Fusion Weld Science?
What is "Fusion Weld Science"? It is what we have termed the manipulation of the micro structural properties of metals. To explain simply, one has to have a deep knowledge of metals and their properties. Additionally it helps to have a grounded knowledge of why metals were created in the first place. Yes, metals were originally designed to serve a purpose.
A brief history of aluminium, our first love.
Alumina is the most abundant metallic element in the earth crust. Alumina is produced from bauxite, which is formed from the decomposition of rocks. The electrolytic process to produce aluminum was developed in the late 1800s and was largely responsible for the industrial revolution. Very simply, aluminium has revolutionized the way we live our lives.
Some of its key components that give it strength are silicone, copper, zinc, to mention just a few. In most cases aluminium components exposed to varying conditions for extended periods, for example an exhaust manifold being exposed to heat, carbon, fuel vapours or marine components exposed to salt water etc. Eventually, the silicone component in the metal breaks down and becomes depleted. With procedural cleaning and proper welding technique, and of course the right weld grade alloy it is possible to add and alloy silicone back into the metal which gives rise to strength and ductility.
In cast irons the key component is nickel. Loss of nickel in cast iron results in brittleness, again correct weld procedure and a high nickel weld alloy can be used to add nickel into the affected arrears giving rise to, or more accurately, restoring base metal strength.
The same would apply to other metals and their key components, of course procedures vary greatly. However, the process is the same where it is possible to restore metals.
A brief history of aluminium, our first love.
Alumina is the most abundant metallic element in the earth crust. Alumina is produced from bauxite, which is formed from the decomposition of rocks. The electrolytic process to produce aluminum was developed in the late 1800s and was largely responsible for the industrial revolution. Very simply, aluminium has revolutionized the way we live our lives.
Some of its key components that give it strength are silicone, copper, zinc, to mention just a few. In most cases aluminium components exposed to varying conditions for extended periods, for example an exhaust manifold being exposed to heat, carbon, fuel vapours or marine components exposed to salt water etc. Eventually, the silicone component in the metal breaks down and becomes depleted. With procedural cleaning and proper welding technique, and of course the right weld grade alloy it is possible to add and alloy silicone back into the metal which gives rise to strength and ductility.
In cast irons the key component is nickel. Loss of nickel in cast iron results in brittleness, again correct weld procedure and a high nickel weld alloy can be used to add nickel into the affected arrears giving rise to, or more accurately, restoring base metal strength.
The same would apply to other metals and their key components, of course procedures vary greatly. However, the process is the same where it is possible to restore metals.
The Digital Revolution
To see the benefits of the digital revolution in welding technology, let’s try listening first: to some music. Why? Simple: Not so very long ago, the good old vinyl record was the most important medium. The only problem was that it soon reached its limits in terms of quality. The more frequently it was played, the more the sound quality deteriorated. With digital technology, music remains music no matter how often a song is played. The quality remains the same. The same applies to Fronius digital welding technology: 100 % reproducible welding results. Again and again. As often as you want. The basis for this is the highest possible precision in the welding process. And it’s completely digitally controlled.
There seems to be a misunderstanding that technology is complex. It’s in truth anything but complex, we're about simplicity, less is more so to speak. In order to achieve that simplicity one has to make use of cutting edge technologies. It’s the high levels of precision in our design and manufacturing what we do work. In any welding process, the high level of focused heat required upsets the molecular structure for any materials welded, upsetting this molecular structure will create a great deal of stress and distortion. It is this distortion that makes welded assemblies very difficult to manufacture precisely without the addition of other costly processes like machining and the inclusion/allowance of such processes in design and development etc. In order for us to achieve the high degree of precision in all fabricated assemblies we have to weld as cold as possible, upsetting the molecular structures of the welded metals as little as possible. Simply, to achieve weld strength in all welds we need to keep weld interpass temperature as low as possible (The inter-pass temperature, defined as base-material temperature when welding is to be performed between the first and last weld passes). To control the mechanical and micro-structural properties of weldments, inter-pass temperature is critical. Yield and ultimate tensile strengths of the weld metal depend greatly on inter-pass temperature. Precision in manufacturing is further achieved by innovative design and the most advanced manufacturing methods available. Our designs are extensively tried and tested using digital technologies with as high a safety factor as possible. All components are either laser cut or water jet cut on CNC's and the bending of all components are precise to the highest possible tolerances using CNC technology. High component fabrication tolerances are only achievable in good design and skilled manufacture.
There seems to be a misunderstanding that technology is complex. It’s in truth anything but complex, we're about simplicity, less is more so to speak. In order to achieve that simplicity one has to make use of cutting edge technologies. It’s the high levels of precision in our design and manufacturing what we do work. In any welding process, the high level of focused heat required upsets the molecular structure for any materials welded, upsetting this molecular structure will create a great deal of stress and distortion. It is this distortion that makes welded assemblies very difficult to manufacture precisely without the addition of other costly processes like machining and the inclusion/allowance of such processes in design and development etc. In order for us to achieve the high degree of precision in all fabricated assemblies we have to weld as cold as possible, upsetting the molecular structures of the welded metals as little as possible. Simply, to achieve weld strength in all welds we need to keep weld interpass temperature as low as possible (The inter-pass temperature, defined as base-material temperature when welding is to be performed between the first and last weld passes). To control the mechanical and micro-structural properties of weldments, inter-pass temperature is critical. Yield and ultimate tensile strengths of the weld metal depend greatly on inter-pass temperature. Precision in manufacturing is further achieved by innovative design and the most advanced manufacturing methods available. Our designs are extensively tried and tested using digital technologies with as high a safety factor as possible. All components are either laser cut or water jet cut on CNC's and the bending of all components are precise to the highest possible tolerances using CNC technology. High component fabrication tolerances are only achievable in good design and skilled manufacture.
