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The Best Metals for Welding

Welding is a process of joining two or more parts by using pressure and heat. The perfect selection of material that is easily weldable can prevent the risk of failure during the welding process. The metals that do not require pre-weld and post-weld are perfect. The best metals for the welding process depend on the requirements and design of the product. Almost every metal is suitable to weld, but some of them possess easy weldability features that result in error free welding. Understanding every metal is important to select the best one for welding operations. There are different types of welding processes such as resistance welding, MIG, TIG, shielded metal arc, and many more. The response of metals varies based on the welding methods. There are different parameters considered while selecting the metal for the welding process, such as ductility, electrical conductivity, melting point, and strength of the metal. Some of the best metals for welding are,

Stainless Steel:

Stainless steel is a widely used metal in the industry that can be easily welded using standard procedures. It is demanded metal due to its excellent corrosion resistance. There are different categories of stainless steel such as ferritic, austenitic, and martensitic. From this, austenitic and ferritic steels are easy to weld compared with martensitic as this steel has a higher hardness. Intergranular corrosion is the most important consideration during stainless steel welding.
It can occur due to elevated temperature conditions that is common during the welding process. During this, chromium content in the stainless steel can combine with the carbon, and then iron and oxygen form corrosion. The niobium and titanium stabilized stainless steels can prevent this risk. The use of low carbon steel can also prevent the intergranular corrosion that occurs during the welding process. The metal should not be heated above the recommended temperature to avoid corrosion. Stainless steel is welded using many techniques compared to other metals to prevent failure.

Low Carbon Steel:

Low carbon steel is an easily weldable metal due to which it is used in many industrial applications. There are different processes used for welding low carbon steel such as filler material, electrical arch, and other power sources. This material has excellent ductility than other materials, which makes it easy to weld. Due to lower carbon content, there is no risk of welding failure. The low amount of carbon content in low carbon steel prevents the chance of brittleness and hydrogen cracking in heat affected zones. This material can be readily welded using all types of welding procedures.

Aluminum:

Aluminum can be easily weldable b following proper guidelines. Aluminum has many best features such as easy heat transfer and higher thermal conductivity that make it easy to weld. A higher welding current is essential to transfer required heat so the proper equipment is used for welding aluminum. In order to avoid cracking and craters, utmost care should be taken during the welding process. A coating of the oxide layer should be removed before the welding process. Aluminum can be easily welded with a standard welding process and appropriate knowledge without any difficulty. A proper grade of aluminum needs to be selected as per the requirements before the welding. There are some aluminum grades that are welded with adequate technique and filler metals. Filler metal is used during the welding process to avoid cracks. The strength is importantly considered while choosing a material for welding. By using the heat treatment, welded aluminum are aged artificial to increase the strength.

Other Metals:

There are many other metals that are suitable for the welding process, such as cast iron, titanium, magnesium, copper, and superalloys. Proper skills and special equipment is required to weld these metals without any failure. While welding titanium, shielding from oxidation is required. To weld high carbon steel, preheating and post weld heating is required that prevents cracks. Due to a lower melting point of magnesium metal, there is difficulty in preventing oxides. So, it can be welded using a proper technique. A vacuum process is used to weld superalloys. Before welding a metal, proper research should be done, and based on the same, different welding methods are used to get the best results.

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