AT&F Blog

How to Choose a Welding Method

Welding is a method of bonding two pieces of metal together. In many cases, this bond can be stronger than the base material. The process of fusing two separate pieces of metal requires the base metal to melt and flow together. Old methods would use a blowtorch to heat metal until the base pieces reached melting temperature. New methods use electric arcs to generate the required heat. An electrode—consumable and charged positively or negatively depending on the character of the weld—is passed to a workpiece. There are many methods to achieve metal fusion via welding and choosing the right method is crucial. Here are the different welding methods and their applications:

How Welding Works

Welding is a ubiquitous method of metalworking that joins two pieces of metal together to form a strong bond. But what exactly happens when the two metals join together? By definition, welding joins two pieces of metal by fusion. In order to properly fuse together, the base metal must melt and flow together. Older welding methods would employ an oxyfuel blowtorch to heat pieces of metal until the base metals reached melting temperature, but newer methods now use an electric arc to generate the heat necessary to melt the metal. The arc is created when an electric charge is passed from an electrode to the workpieces. The electrode is usually consumable and charged either negatively or positively depending on the desired character of the weld. A proper weld often creates a bond between workpieces that is stronger than the original strength of the workpieces themselves.

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