Views: 4 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2023-01-17 Origin: Site
Many tweaks and processes are done on the material for a part or prototype to be finalized to match specific requirements. One of those essential processes is metal welding.
When making a metal prototype or product, welding is vital to join different areas of the part to take the required shape, hence the wide recognition of sheet metal bending in industries.
When can I use sheet metal effectively? Which method will suit my business the most? What conditions should I look out for if venturing into any technique?
Kaiao will tell you these answers and more.
There are multiple ways of welding sheet metal. Each one has different requirements involved. Let's look at the procedure for each below:
MIG means Metal Inert Gas welding, also known as Gas metal arc welding.
It involves using a welding gun to feed filler materials to the weld puddle.
The filler materials are usually solid wire melted by an electric arc. They cause the joining of the material.
A shielding gas of carbon and argon prevents the weld puddle from contaminating.
It is a reliable welding method that creates high-quality work and is suitable for sheet metals, usually thin ones like aluminum, stainless steel, steel, etc.
TIG or Tungsten Inert Welding uses tungsten for arc welding under AC or DC to produce the weld. Tungsten has a low vapor pressure and melting point, making it useful for this purpose.
In this case, an oxyacetylene flame is replaced with an electric torch.
The shielding gas here is a mixture of helium and argon, which has the same use of preventing atmospheric contamination of the puddle.
TIG may seem time-consuming and fragile and needs high-quality knowledge to operate. But, there is reasonable control and hence neat and quality work.
Materials like titanium, nickel, aluminum, chromium, magnesium, etc., are suitable for use with it.
In this method, lasers and electron beams focus on filler materials to melt them and fuse metal parts.
It is carried out primarily by robots and automated systems.
As a result of the focused lasers and electron beams, the method is highly accurate and used for complex and intricate welding purposes. It is also suitable for tough metals.
Plasma arc welding is somewhat similar to TIG welding in the sense that it does not need filler materials, and it uses tungsten as the electrode.
For plasma arc welding, the electrode is allowed on the welding torch.
Solid joints are made when pressurized gas forms a hot plasma that melts the metals.
The energy input is low, but it works at high speed and produces high-quality welds.
Stick welding is also known as shielded metal arc welding. In this process, a stick covered in flux serves as the electrode. The workpiece and the electrode carry an electric current from the power supply, which creates the arc.
There are no requirements for shielding gas because the created heat dissociates the flux, which protects the weld pool from contamination.
Engineers can move around with the tools of stick welding as it is very portable and convenient.
This is probably the method referred to when the general term "welding" is used.
It involves the use of gas heat to melt pieces of metals together. The heat is obtained from burning gases like oxy-acetylene or oxygen, usually accompanied by hot flames.
Gas welding differs from the rest because it does not need electric current. It is less expensive.
You will encounter various types of surfaces when operating sheet metal bending. It is beneficial to know the best method for every surface and how to maximize your outputs.
Let's check these surfaces and their condition below:
A horizontal surface is one where the metal sheet is flat to the welder. The best method is stick welding, which gives a perfect balance absent from TIG and MIG welding.
For this case, it should be ensured that the welding gun is at a 45° angle and that the electrode tip does not touch the molten material to avoid a poor job.
Stick welding is also preferable for this condition.
A flat surface implies the setup is horizontal and perpendicular to the ground.
Ensure you move the welding gun to and fro and place it at an angle to the surface so that every side is adequately melted.
TIG and MIG are better suited for this case to get maximum results.
This condition, where the setup is some feet above the ground, might seem more challenging. This is because gravity works against the operation, and molten filler often drops.
To combat this problem, you should use enough heat and filler materials.
There should not be an ignorant selection of filler metals because it reasonably affects the operation. You need to use the mechanical features of your material as a guide to picking the suitable filler material.
Usually, a filler metal should be thinner than the working piece to reduce the time for melting it and prevent the risk of damaging the working part during the process.
The skip method refers to applying a short weld or stitch at decisive locations so the metal sheet can stay in place. Proper welding can be carried out when it cools down, and every welding requirement will be done.
With this method, the metal piece will avoid being cracked or distorted.
Mostly thin metal sheets that need to be in fine form after welding require this method.
It involves giving a 1mm gap between the sheets of metal and placing a tack between them. Then both metal edges are pressed hard, melting the tack while the two metal sheet sticks.
Make use of a smaller electrode, smaller than your metal sheet. Preferably ⅛th of an inch. In this case, burn-through is prevented, and the electrode will create a small arc and drive down to small sizes.
Time might not always be on the engineer's side; hence a backing bar is clamped to the workpiece to draw out or insulate it.
Further than saving time for cooling, it will prevent the risk of warping from too much heat.
Shielding gas of high proportion is beneficial because argon emits minimal heat. A reasonable shielding gas proportion will be 75% to 80% argon and 30% carbon dioxide.
Heat is a necessary precept of welding. When little, it might not melt materials well, while high heat can cause distortion and warping.
Hence, take note of the workpiece's material and determine the heat amount. E.g., thin metals like aluminum will require stick welding's heat and the ability to place it at any angle, and hard metals like steel will require tungsten arc welding.
Sheet Metal Welding can only prove tricky and complicated when the best practices and conditions are ignored. Follow these requirements to produce high-quality welded materials.
Outsitting tricky jobs to professionals is the best way to guarantee successful output.
At Kaiao, we are motivated to fully satisfy customers through high-quality service. We ensure this by possessing state-of-the-art welding machines operated by highly experienced engineers.
Are you in need of complex or custom sheet metal welding services? Contact us now.
