13.

Special Processes
13. Special Processes 183

Apart from the welding processes explained earlier there is also a multitude of special weld-
ing processes. One of them is stud welding. Figure 13.1 depicts different stud shapes. De-
pending on the application, the studs are equipped with either internal or external screw
threads; also studs with pointed tips or with corrugated shanks are used.

In arc stud welding, a dis-

tinction is basically made
between three process
variations. Figure 13.2.
depicts the three variations
the differences lie in the
kind of arc ignition and in
the cycle of motions during
rammed flange
the welding process.
br-er13-01e.cdr

The switching arrange-

ment of an arc stud weld-
Figure 13.1
ing unit is shown in Fig-
ure 13.3. Besides a power
drawn-arc capacitor- drawn-arc stud
stud welding discharge stud welding with source which produces
welding with ferrule ignition
tip ignition high currents for a short-
time, a control as well as a
lifting device are necessary.

ignition
cold-upset
ceramic ferrule ring
tip ignition

br-er13-02e.cdr

Figure 13.2

2005
13. Special Processes 184

In drawn-arc stud welding the stud is first mounted onto the plate, Figure 13.4. The arc is
ignited by lifting the stud and melts the entire stud diameter in a short time. When stud and
base plate are fused, the stud is dipped into the molten weld pool while the ceramic ferrule is
forming the weld. After the solidification of the liquid weld pool the ceramic ferrule is knocked
off.

Figure 13.5 illustrates tip

ignition stud welding.
lifting
The tip melts away imme- device
control device
diately after touching the
plate and allows the arc to
stud holding
welding time device
be ignited. The lifting of the adjustment
stud is dispensed with. stud
ceramic
When the stud base is mol- V ferrule
power source
ten, the stud is positioned A workpiece
onto the partly molten
br-er13-03e.cdr

workpiece.

Studs with diameters of up

Figure 13.3
to 22 mm can be used.
Welding currents of more
than 1000 A are necessary.
0 1 2 3 4
stud movement

The arc stud welding proc-

time
ess allows to join different
L
P
P

materials, see Figure 13.6. projection start lifting dipping

> (L + P)
end
P L
current

Problematic are the differ-

ent melting points and the
time
heat dissipation of the indi-
br-er13-04e.cdr

vidual materials. Aluminium

studs, for example, may
not be welded onto steel.
Figure 13.4

2005
13. Special Processes 185

The relatively high welding currents in the arc

stud welding process cause the somewhat
troublesome side-effects of the arc blow. Fig-
ure 13.7 depicts different arrangements of cur-
rent contact points and cable runs and illus-
trates the developing arc deflection (B,C,E). A,
D and F show possible countermeasures.
a b

In high-frequency welding of pipes the en-

ergy input into the workpiece may be carried
out via sliding contacts, as shown in Fig-
ure 13.8, or via rollers, as shown in Fig-
ure 13.9. Only the high-frequency technique
allows a safe current transfer in spite of the
c d
scale or oxide layers. Through the skin effect br-er13-05e.cdr ISF 2002

Phases of Capacitor-Discharge
the current flows only conditionally at the sur- Stud Welding With Tip Ignition
face. Therefore no thorough fusion of thick-
Figure 13.5
wall pipes may be achieved.

unalloyed sructural other stainless heat resisting aluminium and

stud material
steel S235J0 and/or unalloyed steels acc. steels acc. aluminium
base meatl comparable steels steels DIN EN 17440 SEW 470 alloys

unalloyed structural steel S235J0,

S355J0 and/or comparable steels 1 2 3 2 0
(acc. DIN EN 10 025)

other unalloyed steels 2 2 3 2 0

stainless steels
3 3 1 3 0
acc. DIN EN 17440

heat resisting steels

2 2 2 2 0
acc. SEW 470

aluminium and
aluminium alloys 0 0 0 0 2

explanation of the weldability classification numbers:

1 = well suitable (transmission of energy) 3 = suitable only up to a point

2 = suitable (transmission of energy possible (not for transmission of energy
with restriction) 0 = not possible
br-er13-06e.cdr

Figure 13.6

2005
13. Special Processes 186

Only welding of small wall

thicknesses is profitable
as the weld speed must be
greatly reduced with in-

A B
creasing wall thicknesses,
Figure 13.10.

C D
br-er13-07e.cdr

Figure 13.7

rotary transformer
moving direction
of the pipe
~

pressure
rollers
Isolation

copper electrode wheel

sliding contacts (water-cooled)
(fixed)
slot pipe

pressure rollers
interstage HF-valve
counterpressure rollers
transformer generator

br-er13-08e.cdr ISF 2002 br-er13-09e.cdr ISF 2002

High-Frequency Welding Rotary Transformer

of Pipes Resistance Welding

Figure 13.8 Figure 13.9

2005
13. Special Processes 187

In induction welding a process which is

80

4 5 used frequently nowadays the energy input

6
is received contactless, Figure 13.11. Varying
3
m/min
magnetic fields produce eddy currents inside
2 the workpiece, which again cause resistance
welding speed

40 heating in the slotted tube. A distinction is

made between coil inductors (left) and line
1
inductors (right).
20

Also in case of induction welding flows the

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 mm 16 current flows only close to the surface areas
wall thickness

1: 36 kA; 100 kVA;

of the pipe. Only the current part which
60 Hz
2: 57 kA; 200 kVA; 60 Hz
3: 75 kA; 300 kVA; 60 Hz reaches the joining zone and causes to fill the
4: 125 kA; 500 kVA; 60 Hz
5: 150 kA; 1200 kVA; 120 Hz gap may be utilised. Figure 13.12 illustrates
6: 200 kA; 1850 kVA; 120 Hz
Br-er13-10e.cdr ISF 2002
two current paths. On the left side: the useful
Welding Speeds in
HF-Resistance Welding
current path, on the right side: the useless
current path which does not contribute to the
Figure 13.10 fusion of the edges.

Figure 13.13 shows the

moving direction moving direction
effective depth during the of the pipe of the pipe

inductive heating for differ-

ent materials, in depend-
ence on the frequency. As
pressure pressure
soon as the Curie tempera- rollers rollers

ture point is reached, the

effective depth for ferritic
coil inductor line inductor
steels increases.

br-er13-11e.cdr

Figure 13.11

2005
13. Special Processes 188

The application of the in-

l duction welding method
2 allows high welding speeds
of more than 100m/min,
b

b
1 1 Figure 13.14.
d
s

b width of the heating inductor 2 current penetration depth

s wall thickness of the pipe at the strip edges
1 current penetration depth d outside diameter of the pipe
on pipe backside l distance inductor- welding point
br-er13-12e.cdr

Figure 13.12

20 160
mm 100

corrective factor
10
8 1
6
m/min
4 %
2
2 3
4
effective depth

5 120
1,0 0
0,8 6 0 50 100 mm 200
0,6 pipe diameter
0,4 7 100
0,2 high frequency
200 - 450 kW
0,10 80
0,08
weld speed

0,06
0,04
60
0,02 600 kW

1 4 10 100 200 kHz 1000 40

frequency f 450 kW

1 steel (ferritic 800C

steel (austenitic) 20....1400C 300 kW
2 brass 800C 20
3 aluminium 600C 200 kW
4 copper 850C 60 kW 100 kW 150 kW
5 brass 20C 0
6 copper 20C 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 mm 20
aluminium 20C wall thickness
br-er13-13e.cdr
7 steel (ferritic) 20C ISF 2002
br-er13-14e.cdr ISF 2002

Standard Values of the Effective Welding Speeds in

Depths During Inductive Heating Induction Welding

Figure 13.13 Figure 13.14

2005
13. Special Processes 189

Aluminothermic fusion
welding or cast welding is
mainly used for joining
3FeO + 2Al Al2O3 + 3Fe - 783 kJ railway tracks on site. A
crucible is filled with a mix-

Fe2O3 + 2Al Al2O3 + 2Fe - 758 kJ ture consisting of alumin-

ium powder and iron ox-
ide. An exothermal reac-
3Fe3O4 + 8Al 4Al2O3 + 9Fe - 3012 kJ
tion is initiated by an igniter

br-er13-15e.cdr
the aluminium oxidises
and the iron oxide is re-
duced to iron, Fig-
Figure 13.15 ure 13.15. The molten iron
flows into a ceramic mould
which matches the contour of the track. After the melt has cooled, the mould is knocked off.
Figure 13.16 shows the process assembly.

Explosion welding or ex-

runner gate mould
plosion cladding is fre- riser preheating slag mould
workpiece gas fuel
quently used for joining air c
riser

b workpiece
dissimilar materials, as,
blow-hole
cut A-B orifice
for example, unalloyed thermit slag
thermit crucible
steel/alloyed steel, cop- thermit steel
slag mould channel between
A
per/aluminium or riser riser and runner
gate riser
thermit bulge runner gate
steel/aluminium. The mate- blow-hole
runner
gate
weld cross-section
b

orifice
workpiece
rials which are to be joined thickness of the
cast b iron or sand plug
cast-around
B foundry sand
are pressed together by a br-er13-16e.cdr
bulge

shock wave. Wavy transi-

tions develop in the joining
area, Figures 13.17 and Figure 13.16
13.18.

2005
13. Special Processes 190

The determined cladding

a) explosive charge b) explosive charge
igniter igniter
speed must be strictly buffer buffer
flyer plate flyer plate

d
adhered to during the anvil
Ambo parent plate anvil parent plate

welding process. If the vd

t

welding speed is too low, vP B

vd

A' t
lack of fusion is the result. A'
vF B'
vF B vP
A
A K K B'
If the welding speed is vK
B
vK

90 - + /2
exceeded, the develop- v F
vP B
vF vP
ment of the waves in the
90 - /2
K B' K B'
joining zone is erratic. br-er13-17e.cdr
vK vK = vD

Figure 13.19 shows the

critical cladding speeds
for different material com- Figure 13.17
binations.

Figure 13.20 shows a diagrammatic representation of a diffusion welding unit. Diffusion

welding, like ultrasonic welding, is welding in the solid state. The surfaces which are to be
joined are cleaned, polished and then joined in a vacuum with pressure and temperature.
After a certain time (minutes, right up to several days) joining is achieved by diffusion proc-
esses.

The advantage of this costly welding method lies in the possibility of joining dissimilar materi-
als without taking the risk
of structural transformation
due to the heat input. Fig-
ure 13.21 shows several
possible material combina-
tions. The joining of two
extremely different materi-
als, as, e.g. austenite and a
zirconium alloy, may be
obtained by several inter-
Br-er13-18e.cdr

mediate layers.

Figure 13.18
2005
13. Special Processes 191

measuring amplifier
-1
critical speed [m s ] working pressure
materials 1,33 mPa
flyer plate/
hydraulic
parent plate vk1 vk2 vk3 aggregate unit

P
aluminium/
aluminium 600 1000 >4000

copper/
copper 1200 1600 >3600
workpieces
steel/ HF-
steel
2100 2700 >3900 generator

copper/
aluminium 1000 1400

aluminium/ pumping
steel
1200 1600 station

cooper/
steel
1400 2400 recorder
p,T = f(t)
aluminium/
zinc
500 1000 3000

copper/ loading device

zinc
800 1400 3300

br-er13-19e.cdr ISF 2002 br-er13-20e.cdr ISF 2002

Critical Cladding Speeds Schematic Representation

in Explosive Cladding of a Diffusion Welding Unit

Figure 13.19 Figure 13.20

structural steel

Figure 13.22 shows the structure of a joint

stainless steel

molybdenum
aluminium

zirconium
tool steel

tungsten

tantalum
cast iron

niobium
titanium

material where nickel, copper and vanadium had been

copper
nickel

used as intermediate layers. As the diffusion

tantalum
niobium of the individual components takes place only
zirconium
tungsten in the region close to the surface, very thin
molybdenum
layers may be realised.
titanium
nickel
copper
aluminium
stainless steel

tool steel
very good weld quality
structural steel
cast iron good weld quality

bad weld quality

not tested/
results not reported

br-er13-21e.cdr ISF 2002

Possible Material Combinations

for Diffusion Welding

Figure 13.21
2005
13. Special Processes 192

In cold pressure welding -

in contrast to diffusion weld-
ing - a deformation is pro-
duced by the high contact
pressure in the bonding X10CrNiTi18 9 Ni Cu V Zr2Sn

plane, Figure 13.23. The

joint surfaces are moved
very close towards each
other, i.e., to the atomic
distance. Through transpo-
br-er13-22e.cdr

sition processes as well as

through adhesion forces
can joining of similar and Figure 13.22
dissimilar materials be real-
ised.

Ultrasonic welding is used as a microwelding method. The process principle is shown in

Figure 13.24. The surface layers of overlap arranged plates are destroyed by applying me-
chanical vibrator energy. At this instance are joining surfaces deformed by very short local-
ised warming up and point-interspersed connected. The joining members are welded under
pressure, where one part small amplitudes (up to 50 m) relative to the other is moved with
with ultrasonic frequency.
d1
dies As far as metals are con-
cerned, the vibratory vector
is in the joining zone, in

guide
contrast to ultrasonic weld-
specimen A
and buffer
specimen B ing of plastics. The ultra-
d2 sonics which have been
produced by a magne-
tostrictive transducer and

br-er13-23e.cdr
transmitted by a sonotrode
lie in the frequency range
of 20 up to 60 Hz.
Figure 13.23

2005
13. Special Processes 193

Figure 13.25 shows possible material combinations for ultrasonic welding.

Further microwelding proc-
esses are methods which
HF-
generator are also called heated ele-
process observation
optics
pressure force ment welding methods, as,

sonotrode
for example, nailhead
bonding and wedge bond-
sonotrode tip

workpiece
ing. These methods are
applied in the electronics
anvil

ultrasonic vibrator
industry for joining very fine
wires, as, for example, gold
br-er13-24e.cdr

wires from microchips with

aluminium strip conductors.
Figure 13.24
In wedge bonding a wire
is positioned onto the contact point via a feeding nozzle. The welding wedge is lowered and
the wire is welded with the aluminium thin foil,
Figure 13.26. The wire is cut with a cutting
tool.
copper, Cu-Zn-alloy

molybdenum+alloy
magnesium+alloy
aluminium+alloy

palladium+alloy

zirconium+alloy
tantalium+alloy
beryllium+alloy

tungsten+alloy
titanium+alloy
nickel+alloy

platin+alloy
germanium

silver+alloy
In nailhead bonding, the wire which emerges
silicon
gold
iron

from the feeding nozzle may have diameters

tin

aluminium+alloy
beryllium+alloy
from 12 to 100 m. By a reducing hydrogen copper, Cu-Zn-alloy
germanium
flame its end is molten to a globule, Fig- gold
iron
magnesium+alloy
ure 13.27. The nozzle then presses this glob- molybdenum+alloy
nickel+alloy
ule onto the part aimed at and shapes it into a palladium+alloy
platin+alloy
silicon
nail head. silver+alloy
tantalium+alloy
Figure 13.28 depicts this type of weld. tin
titanium+alloy
tungsten+alloy
zirconium+alloy

A further method related to welding is solder-

ing. The process principle of soldering is
br-er13-25e.cdr ISF 2002

Possible Material Combinations

briefly explained in Figure 13.29. for Ultrasonic Welding

Figure 13.25

2005
13. Special Processes 194

heated wedge
(tungsten-carbide)

5-50 m
wedge bonding Al-strip conductor cutting tool
gold wire

br-er13-26e.cdr

Figure 13.26

heated wedge
(tungsten-carbide)

5-50 mm
gold wire
H2-flame

wedge bonding Al-strip conductor nailhead

br-er13-27e.cdr

Figure 13.27

br-er13-28e.cdr

Figure 13.28
2005
13. Special Processes 195

The individual soldering methods are classified into different mechanisms depending on the
type of heating, Figure 13.30. There are two basic distinctions: soft soldering (melting tem-
perature of the solder is approx. up to 450C) and brazing (melting temperature of the braz-
ing solder is approx. up to 1100C. For high-temperature soldering solders with high melt-
ing points (melting temperature is approx. up to 1200C) are used. This process is frequently
subject to automation.

In soldering, atomar forces of attraction are effective.

Similar and dissimilar metals are joined by addition of
a solder with a low melting point. In the boundary area classification according
transposition processes occur between solder and to the type of heating:
base metal. This is called a two-dimensionaldiffusion.
In the subsequent diffusion glowing phase - flame brazing
(high-temperature soldering) the solder may be
- iron soldering
completely absorbed by the base metal.
- block brazing
A distinction is made between soft soldering (melting - furnace soldering
temperature of the solder is below 450C) and brazing
- salt bath brazing
(melting temperature of the solder is 450C up to 1100C)
as well as high-temperature soldering (melting - dip soldering
temperature of the solder is up to 1200C). Heating of - wave soldering
the component for melting the solder may be effected in
- resistance soldering
various ways.
- induction brazing

br-er13-29e.cdr ISF 2002 br-er13-30e.cdr ISF 2002

Soldering - Definition Classification of

and Process Principle Soldering Methods

Figure 13.29 Figure 13.30

2005