This is a list of welding processes, separated into their respective categories. The associated N reference numbers (second column) are specified in ISO 4063 (in the European Union published as EN ISO 4063).ISO 4063: "Welding and allied processes - Nomenclature of processes and reference numbers" (1998) Numbers in parentheses are obsolete and were removed from the current (1998) version of ISO 4063. The AWS reference codes of the American Welding Society are commonly used in North America."Welding Inspection Handbook", 3rd edition, American Welding Society, , Miami, FL, pp. 10-11 (2000)
Arc welding
Overview article: arc welding
Name N AWS Characteristics Applications Bare Metal Arc Welding (113) BMAW Consumable electrode, no flux or shielding gas Historical Carbon Arc Welding (181) CAW Carbon electrode, historical Copper, repair (limited) Flux Cored Arc Welding 136138 FCAWFCAW-S Continuous consumable electrode filled with flux Industry, construction Gas Metal Arc WeldingAlso known as metal inert gas (MIG) welding or metal active gas (MAG) welding. 131135 GMAW Continuous consumable electrode and shielding gas Industry Gas Tungsten Arc WeldingAlso known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. 141 GTAW Nonconsumable electrode, slow, high quality welds Aerospace, Construction (piping), Tool and Die Plasma Arc Welding 15 PAW Nonconsumable electrode, constricted arc Tubing, instrumentation Shielded Metal Arc WeldingAlso known as manual metal arc (MMA) welding or stick welding. 111 SMAW Consumable electrode covered in flux, can weld any metal as long as they have the right electrode Construction, outdoors, maintenance Submerged Arc Welding 121 SAW Automatic, arc submerged in granular flux Magnetically Impelled Arc Butt Welding 185 MIAB Both tube ends are electrodes; no protection gas; arc rotates fast along edge by applied magnetic field Pipelines and tubesAtomic Hydrogen Welding(149)AHWTwo metal electrodes in hydrogen atmosphere Historical
Oxyfuel gas welding
Overview article: Oxy-fuel welding and cutting
Name N AWS Characteristics Applications Air acetylene welding (321) AAW Chemical welding process, not popular Limited Oxyacetylene welding 311 OAW Combustion of acetylene with oxygen produces high-temperature flame, inexpensive equipment Maintenance, repair Oxygen/Propane welding 312 Gas welding with oxygen/propane flame Oxyhydrogen welding 313 OHW Combustion of hydrogen with oxygen produces flame Limited Pressure gas welding PGW Gas flames heat surfaces and pressure produces the weld Pipe, railroad rails (limited)
Resistance welding
Overview article: electric resistance welding
Name N AWS Characteristics Applications Resistance spot welding 21 RSW Two pointed electrodes apply pressure and current to two or more thin workpieces Automobile industry, Aerospace industry Resistance seam weldingAlso known as electric resistance welding (ERW). 22 RSEW Two wheel-shaped electrodes roll along workpieces, applying pressure and current Aerospace industry, steel drums, tubing Projection welding 23 PWSemi-Automatic, Automatic, Welds are localized at predetermined points. Flash welding 24 FW Upset welding 25 UW Butt joint surfaces heated and brought together by force
Solid-state welding Name N AWS Characteristics Applications Coextrusion Welding CEW Dissimilar metals are extruded through the same die Joining of corrosion resistant alloys to cheaper alloys or alloys with more favorable mechanical properties Cold pressure welding 48 CW Joining of soft alloys such as copper and aluminium below their melting point Electrical contacts Diffusion welding 45 DFW No weld line visible Titanium pump impellor wheels Explosion welding 441 EXW Joining of dissimilar materials, e.g. corrosion resistant alloys to structural steels Transition joints for chemical industry and shipbuilding. Bimetal pipelines Electromagnetic pulse welding Tubes or sheets are accelerated by electromagnetic forces. Oxides are expelled during impact Automotive industry, pressure vessels, dissimilar material joints Forge welding (43) FOW The oldest welding process in the world. Oxides must be removed by flux or flames. Damascus steel Friction welding 42 FRW Thin heat affected zone, oxides disrupted by friction, needs sufficient pressure Aerospace industry, railway, land transport Friction stir welding 43 FSW A rotating non-consumable tool is traversed along the joint line Shipbuilding, aerospace, railway rolling stock, automotive industry Friction stir spot welding FSSW A rotating non-consumable tool is plunged into overlapping sheets Automotive industry Hot pressure welding HPW Metals are pressed together at elevated temperatures below the melting point in vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere Aerospace components Hot isostatic pressure welding 47 HPW A hot inert gas applies the pressure inside a pressure vessel, i.e. an autoclave Aerospace components Roll welding ROW Bimetallic materials are joined by forcing them between two rotating wheels Dissimilar materials Ultrasonic welding 41 USW High-frequency vibratory energy is applied to foils, thin metal sheets or plastics. Solar industries-. Electronics. Rear lights of cars. Diapers.
Other types of welding Name N AWS Characteristics Applications Electron beam welding 51511 EBW Deep penetration, fast, high equipment cost Electroslag welding 72 ESW Welds thick workpieces quickly, vertical position, steel only,continuous consumable electrode Heavy plate fabrication, construction,shipbuilding Flow welding (previously cast welding) Distortion is minimized, and the thermal cycle is relatively benign.Cast-Welding of Rail Joints. Street Railway Review, Vol. 4, Windsor & Kenfield Publishers, Chicago, 1894.The Cast Welded Joint. The Street Railway Review, Vol. 6, No 10, 15 October 1896, p. 643.Roadbed Construction in Chicago. Street Railway Journal, Vol. 15, No 10, October, 1899, p. 636-642.Fred G. Simmons: The Cast-Welding of Rail Joints. In: Daily Street Railway Review, 27 September 1905, p. 650-654.Joining rails in situ by liquid metal Induction welding 74 IW Laser beam welding 521522 LBW Deep penetration, fast, high equipment cost Automotive industry Laser-hybrid welding Combines LBW with GMAW in the same welding head, able to bridge gaps up to 2mm (between plates), previously not possible with LBW alone. Automotive, Shipbuilding, Steelwork industries Percussion welding 77 PEW Following an electrical discharge, pressure is applied which forges the materials together Components of switch gear devices Thermite welding 71 TW Exothermic reaction between aluminium powder and iron oxide powder Railway tracks Electrogas welding 73 Continuous consumable electrode, vertical positioning, steel only Storage tanks, shipbuilding Stud arc welding 78 Welds studs to base material with heat and pressure
Notes and references
Cary, Howard B. and Scott C. Helzer (2005). Modern Welding Technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education. . Lincoln Electric (1994). The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding. Cleveland: Lincoln Electric. .
See also Welding List of welding codes Symbols and conventions used in welding documentation Laser cladding
External links Welding process information Resistance welding process information