Overview of Welding Technology

To know about the multiple interactive engineering disciplines used for joining
parts and to get the Analytical Insight to deal with day to day problems

by Vijay S. Agwan
1.0 INTRODUCTION:

The Human beings have always tried to make their living more safe, secure and comfortable.
Industrial Revolution as we know of is the outcome of this pursuit. The same natural desire for the
comforts and the material benefits also led to increasingly improved mechanisation and automation in the
manufacturing industries. The pace of development during twentieth century has been phenomenal,
especially after the Second World War.

The revolutionary scientific and industrial developments in the field of Electronics and Material
Science gave us the computers, improved alloys and plastics. As a natural consequence, their interactive
technologically snowballing effects have been automatically upgrading the levels of processing
technology, acurate control of parameters, increased mechanization and automation in the manufacturing
industries.

Welding Technology is no exception. Casting, Forging, Metal Cutting, Metal Forming, Powder
Metallurgy and Welding are the six legs of technology on which rests the present day
manufacturing of the engineering Among them the benefits of developments in electronics were
directly useful to Welding Technology, as most of the processes are electrical and/or electronic in
nature.

The following sections of this paper explain the nature of welding processes, and identify the
factors for their field of applications.

2.0 THE BRIEF REVISION OF WELDING PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY:

2.1 First Principle and the Status of Technology on Date :

Evolution of the welding processes and their application oriented technologies have progressed
hand in hand with the industrial revolution. Initially, being inconsistent, welding played only a supportive
role in the manufacturing activities. Therefore, even today, the first principle of this technology says:

“Do not weld if the product can otherwise be made in one integral piece."

Unless, one is convinced that the required shape, size and performance properties of the final intended
assembly cannot be produced by any other process, more economically. This so, because the materials
just do not like to go through the torture of localized selective treatment and that always creates a whole
lot of problems!

Welding is a complex subject involving multiple disciplines of Science and Engineering, which
makes understanding, analysing and solving the problems related to the inconsistency of results a very
difficult task. This factor led to the slow and very cautious acceptance of the welding as a manufacturing
tool. Only because of the developments in the field of Electronics during last 60 years, which made it
possible to measure, closely control and/or monitor the electrical inputs, the dependability of Welding
processes as a manufacturing technology could be achieved. Today, Automated Welding Technology
forms an important part of manufacturing technology.
However, the first principle of welding is always valid. The Welding must be accepted on the
premises that in spite of the associated problems, it is the only method to economically manufacture
the product - irrespective of the quantity involved.

2.2 Understanding Welding - the fundamental mechanism:

In a simplified form, Welding is defined as : "Joining of two metal shapes at the pre-selected
areas, so as to get almost the same properties as parent metal".
And to achieve this, the given welding process must perform the following three mandatory
sequential operations:
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 (1) It must remove the surface Oxides from both the areas and exposes the virgin metal to each
other under the influence of heat and/or pressure;
(2) Without allowing the atmospheric oxygen to come in contact with them, the chosen
areas must be brought together. If required, add extra clean compatible material could be added in the
available space under protection or alternately an external force could be applied to the parts for that
purpose.
(3) It must allow the joint to come to N.T.P conditions, under the continued protection, to
prevent it from getting oxidised again.
Normally, the process variables in any of the welding processes do take care of these
requirements. However, maintaining the consistency is the major issue, especially when large number of
assemblies is to be manufactured at a rapid rate.

2.3 Understanding Welding - the classification based on the nature of weld joints:
2.3.1 FUSION WELDING PROCESSES :

SMAW / MMAW / Stick Welding GMAW / MIG_MAG / Welding

SAW : Submerged A GTAW / TIG / PLASMA Arc Welding

In these processes only the heat is used to make a joint. The electrical energy is converted into
heat to melt the metal from selected areas of the proposed joint and allow them to coalesce with or
without addition of the extra filler material. All arc welding processes - like Shielded Metal Arc,
Submerged Arc, Gas Tungsten Arc, Metal Inert/Active Gas Arc, Plasma Arc etc., and two modern
processes namely Electron Beam Welding and Laser Welding come under this category.

Of these, Electron Beam and Laser Welding are, by their very nature, fully Automatic processes.
Possibility of manual operation or interference for human control is simply ruled out, due to welding
operation in vacuum chamber and presence of dangerous invisible rays respectively. They are fully
automatic and the machines are programmable to suit the job requirement within limits. Logically they are
the most expensive technologies, suitable for areas where 'quality at any cost' is the criterion.

For other ones manual, mechanised, semi- and fully - automatic operations are possible,
depending on the level of justified investments in suitable equipment. The effects of radiated heat & light,
magnetic effects of high current, weld metal spatter & slag, accumulated heat in the job &fixtures, etc.,
could pose serious problems in the attempts for automation.
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2.3.2 SOLID PHASE WELDING PROCESSES :

Friction Welding Friction Welding Flash But Welding (Rails Welded)

Friction Welding Explosive Cladding

Friction Stir Welding Ultrasonic Welding

Ultrasonic, Resistance, Induction, Friction and Friction Stir Welding make use of heat and
mechanical pressure simultaneously and generate weld joints in Fully or Partly Solid Phase. They are
semi- or fully automatic in nature, allowing human interference only for loading / unloading of jobs
and adjusting the process variables sometimes. All of them offer enough scope for automation -
simplest to complex depending on the needs and funds available - both for quality as well as for the
material handling jobs in mass manufacturing.

2.4 Understanding Welding - the nature of heat source for Welding

Chemical : Oxy-Acetylene Flame

Electrical : All types of Arc Welding, Resistance Welding
Mechanical : Forge Welding, Explosive Welding, Friction and Friction Stir
Beams: Electron & Laser Beams

2.5 Understanding Welding - the electrical & thermal properties point of view

The Heat required for welding is to be generated and applied by using some source of energy and
converting it in the form of a useful heating tool.

Material Name Electrical Conductivity Thermal M. P. of M. P. of Oxides

Conductivity Metals
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Units >>>>> σ x 10 [S/m] at 20 °C BTU (hr-ft) Deg. Celsius Deg. Celsius
Copper 59.60 223 1084 1235
Aluminum 35.00 124 660 2000
Zinc 16.90 67 419.5 1975
CS (0.5 to1.5 % C) 10.00 31 - 21 1425 - 1540 1350 - 1368
in 9.17 66.8 232 1080
Lead 4.55 35.3 327 888
Titanium 2.38 21.9 1670 1900
Stainless steel 1.45 7 - 26 1510 2000 ++
Chromium 7.90 93.9 1860 2435
Nickel 14.30 90.9 1453 1955

2.6 Understanding Welding - Heat Loss in Assembly - The Biggest Problem

2.6.1 The draining of heat into the assembly depends on Heat Sink effect experienced by the intended
area – a root cause of majority of qua lity issues in welding technology – the famous HAZ: i.e. :

Thermal Conductivity, :–Not changeable at all

Area of Cross Section and volume surrounding it,
Soaking Time available for Heat to flow into material.
Temperature difference between heat source & parts

2.6.2 Thermal Efficiency of Welding Process

Of the 4 factors responsible for Heat Loss, First two factors – Conductivity & Size - can never be changed
in a given assembly. Soaking Time is a dependent parameter, as ‘Till the welding is completed’ is a
governing factor for assembly to get exposed to the heat source. Therefore, we are left with only one
factor – Temperature Difference – as a variable, to control the Heating Rate and Soaking Time together,
for the required heat Input in Welding.

2.6.3 Welding Processes & Application :

Various Welding Processes have been developed from the most important requirement factor : Temp
Diff. Dependant Heating Rate.

The next important factor which now comes in picture is the Feasibility of Using that Heat Source in
the given assembly.

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And the third important factor which may overrule everything is Techno-Commercial viability of using
that Heat Source.

2.6.4 Energy Concentration in Welding Processes :

S MAX
I I AVG ENERGY kW /
. HEAT 2 kW /
min max AREA mm 2
N kW kW SOURC DIA OF mm
PROCESS OCV
min max E AREA mm
2
kA kA TEMP. mm From To
Gas
1 ## ## ## ## ## 3200 15 - 25 314 ## ## ##
Welding
Resistance
2 10 10 100 100 1000 ### 4 - 10 20 5 50 100
Welding
0.0 6000 -
3 SMAW 50 0.3 4 15 10 - 18 177 0.023 0.085 0.1
8 8000
10000 -
4 GTA/MIG 50 0.1 0.4 5 20 8 -12 79 0.063 0.253 0.5
15000
0.2 20000 -
5 PLASMA 50 0.6 12 30 4 - 6 20 0.6 1.5 2
4 30000
0.01 -
6 EBW ## ## ## 2 100 ### 0.4 - 0.8 200 250 1000
0.6
0.0004
7 LASER ## ## ## 0.5 30 ### 0.02 - 0.06 - 1250 10000 10000
0.0036

2.6.4 Problem solving in Welding Technology requires:

Analytical ability to think simultaneously on various factors interacting with each other and collectively too.
These process variables belong to different Engineering Disciplines like :
1. Mechanical Engineering with focus on structural designs;
2. Metallurgical Engineering with focus on weld formation;
3. Thermal Engineering with regards to Heat Transfer / Flow;
4. Electrical Engineering for energy input & management ;
5. Electronic Engineering for controls and instrumentation;
6. Computers & PLCs for automated manufacturing;
7. Hydraulics and Pneumatics for application of force.

3.0 AUTOMATION FOR QUALITY, QUANTITY, PRODUCTIVITY:

3.1 Automation:

By itself, it is a technology and could be a very expensive proposition. It requires significant

investments in the initial stages, which are supposed to get compensated by the reduction in - rejections,
reworks, production cycle time, damage costs arising out of inconsistent human actions and inevitable
human errors. Therefore, manufacturing any product in large quantity necessarily requires some kind of
Mechanisation and/or Automation.

For Automated Manufacturing, the product must have gone through the mandatory stages of
conceptualisation, visualisation, product design, prototype making, testing, design synthesis,
improvements, samples / batch production, population testing, quantity based additional improvements,
test marketing, and marketability estimations etc. The saleability of the products to be mass
produced has got to be ensured before Automation is opted for quality or quantity or both.
Productivity takes into account all these factors.

3.2 Automation for Quality:

It includes the actions and operations like : Measurements of the process variables, monitoring
those values vis-à-vis permissible limits, identification of the likely defects/defective units, warning
through alarm / flags, if critical, preventing production of units, in-process control and adjustment of
the input variables as per the feed-back control system already incorporated, etc. This requires the use
of a well-integrated instrumentation system.
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3.3 Automation for Quantity:

Only after ensuring the quality consistency through process controls, the automation for mass
production could be attempted. It may involve the use of simple to complex hardware mechanical
systems like jigs, fixtures, clamps, loading/unloading gadgets, petitioners, manipulators, actuators,
ejectors, transfer lines, Robots etc., together with delicate electro-mechanical elements like limit
switches, sensors, coils & other variety of instrumentation items, PLCs etc. Any steps on these lines
need to be necessarily integrated with the automation system for quality in use/to be used.

3.4 Automation for Quality Assurance :

Traditional methods of product quality control - i.e.: off-line inspection, identification of

unacceptable ones, segregation, reworks / rectification - have been found inadequate, very costly and not
matching the speed of production desired. In such cases quality assurance through IN-PROCESS
automatic or better still adoptive control of variables for ‘Zero-Defect’ manufacturing is required. Thus,
the systems become very complicated but nevertheless they can be incorporated with use of modern
Computerised Control Systems. The technology is available at cost - if one can afford it.

3.5 Productivity through Automation:

It is a goal visualised by the company when it resorts to mass production of the product and takes
into account many other aspects besides production rate. They are : the consistency of the quality as well
as the availability of all the inputs including infrastructural ones like air, water, power etc., the efficiency
of the 'Automated Production set-ups' per-se, and finally the distribution and marketing network for
the finished goods to make them reach the places where they are needed in a shortest possible time.
Many a times production rate is mistakenly taken as the measure of productivity of the company.

3.6 Automation in Welding:

Irrespective of the Welding Process, most of the inner defects or inadequacies in a welded joint
which are metallurgical in nature - are 'INVISIBLE' to human eyes and even to the sophisticated electro-
mechanical instrumentation systems. Only an elaborate Destructive Mechanical Testing in laboratories
can exactly determine the quality achieved. For obvious reasons this is can not be an acceptable method
to be used in welding technology for mass manufacturing.

Therefore, a mathematical model of the welding process variables in the given situation must be
obtained by conducting statistical experimentation (a scientific method for developmental research)
and destructive testing of the assemblies so produced. Based on this model then, a modern electronic
and/or Computerised Automatic System of instrumentation for measurement and feed-back control of
input variables needs to be developed. It also needs to be further integrated with the necessary material
handling systems as explained earlier for the mass manufacturing of the welded product.

As a pre-requisite to these steps, it is logically necessary to understand the behaviour of the

welding process(es) to be used, identify the significant process variables and determine their
interactive relationships vis-à-vis given application(s).

3.7 Understanding Welding: the types of variables and the controls :

Like in all industrial processes, in welding too, one can distinguish the broad functions to be
measured, monitored and controlled. They are :

3.7.1 LOGIC CONTROL FUNCTIONS:

Simple controls make use of industrial relay circuits. They are easy to design, cost less to produce,
but are rigid in nature. Programmable Logic Controllers, which are adapted to ensure these functions, are
a better and an economical choice in a long run. The best example is the sequence controls in
Resistance Welding.

3.7.2 SERVO CONTROLS :

Servo control functions are used to ensure mechanical positioning, mainly position of the weld-
seam (path of weld run) and welding speed. They can be achieved by appropriate Electronic Circuits with
close loops. This technology has been in use for a long time on automated equipment. This was
followed by Numerical Controls (NC) and now the Computerised Numerical Control (CNC)
machines, which can control six or more mechanical axes. Robotics gained wide acceptance during
last 30 years in the manufacturing industries for many tasks. The main problem or hurdle in these
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systems is the choice of electro-mechanical sensor elements and transducers for the application. To be
accurate they need to be sensitive on one hand and to survive in the hostile physical environment they
also need to be rugged. A judicious compromise becomes necessary while choosing the one from the
available population.

3.7.3 PROCESS CONTROLS :

The physical phenomenon in welding is a thermo-mechanical operation. It is the result of the

complex interactions between electricity, magnetism, chemistry, electromagnetism, heat, optics,
plasma physics, hydrodynamics, metallurgy, structural mechanics etc. The process control variables
can be classified into four main categories viz.:

a) Energy Input used to heat the joint (Kilo-Joules or watts);

b) Energy Density - the most important but least understood aspect - distribution of the
energy on the joint area (kJ /sq. mm or watt / sq. mm);

c) Time of interaction of heat source and the work piece or speed of displacement between
heat source and the work piece; and

d) Application of mechanical force and the effective Pressure Intensity.

3.7.3.1 Input Variables :

The energy introduced into the work piece raises the temperature of the joints to bring them to an
appropriate value which permits welding. This value depends on the type of welding process (as per
section 3.2) and is achieved by a method of heating at the possible maximum rate. The methods are
Joules heating effect (Arc, Resistance), Conversion of the Quantum Kinetic Energy of particles into
heat (EB, Laser, Plasma), Mechanical Friction (Friction Welding) and even Chemical (Gas Welding).
Measurement of Total Energy Input can be relatively easy, but by itself the information is not very useful.

The welding occurs due to the intensity of energy on the selected areas which is difficult to
measure or monitor; and the efficiency of heating depending on the temperature difference between
source and the job.

The duration of welding also decides the heat loss into the job, which is detrimental. These three
factors - intensity of the heat source (temp. + energy content), rate of heating and resultant time of
heating for welding - together decide the total heat input and the effective thermal cycle for the weld
and assembly. The nature of the thermal cycle affects the metallurgical integrity, properties and
strength of the joint thus produced.

In some processes like Resistance, Friction, diffusion, mechanical force is also a variable, which
may needs measurement and monitoring.

3.7.3.2 Output Variables :

The quality of the joint can be monitored by measuring the output parameters. These
measurements are very difficult when carried out in-process, but at same time they are essential for the
automatic control using feedback loop. However, such measuring systems are complicated to design
and expensive. They need to be developed for the specific applications. The output parameter(s) to be
used for the feedback loop must give a general picture of the interactive effect of the input
parameters. Some of the parameters used in welding automation are :
a) Temperature of the welded area;
b) Variation of the dimensions of the work piece in processes using forging force;
c) Dynamic resistance of the welded area in Resistance Welding;
d) Back scattered elements from the molten zone in high energy density processes (EB, Laser)

Despite difficulties, if measuring methods are available for the output variable, their control
constitutes a big advantage for the whole welding process.
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