1.

Introduction

When compared with other joining methods, such as riveting and bolting, welded structures
tend to be stronger, lighter weight and cheaper to produce. A large number of processes
comprise the family of welding technologies, and include methods for welding metals, polymers,
and ceramics, as well as emerging composite and engineering materials. These process variants
of welding allow a great deal of flexibility in the design of components to be welded. They also
encourage designing for optimal cost effectiveness in terms of productivity and product
performance. Safety is also a major consideration when welding is adopted. This is because it
uses electricity and flammable materials, and creates a lot of sparks in some instances. Most of
the welding processes could not get their due importance in the production scenario at the time
of their developments, except for repair welding. However, at later stages all of them found
their niches in manufacturing environment. Presently, welding is widely being used in
fabrication of pressure vessels, bridges, building structures, air and space crafts, railway
coaches, shipbuilding, automobiles, electrical, electronic and defense industries and general
applications.

2. Classification

Ultrasonic
welding

Solid state Forge welding

Friction
Welding welding
processes
Laser beam
welding
Radiant energy
welding
Electron beam
welding

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 1. Ultrasonic Welding

It produces coalescence through simultaneous application of localized high frequency vibratory energy
and moderate clamping forces. Parts to be joined are held together under pressure and are then
subjected to ultrasonic vibrations usually at a frequency of 20, 30 or 40 kHz. An ultrasonic welding
machine consists of four main components – power supply, converter, amplitude modifying device
commonly called a booster and acoustic tool known as horn or sonotrode. The power supply changes
electricity from the mains frequency of 50-60 Hz to a high frequency of 20, 30 or 40 kHz. This electrical
energy is supplied to the converter. Within the converter, discs of piezoelectric material are sandwiched
between two metal sections. The converter changes the electrical energy into mechanical vibratory
energy at ultrasonic frequencies. The vibrations are transmitted through the workpiece to the joint area.
Here the vibratory energy is converted to heat through friction. The heat softens or melts the material,
and joins the parts together.

2. Friction Welding

In friction welding, coalescence is achieved by frictional heat combined with pressure. The heat is
generated by the friction between the two components surfaces, usually by rotation of one part relative
to the other. Then the parts are driven toward each other with sufficient force to form a metallurgical
bond. The sequence is portrayed in Fig. 1 for a typical application of this operation, welding of two
cylindrical parts. The axial compression force upsets the parts, and the material displaced produces a
flash. The flash must be subsequently trimmed to provide a smooth surface in the weld region. No filler
metal, flux, or shielding gases are required. Machines used for friction welding have the appearance of
an engine lathe. They require a high spindle speed (12,000 rpm) to turn one part at high speed and a
means of applying an axial pressure (~ 50 kN/cm2) between the rotating and the non-rotating parts.
There are two types of friction welding variations, continuous drive friction welding and inertia welding.

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 B. Radiant energy welding processes

In radiant energy method, a stream of electrons or a beam of electromagnetic radiations is used to

1. Electron Beam Welding (EBW)

Electron beam welding is a fusion welding process in which coalescence is produced by the heat
obtained from the concentrated beam composed of high velocity electrons. The electrons strike the
workpiece, their kinetic energy changes to thermal energy, thereby vaporizing, melting and fusing the
workpiece metal. Welding is often done in a vacuum environment to prevent dispersion of the electron
beam. In the equipment for this process, electrons are emitted by a cathode, accelerated by a ring
shaped anode, focused by means of an electromagnetic coil, and finally they impinge on the workpiece
(Fig. 5). The cathode of the electron beam gun is a negatively charged filament. The work handling
system maneuvers the job under the beam in a desired manner to complete the weld. The beam
currents and the accelerating voltages employed for typical EBW vary over the ranges of 50-1,000 mA
and 30-175 kV, respectively. The beam power is an indicator of its ability to do work, and determines the
power density (generally 100-10,000 kW/in²).

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 2. Laser Beam Welding (LBW)

In LBW heat is generated by a focused laser beam impinging on the joint (Fig. 6). A laser consists of a
high power coherent monochromatic light beam which can be focused to a small spot, producing a very
high energy density. Laser is the acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. The
laser beam can be focused and directed by optical means to achieve high power. The focus point is
arranged to fallon or slightly below the surface of the workpiece. The material immediately melts, with
some even being vaporized. The process does not require a vacuum chamber. The shielding gas for
protecting the molten metal can be directed sideways to blow and deflect the plasma away from the
beam path. Helium is often preferred to argon as the shielding gas for high power LBW because of
greater penetration depth. The laser beam has been used to weld carbon steels, high strength low alloy
steels, aluminium, stainless steel and titanium. The process can weld most diverse combination of
metals used in micro electronics such as gold and silicon, germanium and gold, copper and aluminium.
LBW is being used for an extensive variety of applications in the automotive, semiconductor, and
electronic industries.

C. Conclusion

Most of the welding processes could not get their due importance in the production scenario at the time
of their developments, except for repair welding. However, at later stages all of them found their niches

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in manufacturing environment. Presently, welding is widely being used in fabrication of pressure vessels,
bridges, building structures, air and space crafts, railway coaches, shipbuilding, automobiles, electrical,
electronic and defense industries and general applications.

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 D. REFERENCES
1. Khan Ibrahim, “Welding Science and Technology”, 2007, New Age International,
New Delhi.
2. Mikell P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials,
Processes, and Systems”, 2010, John Wiley, NY.
3. ASM, “Handbook: Welding, Brazing, and Soldering”, Vol. 6, 1993, ASM
International.
4. Parmar R.S., “Welding Processes and Technology”, 1995, Khanna Publishers,
New Delhi.
5. E. T. Hetrick, J. R. Baer, W. Zhu, L. V. Reatherford, A. J. Grima, D. J. Scholl, D.
E. Wilkosz, S. Fatima and S. M. Ward, July 2009, “Ultrasonic metal welding
process robustness in aluminum automotive body construction applications”,
Welding Journal, Vol. 88, pp. 149s-158s.
6. Messler R. W., “Principles of Welding Processes: Physics, Chemistry, and
Metallurgy”, 1999, John Wiley, NY.
7. Howard B. Cary, “Modern Welding Technology”, 4th Ed., 1998, Prentice-Hall,
New Jersey.
8. Kim Y. S. and Eagar T. W., 1993, “Analysis of metal transfer in gas metal arc
welding”, Welding Journal, Vol. 72, pp. 269-278.
9. Kalpakjian, “Manufacturing Engineering and Technology”, 2001, Pearson
Education, India.

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