The aeronautical sector makes of aerospace welders. It will be used in space shuttles, airplanes, and related structures. The goal is always to join or fuse two types of metal. The most common metals are steel, stainless steel, aluminium, carbon steel, titanium, and other alloys. The welders various types of machines to suit the task at hand. These include Tungsten-inert gas (TIG), plasma welding, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), and oxyacetylene. The main types of service are as follows:
Fusion welding
This type of welding is among the most common. It entails
fusing or joining two pieces of metal together. By using heat from a welder or
gas torch, the two metals to be joined are heated on the edges until they melt.
In so doing, they will fuse together and upon solidifying they become one
piece. It will be used in region where strength and water or air-tight seals
are required, for instance, the fuselage, body and many other regions.
Spot welding
As the name suggests, spot welding is simply joining to
pieces of metal at various spots. The whole edge or seam is not fused. Spot
welding is viewed as an alternative to using fasteners or rivets. It will
provide sufficient strength. However, it is not as strong as fusion or seam
welding. Therefore, it isn’t used in areas where extreme pressure or strain is
experienced.
Seam Welding
This type of welding is mainly targeted at joints or seams
unlike spot or fusion welding that is done of the plain surface. It is mostly
used on high-gauge metals which generally provide structural support. Despite
being used on the joints it also follows a progressive approach similar to spot
welding. This reduces the time, effort used by the aerospace welders. Also, it
uses less energy.
Butt Welding
Butt welding is almost similar to seam welding. In fact,
many welders will use the two techniques interchangeably. The only distinction
of butt welding is the fact that it joins the entire seam with one weld whereas
seam welding would have used more than one. Just like spot and seam welding,
butt technique is energy, time and cost effective. The welders used comprise
both of manual as well as automatic.
Brazing
Brazing also works in a similar manner to fusion welding. It
will also use the same tools. However, there is inclusion of a third metal
known as brazing rod. The edges to be joined are heated but not allowed to
melt. Only the brazing metal is melted and allowed to flow on the heated pieces
of metal. This joins the metals after solidifying and also gives it a brazen
appearance. It’s used in situation where the metals to be fused are quite
light.
Individual carrying out this form of welding are usually
more skilled than the ordinary welder. This is due to the sensitivity and
delicate nature of the aircraft
and its components. A small fault or miscalculation can be quite catastrophic.
For instance, a small leak may lead to the plane losing cabin pressure. To
become qualified aerospace welders, interested individuals need to go through specific
tests. The examinations will focus on different types of welds, techniques, and
metals used in the aircraft industry.
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