International Congress on Advances in Welding Science and Technology for
Construction, Energy and Transportation Systems (AWST - 2011)
24-25 October 2011, Antalya, Turkey
Future Trends to Pursuit Welding Competence
P. Kah1,a, J. Martikainen1,b
1
Laboratory of Welding Technology and Laser Processing, Lappeenranta University of Technology,
Lappeenranta, Finland
a
paul.kah@lut.fi, b jukka.martikainen@lut.fi
Abstract
Demands for improved productivity, efficiency and
quality pose challenges to the welding industry. New
welding processes, so-called modified arc processes, are
being developed to address some of the problems of
conventional processes. These novel processes have
made considerable advances as a result of improvements
in digital control of the welding power source and
developments in allied technologies such as welding
consumables and shielding gases.
The paper considers process systematization and
corresponding advances of constituent technologies,
discusses the role and future direction of welding
technology, based on past historic growth patterns and
the present position, and considers issues such as
welding processes, welding materials, productivity and
efficiency, automation, education and safety having an
impact on future growth in the welding industry.
Considerable promise is seen in the development of
methods for welding materials, and methods for creating
products with innovative shapes and designs.
Keywords: efficiency, productivity, automation, welding,
future, industry.
1. Introduction
Metal industries use a variety of methods to join
different components and the joining methods can be
either permanent or temporary depending on the type
and design of the product. The latter methods use parts
like bolts, screws and rivets, whereas permanent joining
usually involves welding. Welding is one of the most
common joining processes in the metal industry, applied
in facilities from job shop outfits to highly-automated
computer-controlled factories.
Continuing growth in the welding equipment and
apparatus businesses shows that utilization of welding is
still increasing and its use is expected to grow further
due to its economic advantages. For the foreseeable
future, intelligently designed weldments will always be
less expensive for similar applications than will products
made by other manufacturing methods. In addition, it is
the best method to protect and preserve metals by
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protecting their surfaces with special metal overlays. The
involvement of interdependent factors in the process,
such as, human resources, welding machinery which
varies with the type of metals to be welded, and the
needs of the customer, demand the use of an up-to-date
inspection control. Designers and manufacturing
engineers need to know the full potential of available
welding and joining processes so they can make the best
selection of potential manufacturing methods. More
science, engineering, and training must be incorporated
into the welding process if it is to compete with other
technologies and fulfill its potential. Another important
determinant of the welding industrys future is the drive
to improve productivity. For manufactured products to
be able to compete, they must be made faster, cheaper,
and better than those of competitors.
The future growth of welding depends largely on the
future use welding and on the materials used. These
materials and alloys include high-strength, low-alloy
steels and new high-alloy, high-temperature steels. As
the welding industry prepares to meet future materials-
processing needs of its customers, it is driven by a
number of key factors that shape its business strategy.
Thus, new technological strategies will be needed, in
order to develop welding technology concurrently with
the development of new materials, [1][5]. Studies will
also be needed to develop new filler metals and to
improve the purity of certain products associated with
welding. Improved filler metals with higher deposition
rates and the increased use of computer-controlled
welding equipment and processes, which reduce overall
labour costs, are the main drivers behind the increasing
productivity of welding, and why welding will continue
to dominate the materials-joining industry.
Another factor is increased focus on quality. Customer
perceived quality does not refer only to individual
product items but to the company or the entire network
as a whole and the quality of the value chain. Quality is
an award of excellence which leads to high productivity
and good economic performance. Quality measures can
be ISO-packages, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS
18001, and for the welding of metallic materials, ISO
3834. Nowadays, security matters must also be added.
The concept, Total welding management has internalized
the notion of quality in the welding industry. Lean
manufacturing, SixSigma and other quality tools are
widely used in the industry. A three dimensional model
can be welded by means of machine vision technology.
For example, Computer Aided Welding is used for three-
dimensional modelling.
Current welding industry practices suffer from some
further weaknesses. Welding knowledge is often not
scientifically applied, which leads to overdesigned
weldments and process parameters that are not
optimized. Weaknesses in welded parts can have
disastrous effects, putting lives at risk and causing
considerable economic harm in the form of damages and
insurance payouts for faulty products. Poorly
implemented welding practices can also cause
environmental problems such as pollution if imperfectly
welded parts are used in environmentally sensitive areas
such as the oceans. On the human resources side of the
industry, engineering students need improved education
on the basics of the process and how it is implemented;
designers need to be taught the economics of welding so
they understand the full costs of a weld, best
performance choice for material joining; and welders
need improved salaries to guarantee the attractiveness of
the profession. In summary, greater practical research
and development and staying ahead of environmental
and health issues will permit the welding industry stay
healthy and competitive.
This paper discusses different aspects of the welding
industry, considering opportunities to improve
productivity and allow welding to be an engine of
growth. Approaches to mitigating the effects of the
downturn and safeguarding the future of welding are
considered and explained
2. Welding Processes
It is needless to say that welding is an essential
technology for manufacturing of all metal structures. Arc
welding, in particular, has been very widely used
because of its low cost, convenience, and extremely wide
applicability. As a consequence, the arc process has
progressed remarkably in the past 30 years through
technological innovation aiming at increases in
productivity, stabilization of weld quality and labour
saving. Recently, these three aims have been linked in
the form of advanced automatic welding.
Welding processes and methodologies have developed
over time. Innovations include the development of laser
welding in the 1960s and more recently, the use of large
lasers (30 - 40 kW). The last couple of decades have
seen the development of hybrid welding (especially
laser-MIG/MAG-hybrid), brazing, FSW, multi-thread
techniques, powder plasma, narrow gap techniques,
TOPTIG and cold-arc technology. The next major stride
is likely to be the exploitation of nanotechnology.
Historical data are available that record the growth of the
welding equipment and materials industry and the data in
turn give an indication of the projected growth for the
future [6],[7].
The trends in the development in the main control
technologies for arc welding power sources in recent
years can be summarized as shown in Figure 1 [1-2]. For
comparison purposes, Figure 1 also shows the
controllable frequency ranges for welding power sources
and wire feeders. Improvement in the response of power
sources clearly enables an expansion of the range of
phenomena that a power source can control directly.
Developments in welding power sources have focused
on regularizing metal transfer phenomena and increasing
the metal deposition rate and penetration depth by
control of the current and its waveform. With thyristor-
controlled power sources, the welding workability has a
close relationship with the configuration of the hardware,
particularly the characteristics of the DC reactor.
Digitally-controlled power sources have been developed
to replace the DC reactor with an electronic reactor in
which a CPU creates precisely controlled effects, that is,
the control circuit creates an appropriate effective
inductance (di/dt), equivalent in response to a load
fluctuation in the short-circuit duration and the arc
duration so that an instantaneous current changes
gradually. Furthermore, in order to control the arc
current and voltage directly, without conventional output
control by the reactor, high-speed control of output
waveforms is achieved by means of digital computation
with the CPU [7]-[9].
The focus of developments in control technology has
changed with increased automatization in welding. The
development of various sensors for tracking the welding
line and adaptive control of welding conditions in
response to groove shape, work shape, and welding
position have become development targets. Many
combinations of sensors and other devices are evolving
to become systematized to include the entire welding
equipment and its performance control. This trend has
been clearly seen over the last ten years, mainly in the
shipbuilding industry, but for various reasons the
development has not been particularly fast.
 International Congress on Advances in Welding Science and Technology for
Construction, Energy and Transportation Systems (AWST - 2011)
24-25 October 2011, Antalya, Turkey
AWST-11/97

Development of the synergic pulse

process
1980~
1969~
Transistor Chopper Pulse frequency variable control
Control Power Source Ip/Tp independent setting control
Thyristor Controlled Power Source
Pulse uniform control

Synergic control (Non-

Improved performance of
pulse)
power control devices
Crater-fill control
Arc ignition control 1983~ Increased speed of output control
Droplet control Smaller and lighter welding
Low-frequency Pulse power sources
Control Inverter Control Power Lower input and power saving
Pulse Waveform Control Source

Input of control from PC

Complete introduction
1990~ of digital control 1999~
1990~
Digitally controlled power
Power sources with better source
characteristics and higher Introduction of fuzzy
performance control Digitalisation of power sources
Removal of individual
differences and unit differences
Optional setting of output 1995~ Improvement of operability,
waveform parameters Reproducibility and performance
Compensatory control during
short-circuiting
Low frequency pulse Intelligent (A.I.)
DC control power sources
(Polarity ratio/ frequency)
AC/DC hybrid Control
2002~
Current compensation
control of fixed voltage
power sources New digitally controlled power
Automatic setting sources
control of optimal arc
voltage Faster phenomenon control
(ms control => s control)
Faster digital Involvement of output waveform
processing

Figure 1. Developments in control technology for arc welding power sources

Gas-shielded metal-arc welding is utilized as a semi- of the cathode electrode. Control of the wire feed is also
mechanized, fully mechanised or automatic process. Due greatly improved by digital control. However, even with
to the modulation of the electric current, the process can wire feed mechanisms that achieve the fastest current
be adapted to the respective special requirements control, operating times cannot be shorter than 0.01 s
resulting from the material to be processed, the welding (100 Hz) [2], [6], [7], [10].
position and the component. Developments with regard
to controlled energy input as a cold arc or as cold metal
transfer (CMT) have attracted attention in recent times.
Metal transfer of short arc welding processes is
controlled by reducing the current during the short
circuit phase (Figure 2) or by pulling back the wire
during or just after metal transfer. These control methods
permit very low-spatter welding and also the welding of
materials which can only withstand a low heat supply or
low energy supply such as highest-strength or surface-
coated steels. Shielded metal arc welding is the oldest of
the current arc welding processes but is losing ground in
the arc welding market. This trend will continue and
manual electrode welding may soon represent only a
third of all arc welding. Digitally controlled welding
power sources, which have a high-output control
frequency, can be said to have attained a level of highest Figure 2. Principle of cold arc technology [6]
speed at which it is possible also to control the behaviour
The use of gas metal arc welding will continue to
accelerate since it is an alternative for shielded metal arc
welding, gas welding, brazing, and resistance welding.
Since gas metal arc welding is a continuous wire process
with high filler metal utilization. Gas tungsten arc
welding will grow at a rate matching growth in the total
welding market. The main reasons for this development
are: i) it is adaptable to automation; ii) it is used on high
quality work; and iii) it is suitable for welding newer thin
specialty metals. However, the technique is unlikely to
become a large segment of the total welding industry.
Other competing techniques include the electron beam
welding, laser beam welding, friction welding [2], [10].
The flux-cored arc welding process started from a lower
base and has been gaining modestly. This trend will
continue; however, lower filler metal utilization and
higher filler metal costs will keep it from growing as fast
as gas metal arc welding.
In the past ten years, laser and electron beam welding
processes have seen enormous development and have
been introduced into many fields of manufacturing. Both
processes are particularly suitable for fully mechanized
or automated utilization and thus likely to be used more
in the future. Electron beam welding, as the older of the
two, has been applied increasingly and has been able to
bring its advantages to bear. These are an extremely high
power density and thus a low heat input even in the case
of the thickest welds of up to 250mm and above. The
availability of large vacuum chambers, up to 630m3,
permits the welding even of large-volume machine
components. The possibility of splitting the beam allows
the execution of several welds on one component at the
same time. Laser beam welding has the great advantage
that it can be used outside a vacuum but in general it is
only suitable for material thicknesses below 25 mm. The
process is suitable for the manufacture of tailored blanks
of different steel qualities and material thicknesses.
Another advantage is the low heat input resulting from
the high energy density. By means of remote techniques,
it is possible to use the effect of the laser beam over
relatively long distances between the beam source and
the welding position (up to 500mm). Laser beam
welding will be increasingly used in automobile
fabrication. It will also be utilized in the processing of
plastics because of requirements with regard to the light
absorption of the plastics to be processed [2], [5], [10].
There has recently been a series of new developments
relating to friction and resistance welding processes.
Latest developments of friction welding machine
technology have led to the use of the lateral relative
movement of the parts to be welded so that the technique
can be utilized for joining large sections which are not
rotationally symmetrical. One special variant of friction
welding is friction stir welding (FSW), which at the
moment is used exclusively for aluminium and its alloys.
The main problem slowing its application to other
materials (e.g. steel) is the low stability of rotating tools.
The advantage of friction and resistance welding
processes is that the welding is carried out below the
melting temperature and thus the welding leads to only a
slight metallurgical change in the base materials to be
joined. The great forces needing to be inputted into the
workpieces are disadvantageous and necessitate very
sturdy clamping jigs. Friction stir welding is currently
utilized in rail vehicle construction, the aerospace
industry, and for the leak-tight welding of covers into
hydraulic control parts. Resistance welding has not
undergone rapid improvement. Improvements in
machine control and computer technology have,
however, made different process variants (flash butt
welding, stud welding, etc.) more reliable [10-12].
Fundamental progress with regard to the development of
combinations of various welding processes, i.e. hybrid
welding, is to be expected. The combination of arc metal
welding with laser beam welding has been introduced
into practice at a particularly quick speed (shipbuilding
and automobile construction). The combination results in
very positive characteristics such as high energy density
and low thermal load, high welding speed, deep
penetration and high tensile strength, good gap- bridging
capacity, and the possibility of the addition of filler
metal and metal microstructure modification. It is
possible to weld greater wall thicknesses in one pass,
which gives considerable economic benefits now and in
the future.
3. Development of Materials
One fundamental need in the welding arena is a greater
understanding of metallurgy as it applies to welded
materials. Welding and materials engineers need to
develop new materials and adapt existing materials so
that they are specifically designed to be welded into
world-class, fabricated products. Furthermore, there is a
need to seek higher-performance materials; match the
material with the joining processes and advanced
consumables of the application; develop more effective
methods for welding traditional materials; increase the
product design communitys understanding of the
science of metallurgy; stimulate development of product
designs and of new technologies and materials for
welding; adapt certain alloys as weldable materials;
increase access to information on the attributes of
welding; integrate materials, processes, sensors and
controls; and develop long-lasting, reliable, corrosion-
resistant materials that do not require pre-heating. As
materials are developed with increased strength,
corrosion resistance, and other performance factors,
welding of such materials can become more and more
difficult. Special filler metals, pre- and post-weld heat
treatment, and other techniques make welding feasible in
many cases, but at substantially increased cost. The
challenge is to make these materials as easy to join as
simple carbon steels. Materials developed should have a
corresponding alloy that can be welded. In the future,
advanced computational methods will be used to
engineer materials that can be welded reliably and
International Congress on Advances in Welding Science and Technology for
Construction, Energy and Transportation Systems (AWST - 2011)
24-25 October 2011, Antalya, Turkey
consistently. Research is needed on filler metals, along
with pure metallurgical research, in order to understand
the behaviour of materials at the atomic level. With a
new level of understanding of metallurgy, the entire
welding industry will benefit and progress. Advances are
needed in information technology in order to have
smart materials ready for use in the future. With
computer chips embedded into the materials, there will
be significant opportunities to program and control
subsequent welding operations.
It is to be expected that special automated fixtures will
become increasingly important and fixtures may soon be
specified by the type of work and the size of work they
are expected to perform. Thus, there will be automatic
machines for seamers, for tank making, for pipe welding,
for attaching studs, for overlaying, and for other special
applications. Automatic and computer-controlled
machines will become more common place in the years
ahead. Every effort will be made to reduce the amount of
manual labour involved in making welds.
A shielding gas mainly affects the molten metal transfer
and in turn largely affects the welding phenomenon and
quality in a gas metal arc weld. The reason for this can
easily be understood in that the metal transfer strongly
relates to the electromagnetic force and arc plasma
stream induced by the current, the arc pressure, the
surface tension of the metal droplet and adjacent molten
metal, and the gravity force. Consequently, various gases
have been developed as operating gases and are detailed
in welding textbooks and in reviewed papers. However,
how the metal transfer affects the heat transfer in the
weld pool and how it affects spatter generation have not
been understood sufficiently. Development of special
shielding gases will continue and double and triple
mixtures are likely to be used in the future.
4. Productivity and Efficiency
Productivity is considered as the amount of welding that
can be done by a welder in a day. This is determined by
several factors, the most important of which is the
operator factor or duty cycle. The operator factor for a
welder is the number of minutes per eight-hour period
that is spent actually welding. Another factor affecting
the productivity of welders relates to the deposition rate
of the welding process. Thus, submerged arc welding
and the electroslag welding process will remain
important as costs must be reduced. Efforts will be made
to utilize those processes that have the highest-duty
cycles. Generally, efficiency is the measure of the
effectiveness of the process; it is a ratio of work output
to work input. The efficiency of welding processes is
dependent on several parameters; such as, the
AWST-11/97
performance of the welding machines, the skills of the
welder, the work environment, and the selection of
welding process for a specific type of material.
Therefore, the above-mentioned parameters need to be
considered thoroughly when looking to increase the
efficiency of welding. The search to reduce costs is
driving industries to improve the efficiency of welding,
by shifting equipment from manual to semiautomatic to
fully automatic welding. By using robots, the human
factors that reduce efficiency in welding are rectified.
Increased productivity is achieved through a higher
operator factor, a higher deposition factor, a higher
welding speed, good, uniform and consistent quality,
strict cost control through predictable weld times,
minimized operator skill and reduced training
requirements, and better weld appearance and
consistency of product. Every material has different
weldability, and all types of welding processes are not
able to weld all kinds of materials. Generally, however,
one process can be deemed the most suitable for one
type of material. Therefore, improved efficiency can be
gained by choosing the most suitable process based on
the behaviour of the materials that are going to be
welded.
5. Automation
The shortage of a skilled workforce is a very significant
factor driving welding companies to automate. More
welders are retiring every year, leaving manufacturers
scrambling to fill the gap. Automation is not a
replacement for the human welder, and it never will be,
it is, however, an emerging solution for manufacturing
companies to stay competitive.
Automation is the single most important growth sector in
the welding industry. The drive for higher productivity
and reduced costs will keep automation at the forefront.
Other reasons for the increasing use of automation
include safety concerns and efforts to free welders from
tiring, repetitive conditions and long-term exposure to
fumes. Automatization and robotization are beginning to
be taken as key technologies to secure improved
productivity and consistent quality in welding, as well as
measures to meet such narrow purposes as labour
savings and unmanned work. Figure 3 [9] shows the
technical constituents needed to configure a welding
system such that it provides improved productivity and
highly consistent weld quality. It goes without saying
that the arc phenomena in arc welding is a governing
factor for developing high efficiency and high
deposition, and for promoting the accuracy of welding
performance control [9].
 Requirement
Increase in Aim to technical development
Productivity
Development of highly efficient process (high
deposition, high speed welding, etc.) Fine control of
welding phenomena
Stabilization of weld
quality
Constituent factors
New joining process (joining of
dissimilar metals, materials difficult
in welding)
Consideration to Environmental
problems
Figure 3. Requirements for welding production technology permitting its integration to automatization
r 1983~
o1999~
6. Education, Safety and Health
The scientific and engineering principles behind welding
must replace the art of welding for welding to achieve
its potential as a preferred state-of-the-art manufacturing
process. Another part of the solution may be more
effective apprentice programs for welders and
technicians. It is to be expected that welding as a
vocation will gain a higher level of prestige as
apprenticeship and certification programs become more
rigorous. Successful implementation of modern welding
techniques demands that the right individuals are
running the robot, and that they have an understanding of
the welding process.
More welding companies of all sizes will automate
applications that have previously been done manually.
Many companies are exploring their first use of
automation, and the declining number of skilled welders
will continue this trend. A lack of, or declining numbers
of, skilled welders is a reason for the growth of
automation. A workforce that is appropriately educated
at all levels will drive a technological revolution in
welding. The prestige and promise of welding as a career
will grow as welders are certified to guarantee their
capabilities, and engineers gain greater appreciation of
the potential use of welding.
People are critical assets that affect the performance of
an operation. From a management point of view, people
are important because knowledge, skill, and interest
differ at all levels, which give managers both freedom
and responsibility when distributing and assigning work.
In welding situations, there are environmental burdens
originating from the process due to dust which arises
during the welding which may also be harmful to health.
Therefore, measures must be taken to protect the health
of welders. Continued concern for health and safety
issues mean that potential hazards will be addressed,
such as burns, welding fumes, excess noise, electric
Method
Automatic welding (highly
functionalized)
Welding power sources
Welding materials (consumables)
Sensing system (arc sensor, optical sensor etc.)
Automation equipments (welding robot etc.)
Program system (CAD, CAM, CAPM etc.)
In process control (adaptive control, monitoring etc.)
Information technology (human intelligence, experience, modeling, simulation, etc.
shock, and falls. The future can expect to see increased
use of so-called green techniques throughout the life
cycle of welded products, and the use of welding in
energy-efficient and environmentally sound advanced
technologies. The development of methods for welding
in hostile environments, e.g. in deep water oil rigs and in
Arctic conditions, is also to be expected.
7. Quality, reliability and serviceability
Repeatability and quality are the most immediate
benefits of pre-engineered systems. The key is to find the
most repeatable process on the line and then train the
robot to do the job. A good expectation on gain of
productivity is expected in this way. Paybacks are quick
because the robot is paying the end-user two salaries for
each shift that is run. To achieve these; welding will be a
consideration early in the design process, whether the
design is related to new materials, products, or
manufacturing processes. Communication among all
those who are part of this integration is very important to
its success. It is even likely that welding and the
inspection of those welds will be integrated into one
operation. Designers and manufacturing engineers need
to know the full potential of the available
welding/joining processes so they can make the best
selection of potential manufacturing methods. More
science, engineering, and training must be incorporated
into the welding process if it is to compete with other
technologies and fulfil its potential. In the future, the
modelling of welding will be part of the new emphasis
on integrating welding across the entire manufacturing
cycle.
Information derived from any failures will be
incorporated into future, improved designs of welded
products. Manufacturers need accurate predictions of the
performance of welds and weld systems. The capability
to model and analyze welded joints will be an important
development in improving their quality. While most
welded products are produced to meet a high standard of
quality, a movement is underway by the industry to insist
International Congress on Advances in Welding Science and Technology for
Construction, Energy and Transportation Systems (AWST - 2011)
24-25 October 2011, Antalya, Turkey
on superior 6- sigma quality in all its welded
fabrications. The term 6-sigma refers to a weld that is
highly reliable and is a quality usually demanded for
such critical products as aircraft and bridges. This level
of quality requires that better than 99.999 percent of all
welds will exceed the standards given.
Another area that needs more attention is non-destructive
evaluation techniques. Simulation technologies will be
called upon to predict the performance of welds and
weld systems well before they are manufactured.
Processing research, artificial intelligence and robotics,
advanced materials, and other developments outside the
traditional scope of welding can all be applied to making
Table 1. General trends and key needs in four manufacturing industries
Industry
General Trends
Supply chains more responsible for design and
Automotive manufacture
Increased pre-competitive cooperation on
technology development
Technology implementation and management
remain competitive
Industry typically rises and falls with the general
Heavy economy, currently an optimistic outlook
Equipment Impact of recent Asian economic issues unclear
Increased dependence on suppliers and supply
chains
Growth in overseas operations
Shrinking prime manufacturer base
Aerospace Increased emphasis on affordability (cost as an
independent variable)
Shorter product development cycles
Greater reliance on integrated manufacturing
concepts, increased product life
Aging aircraft/sustainment and repair a major
issue
Fastest growing industry sector worldwide
Electronics, Extremely competitive
Medical, Driven by new products and technology
Precision Joining technology historically developed in-
Instruments house; now beginning to outsource to outside
developers
Power generation industry remains flat with
Energy and utilities continuing to streamline operations
Chemical Upstream sector of oil and gas industry is
extremely buoyant with emphasis on deep water
projects
Downstream sector (refining) reasonably flat;
refining division are consolidating and merging
to improve profitability
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dramatic improvements in welds. The industry also sees
a challenge in its inability to quantitatively predict
distortion of materials due to welding. As the quality
and reliability of welded products improve, their safety
will also increase.
Welding can be performed in different environments, in
air, underwater and in space. It is also applicable in
different areas and industries such as construction,
petroleum industries, aircraft industries, transportation,
machine manufacture, household manufacture, and
repair and maintenance. Table 1 shows the general
trends and key needs in four manufacturing industries
noted by the Edison Welding Institute and its member
companies and advisory boards in 1998.
Key Needs
Real-time sensing and adaptive control
Resistance spot welding (RSW) process control, electrode
wear, and equipment design
Joining of lightweight metallics
Joining of coated high strength steels
Joining of dissimilar materials
Polymer joining
Laser processes/tailor welded blanks
Laser hybrid processes/tailor welded blanks
Structural adhesive technology
Welding design and process management tools
Microelectronics process development and reliability
Improved fatigue performance and design rules for welded
joints
Process and structural modeling
Real-time process control
Optimized robotic and mechanized welding systems
Welding of high-strength steels
Laser processing (first and second operations)
Laser hybrid processes for thick sections
Welding of new Al. Ti, and Ni alloys
Solid state joining and brazing processes
Polymer/composite joining
Design tools include residual stress and distortion control
Process modeling and control
In-process nondestructive testing
Design guidelines for all levels of packaging
Coating and plating effect on joining
Process optimization
Process/product modelling
Reliability technology: assessment and test methods
Process fundamentals microstructure/property correlation
Laser processing
Deep water technology (sub-sea completions)
Welding of corrosion-resistance alloys (CRAs)
Repair technology (in-service repair, and repairs without
post weld heat treatment (PWHT)
Improved fitness-for-service (FFS) assessment methods
(corrosion, residual stresses, mismatch)
Joining of high-strength steel (HSS) (line pipe)
Inspection, reliability, and risk assessment
8. State Analysis of Todays Welding
Industry
Market pressures necessitate the regular introduction of
new product lines and enhancements. The prime-supplier
team is driven by a short product-development cycle.
Each new product cycle brings increased performance
requirements and enhancements in product quality. At
the same time, there is pressure for new products to be
more affordable, as regards both initial production costs
and overall life-cycle costs. In many cases,
manufacturing technologies have lagged behind
innovations in materials and design, limiting the ability
of prime manufacturers to take full advantage of these
new approaches.
Welded joints will become widely accepted as the
superior design option for manufactured products
between now and 2030 as their quality, reliability, and
serviceability are improved beyond todays already high
standards. The welding industry will work to remove
reservations in areas where there is concern about
welded joints due to limitations of materials, processes,
and the ability to ensure quality. Welding will be
associated with products that offer performance,
endurance, and serviceability.
9. Conclusions
This paper does not cover all developments, and the
discussions are necessarily limited, however, the
technologies discussed are, to some extent, all already
practiced in industrial applications. The directions of
future technical developments are relatively clear, as are
the challenges facing the welding industry. The main
findings can be summarised as in the list below.
Materials of the future will be designed to be
weldable as part of the total integration of welding
into the manufacturing cycle. They will also be
energy efficient and environmentally benign. Smart
materials with a computer component will help with
materials processing at any point in the life cycle of
the component.
The use of modelling, systematic process selection
and procedure development, and non destructive
examination technologies will ensure that welding can
be part of a six sigma quality environment.
Improved education and training will increase the
knowledge base of people employed in the welding
industry, at every level, enabling them to make
decisions that result in utilization of the best welding
technology for each application.
There will be a trend towards higher levels of
reliability and higher-quality requirements. The trend
towards automatic welding and automation in welding
will accelerate.
Gas shielded arc welding will retain its dominant
position, and the latest research supports the
application and further development of these
processes. Resistance welding processes will hold a
dominant position due to their process performance
and productivity. However, they will become less
prevalent in some applications, in particular because
of the increased use of mechanical technology and
adhesive bonding.
The necessity of using hybrid welding processes to a
greater degree is shown in the potential of using
hybrid welding in welding thick sections. This is
reflected in the expectation of greater use of hybrid
welding in practice.
Welding methods such as laser welding, laser-arc
hybrid welding and friction stir welding will become
far more significant as a result of the rapid transfer of
findings from research to application. Welding
automation is very suited to mass production and
welding in certain critical environments and positions.
Finite element analysis simulations would be a very
handy tool for designers and companies to simulate
welding processes and evaluate parameters prior to
building the physical test set up.
Humans develop and apply highly automated welding
technologies, permitting important performance gains;
therefore, it should be emphasized that engineers' in-
depth understanding of welding systems is most
important because the welding system is the most
basic technology for the manufacture of structures.
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