MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY I SUB CODE: MEC230 Unit 2 Welding (Metal Joining) Processes & Metal Forming Processes

Unit 2 Brazing, Soldering and Adhesive Bonding

Brazing and Soldering

Both brazing and soldering are the metal joining processes in which parent metal does not melt but only filler metal melts filling the joint. If the filler metal is having melting temperature more than 450C (lower than the melting temperature of components) then it is termed as process of brazing or hard soldering.

However, if the melting temperature of filler metal is lower than 450C (lower than the melting point of the material of components) then it is known as soldering or soft soldering.

Brazing and Soldering

During brazing or soldering flux is also used which performs the following functions:
Dissolve oxides from the surfaces to be joined.

Reduce surface tension of molten filler metal i.e. increasing its wetting action or spread-ability.
Protect the surface from oxidation during joining operation. The strength of brazed joint is higher than soldered joint but lower than welded joint. However, in between welding and brazing there is another process termed as braze welding'.

Braze Welding:

Unlike brazing, in braze welding the filler metal has liquidus above 450 C but below the melting point of parent metal, fills the joint like welding without the melting of edges of parent metal. During the operation, the edges of the parent metal are heated by oxy-acetylene flame or some other suitable heat source to that temperature so that parent metal may not melt but melting temperature of filler metal is reached.
When filler rod is brought in contact with heated edges of parent metal, the filler rod starts melting, filling the joint. If edges temperature falls down then again heat source is brought for melting filler rod. The molten filler metal and parent metal edges produce adhesion on cooling resulting into strong braze weld.

Braze Welding:

The braze welding filler material is normally brass with 60% Cu and remaining Zn with small additions of tin, manganese and silicon.
The small additions of elements improve the deoxidizing and fluidity characteristics of filler metal.

Brazing:
Various commonly used method of brazing are followings:

Torch Brazing
Dip Brazing Furnace Brazing

Infra-red Brazing
Induction Brazing Resistance Brazing

Typical Self Fixture Brazing Assembly

Soldering:

The soldering filler metal is called solder.

The most commonly used solder is lead and tin alloy containing tin ranging from 5 to 70% and lead 95 to 30%.

Higher the contents of tin, lower the melting point of alloy. Other filler metal are
Tin-antimony solder (95% tin and 5% antimony), Tin-silver solder (tin 96% and silver 4%), Lead-silver solder (97% lead, 1.5 tin and 1.5 silver), Tin-zinc solder (91 to 30% tin and 9 to 70% zinc),

Cadmium-silver solder (95% cadmium and 5% silver).

These are available in the form of bars, solid and flux cored wires, preforms, sheet, foil, ribbon and paste or cream.

Soldering Methods
Various soldering methods are soldering with
Soldering Irons, Dip Soldering,

Torch Soldering,
Oven Soldering, Resistance Soldering, Induction Soldering, Infra-red And Ultrasonic Soldering.

Flux Residue Treatment:

When brazing or soldering is completed then the flux residues are to be removed because without removal the residues may lead to corrosion of assemblies.

Brazing flux residues can be removed by rinsing with hot water followed by drying.
If the residue is sticky then it can be removed by thermal shock i.e. heating and quenching. Sometimes steam jet may be applied followed by wire brushing. Soldering flux residues can be left on the surface of joint, however, activated other flux residues require proper treatment.

If residues removal is required then alcohol, acetone or carbon tetrachloride can be used.
Organic flux residues are soluble in hot water so double rising in warm water shall remove it.

Adhesive bonding
Adhesive Bonding by employing synthetic adhesives such as epoxy resins

Adhesive Bonding does not disfigure the joining parts, but would generally have less strength than the mechanical fasteners
Adhesive Bonding helps in joining awkward shaped parts or thin sheets, which may not lead themselves to mechanical fasteners Metals and non-metals can be best joined by adhesive bonding as in case of automobile brake shoe linings Also, sandwich structures construction for damping vibrations (relies on the damping capability of the adhesive) Adhesives are capable of providing necessary strength to withstand the applied loads for some applications

Adhesive bonding
The most commonly used adhesives can be classified as Thermosetting resins

Thermoplastic resins
Silicone resins Elastomers

The type of adhesive chosen should take into account the geometry of the joint, the type of load application and working conditions such as temperature and humidity

Elastomers which comprise synthetic and natural rubbers are elastic in nature and therefore cannot be used for structural applications
The joint for adhesive application should be properly chosen to provide the necessary cleanliness and the required surface roughness

Adhesive bonding
The adhesives are normally applied by either brushing or spraying

The adhesive joint should be cured after assembling, by simple air drying or more commonly used baking process
The temperature and time control during the curing process is vital for the development of proper strength