Joining or Fabrication Methods

Fabrication

Joining more than one elements to make a single part

Unlike the manufacturing processes employed to produce a single component,

the joining processes are used to assemble different members to yield the
desired complex configuration.
Joining Processes: Major categories
Classification done by American Welding Society
 Adhesive bonding
 Mechanical fastening
 Welding, brazing, soldering

Choice of a particular fabrication method depends on

• Type of assembly:
Temporary, Semi-permanent, Permanent
• Types of materials being joined:
• Type of service required:
• Economy:
Adhesive bonding

Adhesive is a nonmetallic substance capable of joining

materials by surface bonding (adhesion), and the bond
possessing adequate internal strength (cohesion).

Bonding is the surface-to-surface joining of similar or dissimilar

materials using a substance which usually is of a different type,
and which adheres to the surfaces of the two adherents to be
joined, transferring the forces from one adherent to the other
Classification of adhesives: Depending on their

 Chemistry  Load carrying capability

Epoxies Structural
Polyurethanes Semi-structural
Polyamides Non-structural

 Form  Type
Paste Hot melt
Liquid Reactive hot melt
Film Thermosetting
Pellets Pressure sensitive
Tape Contact
Epoxy consists of two different chemicals.
"Resin" and the "Hardener".

Resin consists of short chain polymers with an epoxide group at either end.

When Hardener is mixed with Resin, short chain polymers get cross-linked, and is
thus stiff and strong.

The process of polymerization is called "Curing", and can be controlled through

temperature, choice of resin and hardener compounds, and the ratio of said
compounds; the process can take minutes to hours.
Adhesive bonding
Advantages:
1. Little or no heat is required to create the joint (Curing)
2. Uniform stress distribution
3. Possibility to join different materials
4. Possibility to join very thin adherents
5. Process of adhering is very simple
Disadvantages:
1. Limited stability to heat
2. Cleaning and surface preparation of the adherents is
necessary in many cases
3. Specific clamping devices are often required to fix the joint
4. Choice of adhesives require prior experience
5. Rarely competes with other joining techniques used in
industry
 Mechanical fastening
Threaded: Nuts & Bolts and Screws

Their great advantages include the

 Ease of assembly, which generally requires no special equipment,
 Possibility to de- and re-assemble without (much) damage to the joint.
 They may be used for most materials.
• As a simple machine used to translate torque into linear force.
• It can also be defined as an inclined plane wrapped around a shaft.
• Screws can normally be removed and reinserted without reducing their
effectiveness.
• They have greater holding power than nails and permit disassembly and
reuse.
FLAT AND OVAL HEADS (UNDERCUT)

ROUND HEAD

BINDING HEAD

HEXAGON HEAD

SQUARE SHOULDER SCREWS

When screws and bolts cannot be used,
• Nail
• Roll pins,
• Pinned shafts,
• Staple
• Rivet
Rivet
Welding
Material joining process used in making Welds

Weld
It is a localised coalescence of metals or non-metals
produced either by heating the materials to a suitable
temperature with or without application of pressure or
by the application of pressure alone and with or
without the use of filler materials
Weldment
It is an assembly of component parts joined by
welding.

An weldment can be made of many or few metal

parts.

To produce a usable structure or weldment, there

must be weld joints between the various pieces those
make the weldment.

Joint is the junction of members or the edges of

members those are to be joined or have been joined.
 Types of Welded Joints

Butt Joint Corner Joint

 Types of Welded Joints

Edge Joint Lap Joint

Types of Welded Joints

Tee Joint
Arc welding
Oxy-Fuel Gas Welding (OFW)

Oxy-Acetylene Welding
Edge Preparations for Butt Joints
 Single or Double U-, V-, J-, and Bevel Edges
Various Weld Procedures
A weld bead made without much weaving
motion is often referred to as a stringer bead.
On the other hand, a weld bead made with side-to-
side oscillation is called a weave bead.
Types of Welding Positions
Types of Fusion Welds

Tack welding Plug welding

Carbon Steels are iron-carbon alloys containing up to 2.06% of
C, up to 1.65% of Mn, up to 0.5% of Si and S, V and P in trace
amount. Can be measured by OES technique.
Carbon content in carbon steel determines its strength
and ductility.

Carbon content Strength Ductility

1. Low carbon steels (C < 0.25%)

2. Medium carbon steels (C =0.25% to 0.55%)
3. High carbon steels (C > 0.55%)
4. Tool steels (C>0.8%)

Properties and applications

Designation systems: AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute),
SAE , ASTM etc.
Cast Iron: (>2.1% C, 1-3% Si)
Ductile iron
Gray iron
Malleable iron
White iron

Stainless steel possess high corrosion resistance due to the

presence of substantial amount of Cr.
Other alloying elements are Ni, Mo, N, Ti, C and Mn.

High speed steel (HSS):

Composition: C (0.6-1.2%), Cr, Mo, W, V
high hardness and high abrasion resistance
Common welding terms

Butt weld
Fillet weld
 Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
Most widely used because of its simplicity, versatility, its
less complex, more portable and less costly equipments

Consumable electrode
Shielding gas
Electrode coating
Slag layer
 Electrode
 Consumable (SMAW)
 Non-consumable (GTAW)

Classification of electrodes
 Tensile strength of deposited weld metal
 Welding positions to be used in
 Type of current and polarity to be used
 Type of coating
Arc welding electrodes are identified using the A.W.S.

1/8" E7011
 1/8" E7011
 The electrode is 1/8" in diameter

 The "E" stands for arc welding electrode.

 E60xx would have a tensile strength of 60,000 psi

 EXX1X is for use in all positions

 EXX2X is for use in flat and horizontal positions
 EXX3X is for flat welding

 EXXX1 The last two digits together, indicate the type of

coating on the electrode and the welding current and
polarity the electrode can be used with.
Roles of Electrode
Coating on the electrodes serve following purposes
 Electrode coating provides inert gas environment under the arc which
shields the molten metal pool and protects it from the atmospheric
gases Oxygen, Hydrogen and Nitrogen, thus reducing contamination of
the weld.

 Electrode coating provides flux to the molten metal pool which combines
with the oxides and other impurities present in the puddle to form the
SLAG. Slag being lighter, floats on the top of the puddle and protects it
against the surrounding air during the weld bead solidification. Slag
covering also helps the metal to cool slowly preventing the formation of
a brittle weld.

 Coating contains some ionizing elements for stabilization of the arc,

reduction of spatter and increase efficiency of deposition.

 Coating can introduce special alloying elements to improve the strength

and physical properties of the weld.
 Coatings also contain materials which can control the slag to be viscous or
fluid. Viscous slag would be useful for making welds in vertical position to
cover the metal puddle for a longer time.

 Coatings are normally insulators of electricity and thus, permit the electrode
to be used in narrow grooves, and other difficult locations without causing
any short circuiting problems.
 Gas-Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)
Formerly known as TIG

Inert gas (He and/or Ar) used for shielding

Oxy-Fuel Gas Welding (OFW)

Oxy-Acetylene Welding
Oxy-fuel gas welding
Welding process using fuel gas with Oxygen for heating

Oxy-Acetylene welding
C2H2 + O2 2CO +H2 + Heat
4CO + H2 + 3O2 4CO2 + H2O + Heat
 Types of flame
Neutral Flame
 Complete Combustion of Acetylene Present
 Most Desirable Flame
Carburizing (Reducing) Flame:
 Less Oxygen
 Part of Combustible Matter Left
 Presence of Additional Third Phase in Between the Outer Blue Flame and
Inner White Cone (Intermediate Flame Feather) Reddish in Color.
 Metal Appears to Boil (Due to Presence of Unburnt Carbon).
 Excess Carbon Causes the Steel to Become Extremely Hard and Brittle.
 Useful for Material which are Readily Oxidized (by Providing Reducing
Atmosphere)
 Welding High Carbon Steels, Cast Irons and Hard Surfacing with High
Speed Steel & Cemented Carbides.
Oxidizing Flame:
 Oxygen in Excess
 Smaller Inner White Cone (Higher Tip Temperatures ~3300 0C).
 Excess Oxygen Oxidizes the Weld Metal
 Weld Metal Foams and Sparks (because of Burning of Metal)
 Loud Noise
 Useful for Welding some Non-ferrous Alloys (Cu and Zn Based Alloys),
Cast iron, Manganese Steel
 Presence of Excess Oxygen in the Oxidizing Flame Causes an Oxide
Film to Form Quickly which Provides a Protective Cover Over the Base
Material Pool.
Neutral flame

Oxidizing flame

Carburizing flame
 Cylinder pressure: Oxygen ~ 13.8 MPa to 18.2 Mpa
Acetylene ~
 Acetylene is Normally Made Available in the Two forms:
Acetylene Storage cylinder,
Acetylene Generator [CaC2 + 2H2O = C2H2 + Ca(OH)2]
 Free Acetylene is Highly Explosive, if Stored at a Pressure > 200 kPa
then it Becomes Very Unstable and Likely to Explode.

 Acetylene stored in a strong cylinder, filled with 80 to 85% porous

material such as Calcium Silicate and then filled with Acetone which
can absorb up to 420 times its volume of Acetylene at a pressure of 1.75
MPa.
 Rate of consumption of acetylene should be less than the rate of release
which is normally about one-seventh of the capacity of the cylinder per
hour.
 If Acetylene is drawn at a rapid rate, Acetone may also come out along
with the Acetylene. Presence of Acetone in the flame gives it a purple
color. It is not desirable since it reduces the flame temperature.
Welding Parameters for Welding Carbon Steel

Flame Adjustments for Oxy-Acetylene Welding

 Forehand welding Backhand welding

 In Forehand Welding, the Torch is Moved in the Direction of the Tip. This Tends to
Preheat the Parent Material Before the White Cone of the Tip Melts it.
 In Backhand Welding, the Torch Points Backwards. The Outer Blue Flames are
Directed on the Already Welded Joint. This Allows the Joint to be Continuously
Annealed Relieving the Welding Stresses.
 Backhand Welding also Allows a Better Penetration as well as Form a Bigger Weld
Bead. Backhand Welding is Generally Used for Thicker Materials.
 Preheating of the welding rod should be maintained by keeping it at a
proper distance from the flame.
 Too far distance makes the rod cooler and would chill the puddle
when dipped.
 Too little distance makes the tip melt with the result that the molten
material would be blown away by the flame causing uneven bead
and poor penetration.

Forehand welding is the most commonly used technique for MIG welding. What the
forehand method does is produce a shallow but wide penetrating weld that is flat in
appearance. This is the type of weld and penetration is used for most weld joints
where overheating is not an issue.

Backhand welding is the least used welding technique when it comes to MIG. This
technique produces the deep and narrow type of penetration that is best suited for
thinner metals. The advantage of backhand welding is that the arc is focused onto
the filler metal and that means extra material to prevent burn through. When welding
thinner metals you always run the risk of burning a hole through the weld joint. With
the backhand method the extra filler metal at the arc helps prevent this and at the
same time can keep warp age to a minimum.
Resistance spot welding
SPOT WELDING is one of a group of resistance welding
processes that involve the joining of two or more metal parts
together in a localised area by the application of heat and
pressure. The heat is generated within the material being joined
by the resistance to the passage of a high current through the
metal parts, which are held under a pre-set pressure.

 Two opposing solid cylindrical electrodes are pressed

against the lap joint and two metallic sheets to be welded.
 Current ranges 3,000 to 40,000 Ampere depending on the
requirement causes a weld nugget of size varying from 6 to
10 mm diameter to be formed at the metallic interface.
 The current is switched on for a duration lasting 0.1 to 0.5
sec.
 At low pressures, the resistance and heat are high and
melted metal tend to squeeze out of the weld.
 At high pressure, the resistance decreases and heat is less
and smaller weld formed provides lower weld strength. Thus,
for a given set of conditions, optimum electrode current and
electrode pressure are indicated.
 The time duration of current flow should not be beyond
certain critical, because the heat then has a chance to
spread out and harm work piece and electrode.
 Optimum values of current, pressure and their application