide weld is produced from this mode, with minimum heat input. Alternating current
gives a combination of negative and positive modes, giving a cleaning effect and imparts a lot
of heat as well.
Applications:
• In the manufacture of space vehicles, and is also frequently employed to weld small-diameter,
thin-wall tubing such as those used in the bicycle industry
• Used to make root or first pass welds for piping of various sizes
• Used to repair tools and dies, especially components made of aluminum and magnesium
• Welding process permits the welding of so many alloys in so many product configurations
Materials:
Gas tungsten arc welding is most commonly used to weld stainless steel and nonferrous
materials, such as aluminum and magnesium, but it can be applied to nearly all metals, with
notable exceptions being lead and zinc.
Its applications involving carbon steels are limited not because of process restrictions, but
because of the existence of more economical steel welding techniques, such as gas metal arc
welding and shielded metal arc welding.
Advantages:
• Concentrated Arc - Permits pin point control of heat input to the workpiece resulting in a
narrow heat-affected zone
• No Slag - No requirement for flux, therefore no slag to obscure the welder’s vision of the
molten weld pool
• No Sparks or Spatter - No transfer of metal across the arc. No molten globules of spatter to
contend with and no sparks produced if material being welded is free of contaminants
• Welds more metals and metal alloys than any other process
Disadvantages:
• Concentrations of shielding gas may build up and displace oxygen when welding in confined
areas
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), sometimes referred to by its subtypes metal inert gas
(MIG) welding or metal active gas (MAG) welding, is a semi-automatic or automatic arc
welding process in which a continuous and consumable wire electrode and a shielding gas are
fed through a welding gun.
A constant voltage, direct current power source is most commonly used with GMAW, but
constant current systems, as well as alternating current, can be used.
There are four primary methods of metal transfer in GMAW, each of which has distinct
properties and corresponding advantages and limitations, namely
9 Globular,
9 Short-circuiting,
Originally developed for welding aluminium and other non-ferrous materials in the 1940s,
GMAW was soon applied to steels because it allowed for lower welding time compared to
other welding processes.
The cost of inert gas limited its use in steels until several years later, when the use of semi-
inert gases such as carbon dioxide became common.
Today, GMAW is the most common industrial welding process, preferred for its versatility,
speed and the relative ease of adapting the process to robotic automation.
Unlike welding processes that do not employ a shielding gas, such as shielded metal arc
welding, it is rarely used outdoors or in other areas of air volatility.
A related process, flux cored arc welding, often does not utilize a shielding gas, instead
employing a hollow electrode wire that is filled with flux on the inside.
Inert gas:
9 For stainless-steel welding either argon-oxygen or helium-argon gas mixtures are used.
Equipment:
A welding gun,
Operation
n:
1. Direction of travel,
2. Contact tube,
3. Electrode
e,
4. Shielding
g gas,
5. Molten we
eld metal,
7. Workpiecce.
GMAW weld
d area
Techniqu
ue:
Th
he basic tecchnique for GMAW is quite
q simple
e, since the electrode iss fed autom
matically thro
ough
the
e torch.
GM
MAW requires only that
t the op
perator guid
de the we
elding gun with prope
er position and
orientation alo
ong the are
ea being we
elded.
M
M.K.Ravishanka
ar, Associate Pro
ofessor, AED, MCE,
M Hassan – 573 201. 101
AU306 MANUFACTURING PROCESS - I: PART – D
Keeping a consistent contact tip-to-work distance (the stickout distance) is important, because
a long stickout distance can cause the electrode to overheat and will also waste shielding gas.
Stickout distance varies for different GMAW weld processes and applications.
For short-circuit transfer, the stickout is generally 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch, for spray transfer the
stickout is generally 1/2 inch.
The position of the end of the contact tip to the gas nozzle is related to the stickout distance
and also varies with transfer type and application.
The orientation of the gun is also important—it should be held so as to bisect the angle
between the workpieces; that is, at 450 for a fillet weld and 900 for welding a flat surface.
The travel angle or lead angle is the angle of the torch with respect to the direction of travel,
and it should generally remain approximately vertical.
However, the desirable angle changes somewhat depending on the type of shielding gas
used—with pure inert gases; the bottom of the torch is out often slightly in front of the upper
section, while the opposite is true when the welding atmosphere is carbon dioxide.
Advantages:
1. Since consumable metal electrode is continuously fed, this process is much faster compared to
TIG welding.
2. Flux is not used and hence joint essentially smooth, clean and sputter free.
6. High economy
Disadvantages:
1. The process parameters are more, such as electrode, feed rate etc., which need closer
control.
Atomic hydrogen welding (AHW) is an arc welding process that uses an arc between two
metal tungsten electrodes in a shielding atmosphere of hydrogen.
The electric arc efficiently breaks up the hydrogen molecules, which later recombine with
tremendous release of heat, reaching temperatures from 3400 to 4000 °C.
An acetylene torch merely reaches 3300 °C. This is the third hottest flame after cyanogen at
4525 °C and dicyanoacetylene at 4987 °C.
This device may be called an atomic hydrogen torch, nascent hydrogen torch or Langmuir
torch.
The heat produced by this torch is sufficient to melt and weld tungsten (3422 °C), the most refractory
metal. The presence of hydrogen acts as a gas shield and protects metals from contamination by
carbon, nitrogen, or oxygen, which can severely damage the properties of many metals. It eliminates
the need of flux for this purpose.
The arc is maintained independently of the workpiece or parts being welded. The hydrogen gas is
normally diatomic (H2), but where the temperatures are over 600 °C (1100 °F) near the arc, the
hydrogen breaks down into its atomic form, simultaneously absorbing a large amount of heat from the
arc.
When the hydrogen strikes a relatively cold surface (i.e., the weld zone), it recombines into its
diatomic form and rapidly releases the stored heat. The energy in AHW can be varied easily by
changing the distance between the arc stream and the workpiece surface. This process is being
replaced by shielded metal-arc welding, mainly because of the availability of inexpensive inert gases.
In atomic hydrogen welding, filler metal may or may not be used. In this process, the arc is maintained
entirely independent of the work or parts being welded. The work is a part of the electrical circuit only
to the extent that a portion of the arc comes in contact with the work, at which time a voltage exists
between the work and each electrode.
1. A close control over rate of heat input is possible just by varying the distance of the electrode
from the workpiece.
3. Rate of deposition is quite high and therefore welds can be quickly made.
Disadvantages:
Applications:
2. Used for building up of a metal surface in the repair of a worn out steel molds and dies.
Resistance welding: Principle, Resistance Spot welding, Resistance Seam welding, Projection welding, upset welding.
Principle:
In resistance welding, the heat is obtained at the desired location of the weld by the electrical
resistance through the metal pieces to high amperage, low voltage current passed for a
relatively short duration.
As the metal reaches its fusion point at that location due to resistance heating, the metal
pieces are pressed together between the electrodes until that weld becomes solid.
Spot welding:
Spot welding is employed to join overlapping strips, sheets or plates of metal at small areas.
The pieces are assembled and placed between two electrodes, which must possess high
electrical and thermal conductivity and retain the required strength at high temperatures.
The electrodes are made of pure copper for a limited amount of service, and of alloys of
copper or tungsten, or copper and chromium for continuous working.
When the current is turned on, the pieces are heated at their areas of contact to a welding
temperature, and with the aid of mechanical pressure the electrodes are forced against the
metals to be welded.
The pressure may be developed by a foot lever or by air pressure or by hydraulic cylinders.
This may be used to weld steel and other metal parts up to a total thickness of 12 mm.
Practically all combinations of ductile metals and alloys can be spot welded.
This is used for fabricating structures for mechanical strength rather than for water or air
tightness.
Films of any type have a tendency to cause variations in surface resistance and also increase
the heating effect of the metal in contact with the electrodes.
The attractive feature of spot welding is a lot of energy can be delivered to the spot in a very
short time (ten to one hundred milliseconds). That permits the welding to occur without
excessive heating to the rest of the sheet.
The amount of heat (energy) delivered to the spot is determined by the resistance between the
electrodes and the amplitude and duration of the current.
The amount of energy is chosen to match the sheet's material properties, its thickness, and
type of electrodes.
Applying too little energy won't melt the metal or will make a poor weld.
Applying too much energy will melt too much metal and make a hole rather than a weld.
Another attractive feature of spot welding is the energy delivered to the spot can be controlled
to produce reliable welds.
Most spot welded technologies use water to cool the electrode assemblies due to the intense
heat generated.
Applications:
Spot welding is typically used when welding particular types of sheet metal.
Thicker stock is more difficult to spot weld because the heat flows into the surrounding metal
more easily.
Spot welding can be easily identified on many sheet metal goods, such as metal buckets.
Aluminum alloys can also be spot welded. However, their much higher thermal conductivity
and electrical conductivity mean that up to three times higher welding currents are needed.
This requires larger, more powerful, and more expensive welding transformers.
KUKA industrial robots welding a car body in the white section of a production line
Spot welding:
106 M.K.Ravishankar, Associate Professor, AED, MCE, Hassan – 573 201.
AU306 MANUFACTURING PROCESS - I: PART – D
9 Perhaps the most common application of spot welding is in the automobile manufacturing
industry, where it is used almost universally to weld the sheet metal to form a car.
9 Spot welders can also be completely automated, and many of the industrial robots found on
assembly lines are spot welders (the other major use for robots being painting).
9 Spot welding is also used is in the orthodontist's clinic, where small scale spot welding
equipment is used when resizing metal "molar bands" used in orthodontics.
1. Electrode
2. Workpiece
3. Clamp
Seam welding:
Seam welding is a method of making a continuous joint between two overlapping pieces of
sheet metal.
The normal procedure for making a seam weld is to pace the work between the wheels
which serve as conductors for producing continuous welds.
As pressure is applied, the drive is started and the welding current switched on.
Then, at the same time, the over-lapping surfaces of the metal are forced together as fast as
they are heated.
A coolant is applied to conserve the electrodes and cool the work rapidly to speed the
operation.
The materials that may be seam welded include most of those that may be spot welded.
Steel plates of 10 mm thick have been seam welded to hold about 20000 kN/m2 pressure.
It is used on many types of pressure tight or leakproof tanks for various purposes, and
numerous other products.
Instead of using two cylindrical electrodes as in case of spot welding, here two circular disks
are used as electrodes.
The work piece is passed through the space between the two discs, and under pressure
applied by the discs and current flowing through them, a continuous weld is formed.
With seam welding the material passes between two rotating wheels or welding rollers. The
welding rollers perform three tasks:
9 Welding pressure
Most seam welded technologies use water cooling through the weld roller assemblies due to
the intense heat generated.
1. Wheel
2. Workpiece
Seam welding
Projection welding:
In this case, one of the metal pieces to be welded has projections at the locations where weld
are to be made.
By using embossing technique in punch presses, such projections can be easily made.
These projections should preferably extend about 0.8 mm from the surface to be welded.
When the two pieces are assembled, the contacts between the surfaces to be welded are
established only at these projections.
When the electrodes are connected to the power supply, the contact between the plates is
established only at these projections which gets heated up and melts.
Immediately, force is applied to the electrodes so that the two pieces get spot welded together
at these projections.
Projection welding
2. As the area of contact between electrode and workpiece is more, the life of the electrodes will
be much larger.
4. The spacing of the welds can be closer than is possible in spot welding.
Upset welding:
Upset welding is a special way of welding, in which two pieces of material are forged together
at elevated temperatures.
There are different ways to reach this temperature, but a current through the interface, friction
or sometimes an external source is used.
During the forging, some material will be expelled from the weld, this material is called the
upset.
This removal is necessary to ensure that surface contaminants (such as oxides or oil) are
removed from the weld metal.
When these contaminants remain in the weld they can become initiation points for corrosion or
crack forming.