7 Things You Didn’t Know About Welding

Not only is welding a big part of SMF (Special Metals Fabrication), welding services are a massive part of society in general. Welding is an interesting concept that has dated back thousands and thousands of years, still being one of the biggest resources in the world to this day. With such a long history, comes information that has probably been overlooked by most.

 

It Can Help the Environment

As unexpected as it seems, it might be quite believable that this is mainly because of the consequences of man. All over the world there are oil rigs and pipelines that require constant monitoring and repairing.

If you look back at the BP oil spill from years ago, it had damaging effects on parts of nature and particular areas. Because of this, the welding industry became as in demand as ever.

50% of Man-Made Products Require Welding

As surprising as it sounds, the welding industry is a big part of your day to day life. The home you live in/buildings you work in, the car you drive, the planes that fly you away on holiday, trains you use to commute to work, the very technology that you use constantly in this day and age. These are just a small number of many resolutions that have been down to the work of metal welders to become fully functional.

Welding Assisted Greatly in WW2

It is in fact down to the efforts of experts in the welding industry and their excellent abilities that developments were made at an impressive rate during World War 2. The war efforts of welders helped in rapid development of ships being built.

The record in ship building speed is still help by welders from 1942; The SS Robert E Peary was constructed under a record time of 4 days, 15 hours and 27 minutes. That same ship operated in both the Atlantic ocean and Pacific ocean before eventually being scrapped in 1963 after its 21 year stride. By 1945, welding had actually replaced riveting as the main method used in assembling ships.

It Can Help in Medicine

Believe it or not, the welding industry is essential in concern to advances in medicine. While of course scientists and doctors are the most important factor in the medical world, a lot of thanks can also be given to the welding profession. Thanks to the talented welders of today, machines that are imperative in the medical industry are manufactured and made functional so that the sick are seen to appropriately to get them back to health.

Welding Naturally Happens in Space

A very interesting fact to know. When two pieces of metal (that have no coating) touch whilst in outer space, they in fact weld together in an instant. In 1969, an experiment was carried out in outer space to test if metal welding was at all possible in a depressurised environment, and it worked. This fact is down to a process known as “cold welding”. “Cold welding” refers to the process of metallic bonds that actually hold atoms together, bridging a gap that creates one single piece of metal.

As you would expect, this process cannot occur here on Earth. This is down to there being a layer of oxidisation between metals; as long as that is apparent, companies such as SMF are tailored to your welding needs.

 

Explosion Welding

“Explosion Welding” is a forceful welding procedure. It is a process that can join pretty much every kind of metal together, even ones that are completely different.

The process consists of accelerating one component at an extremely high velocity through the use of chemical explosives. It is a process that is commonly used to clad carbon steel plates with thinner layers of corrosion resistant materials such as stainless steel, nickel alloy, titanium and zirconium. The process does not melt either metal, instead plasticizing the surfaces of both metals, causing them to come into intimate contact, enough to create a weld. Because of the nature of this process, producible geometries are very limited. Typical geometries produced can include plates, tubing and tube sheets.

It’s Many Different Forms

There are many different ways in which metal welding can occur. Welding can actually be done via electric arc, gas flame, electron beam, friction stir and ultra-sound.

• Arc – Uses electricity to create enough heat to melt metal, binding two metals together when cooled down.
• Gas Flame – Uses gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals.
• Electron Beam – Uses a beam of high-velocity electrons are applied to metals in order to make them join. The metals melt and flow together as the kinetic energy of the electrons is turned into heat upon impact of the metals.
• Friction Stir – Uses a non-consumable tool to join two facing metals without melting them. The process includes heat being generated by friction caused by the rotating tool and the material, leading to a softened part. The two pieces of metal are then mechanically intermixed, and this forges the softened metal via mechanical pressure.
• Ultra-Sound – Uses high frequency ultra-sonic acoustic vibrations, which when locally applied to metals being held together under pressure, create a sold-state weld.

 

 

Our welding services are greatly admired here at SMF. If you would like to receive a quote for our welding services then please get in touch today! You can call us on 01268 820409 or e-mail us at sales@special-metals.co.uk. One of our experienced team members will be happy to help you in any way possible. Alternatively, you can fill out our “Request A Quote” form at the top-right of this page

Posted on: Aug 31, 2018