How to weld Metal? Similar questions can stand in front of many people who would like to learn about different processes of welding and want to do construction or repair work with their own hands.
Being able to handle welding equipment can be useful in the construction of fences, repairing balconies, working at domestic construction sites, and other housework.
Those who are particularly good at mastering this stuff can fix their own water supply pipes or heating systems.
Quickly create a strong connection that is better than soldering failure. But in order to learn how to weld metal, it is necessary to check the basics of welding.
Understanding electronic technology, milestones, electrode positions and different modes can help to quickly learn how to weld metal. Learn more about welding from the wiki.
Contents
What is welding in the first place?
In order to explain it, in an easy-to-understand manner, first it is important to know what is welding in the first place. It is like metals with high melting points, melting and joining and cooled in the atmosphere, then solidify soon after.
It feels just like a drop of water that is adjacent to its units. In order to melt that metals it needs to add heat in some way. That’s why welding is so easy yet complicated to do.
The part corresponding to “add heat in some way” said here comes the welding machine selection.
Let’s choose a welding machine:
To choose a welding machine in accordance with the purpose is pretty important, to say that there Various types of welding machines, like semi-automatic, TIG, MIG, MAG … etc and many various kinds.
For Beginners, the process of investigating the welding method suitable for the use of the product, might get complicated and that’s where many people who drop out before even begin to learn.
On the other hand, even if you use the Internet and books to search, there are various opinions and sometimes incorrect answers, and you will have to make a considerable effort to reach the correct answer.
If you are such, please search for a welding machine that suits your application from our previous article, welder reviews and buying guide!
The above page will only introduce the precedent cases of actual welding with our welding machine. Now, Lets Begin with Different Welding Process that a beginner should know.
With Arc Welding:
I think it is the most popular welding method. Attach the arc welding rod to the torch extending from the welding machine body, and start arcing by rubbing it with a metal where you want to weld.
This is an arc start, but it may be difficult for beginners because the welding rod tries to stick to the base material. In order to weld while melting, it is necessary to change the welding rod frequently with the base metal in the arc.
Advantages and disadvantages of arc welding:
Advantages:
- Since it does not use gas, it is not affected by the wind, and it is easy to manage by extending the cable of the welding holder.
- It is suitable for outdoor repair work and welding of fine objects while moving.
- It can be used to weld a bolt and a nut to a permanent joint in maintenance work of a large machine.
- In addition, because the mechanism is simple, the welding machine itself is relatively inexpensive and there are many compact ones, and most of the welding machines sold to home centers are this arc welding machine.
Disadvantages:
- It is covered with flux (like black skin) after welding, it is necessary to peel it off with a chipping hammer etc. The finish is not beautiful either.
- This arc welding is quite difficult, and welding of thick plates is extremely difficult in household 100V, thin plates are easily drilled due to the difficulty of the rod, so even beginners are all the more difficult. I can not deny the possibility of losing money cheaply.
- It is not suitable for welding a long distance or welding a part that cares about its appearance.
With Semi-automatic welding:
It feels like an advanced version of the above arc welding, there is no need to change the rod frequently because welding wire is supplied automatically by pressing the switch. In addition, because of its fast welding speed , it is Very widely used in construction, shipbuilding, public works, truck repair etc.
It is a machine that is relatively easy to handle even for inexperienced people because the wire feeding is automatic and the welding starts when the switch is pressed .
Normally, in semi-automatic welding, carbon dioxide gas etc. are used to protect welds, but by using flux cored wire, welding can be done without preparing gas.
However, since the unit price of the wire itself is more than three times, and if it is frequent, than it is better to prepare gas and use a solid wire in terms of running cost.
Advantages and disadvantages of semi-automatic welding:
Advantages:
- Semi-automatic welding is also widely used from construction to car-related, and welding is possible without using gas if non-gas flux wire is used. However, the main advantage is that the welding speed is fast, and I think that the actual welding time is less than half compared to, for example, TIG welding.
- As the wire is automatically fed, its ease of attachment is suitable for beginners, and once the welding current and voltage have been set with various dials, the torch is held by both hands and then the switch Welding can be advanced relatively easily by simply pressing.
- It is active in a wide range of fields such as production lines and welding of structures due to its speed of welding speed and flexibility in welding, and beginners in applications such as “welding is easy and it should be firmly attached”.
- It is also recommended.
Disadvantages:
- The cleanness of the finish is inferior to TIG welding, and spatter is always attached during welding, and it may stick around, so it may not often be used in cases where the finish is important.
With TIG welding:
It is a welding method that melts high-temperature arc light generated from the tungsten electrode at the tip of the torch to a base material to melt it into a liquid and bonds the metals together.
Unlike semi-automatic welding and arc welding, since tungsten electrodes generate arcs without melting, it is possible to melt and weld base materials together.
How to put welding rod?
This is a TIG weld that contains this weld rod, but the most common pattern that goes wrong is when the weld rod is not in the pool. The welding rod is thin and melts quickly when it hits the arc.
In order not to do so, the welding rod is inserted and removed from the side of the base material as much as possible, adding a puddle to the pool. Also, set the torch to some extent to prevent the arc from spreading.
Advantages and disadvantages of TIG welding:
Advantages:
- The main advantage of TIG welding is that the finish is beautiful. The sound is quiet and no sparks fly.
- In addition, shielding gas is always required, but since the argon gas is used as an inert gas that is harmless to the human body, there is no danger.
- Because the finish is so beautiful, most of the car and bike mufflers, stays, covers such as oil pans, etc. are made by TIG welding in the case of external products.
- TIG welding is also used to repair cracks in aluminum wheels.
Disadvantages:
- When welding thin objects, holes are easy to open, and when inserting a welding rod, it is necessary to hold the torch and the welding rod by arming one arm at a time.
- Compared to semi-automatic welding, welding speed is slower, and it is sensitive to the gap between welds, and it is not suitable for welding places that stick roughly.
Other welding methods:
Spot welding:
It is a method of sandwiching metal with L-type terminal and passing a large current for welding. It is suitable for joining thin plates, and it can be welded in 2-3 seconds.
However, because the shape that can be welded is limited because of its shape, it is certain that the treasure will be lost if the usage to be used is not fixed at the pinpoint.
Gas welding:
Acetylene and oxygen are used to create a high temperature flame that melts the metal. Acetylene is flammable, and if you make a mistake, it will lead to a major accident, so we can not recommend gas welding to beginners. And I think there is not much demand of gas welding recently.
At the end I would say, although it’s always difficult and risky to learn new tools and techniques but it’s always worthy. And If you still have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.