Fabrication (Metal Joining)

Ravishankar M D
17EME14
Elements of Mechanical Engineering
Fabrication
• Metal fabrication involves joining of two materials together.
• Various processes are used for joining, depending on the materials
and thickness of the parts to be joined, degree of permanency
required and so on.
• The most important joining processes used are welding, soldering,
brazing, fastening and adhesive bonding.
Welding
• Welding is a metallurgical process in which the junction of the two
parts to be joined are heated and then fused together with or
without the application of pressure to produce a continuity of the
homogeneous material of the same composition and the
characteristics of the parts which are being joined.
• TYPES OF WELDING
1. Pressure welding: The parts to be joined are heated only up to the plastic
state and then fused together by applying the external pressure. E.g. forge
welding, resistance welding.
2. Fusion welding (non-pressure welding): The joint of the two parts is heated
to the molten state and allowed to solidify. E.g. arc welding, gas welding.
ARC WELDING
ADVANTAGES OF ARC WELDING

• Strength of the arc welded joints are high.

• Almost all metals can be arc welded.
• No need of highly specialized equipment.
• Cost per unit of welding is comparatively less.
• It can be widely applied for domestic, industrial and specialized use.
DISADVANTAGES OF ARC WELDING

• Arc welding results in reduced aesthetics of the final welded

workpiece.
• It involves many defects in the welded parts.
• It may lead to change in the metallurgical characteristics of the
workpiece material.
• It may damage the workpieces due to high temperature.
• Highly skilled operators are required.
• Safety precautions to be taken are more as high electric current and
high temperature are involved.
 OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING
• When right proportions of oxygen and acetylene are mixed in the
welding torch and ignited, the flame so produced is called oxy-
acetylene flame.
• This flame when used in welding is called oxy-acetylene welding. The
temperature obtained by oxy-acetylene welding is around 3200° C
• Types of oxy-acetylene flames
• Neutral
• Oxidizing and
• Carburizing flames
Types of oxy-acetylene flames
ADVANTAGES OF OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING
• Most versatile process with wide range of applications.
• Low cost of equipment and low maintenance cost.
• Heat source and the filler are separated; hence the filler material
deposition rate can be controlled.
• Rate of heating and cooling is slow. Hence it retains structural
homogeneity of the metals.
• Equipment are portable and multi-functional (brazing, braze welding,
pre-heating and post-heating.
DISADVANTAGES OF OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING
• Costlier while welding heavier sections.
• Handling and storing gases is difficult.
• It takes long time to heat up the metal pieces compared to arc
welding.
• It may lead to safety hazards since gases are used.
APPLICATIONS OF WELDING
• Welding is mainly applied in two broad areas:
• Fabrication: Welding is used in fabrication of body parts in automobile,
aircraft, refrigeration and air-conditioning industries.
• Repair and maintenance work: Welding is used to join structural parts that
are damaged or worn-out.
• Specific applications of welding include:
• Aircraft industries to join various parts.
• Cylinders, boilers and pressure vessel manufacturing.
• Construction of bridges, buildings, ships etc.
• Used in machine tool industries to build machineries.
• Used to build bus, trucks, tanks etc.
• Used in railway equipment, cranes, hoists, steel furniture and so on.
SOLDERING
• Soldering is a method of uniting two thin metal pieces using a dissimilar
metal or an alloy with the application of heat.
• The alloy of lead and tin called soft solder is used in varying proportions for
sheet metal work.
• The melting temperature of soft solder is between 150° C and 350° C
• An alloy of copper, tin and silver called the hard solder is used for stronger
joints. The soldering temperatures of hard solders range between 600° C
and 900° C.
• To clean the joint surfaces and to prevent oxidation, a suitable flux is used
and usually the flux used is zinc chloride, rosin or borax
• A soldering iron is used to apply the heat produced from the electrical
source.
ADVANTAGES OF SOLDERING
• Low cost and easy to operate/use.
• Soldered joints are easy to repair or rework.
• Soldered joints have longer life.
• Energy required is low.
• An experienced operator may control the process to high degree of
accuracy.
DISADVANTAGES OF SOLDERING
• The joint strength of soldered joint is relatively low.
• Soldered joints cannot withstand higher temperature.
• Thorough removal of fluxes is to be done to avoid corrosion.
BRAZING
• Brazing is a method of joining two similar or dissimilar metals using a
special fusible alloy.
• It produces joints stronger than soldering.
• During brazing, the base metals to be joined are not melted.
• The metals used in brazing are copper base and silver base alloys.
These two are classified under the name spelter.
ADVANTAGES OF BRAZING

• It is easy to learn and work.

• It can join virtually any dissimilar metals.
• The bond line (line of joint) is neat aesthetically.
• Joint strength is good for most of the non- heavy duty applications.
DISADVANTAGES OF BRAZING

• Joint strength obtained is less compared to welding.

• Safety precautions to be taken are more since it involves handling
chemicals like borax, boric acid etc.
• Application of brazing is limited.
 Comparision
Description Welding Brazing Soldering

1. Joint strength Strongest Medium Weakest

2. Melting of base material Melt & Fuse Lesser metallurgical effect No melting of base metal

3. Composition of filler Similar to base metal Not similar (Copper based alloy) Not similar(Tin & lead based alloy)

4. Use of filler metal Not always needed Required required

5. Flow of filler metal Pool of molten metal Capillary action Capillary action
6. Heat affected zone High less Negligible

7. Surface finish Requires finishing Good Not required

8. Operating Temperature 4000°C to 6000°C 500°C to1000°C 300°C to 600°C

9. Pieces to be joined Same material May be dissimilar May be dissimilar
10. Thickness of base metal Thick metals can be joined Moderately thick Sheet metals