Welding Terminology
There is some special technical vocabulary (or language) that is used in welding. The basic terms of the welding language include:
Filler Material:
- When welding two pieces of metal together, we often have to leave a space between the joint.
- The material that is added to fill this space during the welding process is known as the filler material (or filler metal).
- Two types of filler metals are commonly used in welding are welding rods and welding electrodes.
Welding Rod:
- The term welding rod refers to a form of filler metal that does not conduct an electric current during the welding process.
- The only purpose of a welding rod is to supply filler metal to the joint.
- This type of filler metal is often used for gas welding.
Electrode:
- In electric-arc welding, the term electrode refers to the component that conducts the current from the electrode holder to the metal being welded.
- Electrodes are classified into two groups: consumable and nonconsumable.
o Consumable electrodes not only provide a path for the current but they also supply filler metal to the joint.An example is the electrode used in shielded metal-arc welding.
o Non-consumable electrodes are only used as a conductor for the electrical current, such as in gas tungsten arc welding. The filler metal for gas tungsten arc welding is a hand fed consumable welding rod.
Flux:
- Before performing any welding process, the base metal must be cleaned form impurities such as oxides (rust).
- Unless these oxides are removed by using a proper flux, a faulty weld may result.
- The term flux refers to a material used to dissolve oxides and release trapped gases and slag (impurities) from the base metal such that the filler metal and the base metal can be fused together.
- Fluxes come in the form of a paste, powder, or liquid.
- Different types of fluxes are available and the selection of appropriate flux is usually based on the type of welding and the type of the base metal.
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