The

Welding
Issue

01
Institute

2018

www.welding-and-cutting.info Technical journal for welding and allied processes

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Europe’s manufacturing transfor- Introduction to the brazing of alu- Strain hardening of a hot stretch
mation discussed at the EWF minium and its alloys – Part 3: formed Ti-6Al-4V alloy aircraft
general assembly in Lisbon The popular heating sources for component
the brazing of aluminium
10th International Congress and Exhibition
Aluminium Brazing 2018
12 – 14 June, 2018
Düsseldorf/Germany

Invitation

We cordially invite you to attend this 3-day-event, where

expert authors will present papers about new develope-
ments and processes in and around brazing technology.

www.dvs-ev.de/aluminium-brazing

ess
ional Congr
9th Internat
tio n
and Exhibi 16
Brazing 20
Aluminium
ril, 2016
19 – 21 Ap
/G ermany
10 th Inte Düsseldorf
rnation
and E x a &
gar tz hibition l CongressST NCEMENT
1 ANNOU
Britta Win
Alumin o
Organisation ium Bra n P E R S
z ing 201 R PA
8 CALL FO
11. 15 91-155
P +49. (0)2 .de 12 – 14
artz@dvs-hg Ju ne, 2018
brit ta.wing
Düs selderor f/
git te Bromm German
hlstedt | Bri y
Simone Ma Network
ica l Exc hange and
Technolog tme nt
De par
Conference

g Society
an Weldin
DVS – Germ
Contact for Aluminium Brazing 2018 Aachener
Straße 172
ldo rf/G ermany
40223 Düsse
11. 15 91-302
/-303 m-brazing
P +49. (0)2 de/aluminiu
11. 15 91-300 www.dvs-ev.
F +49. (0)2
Britta Wingartz tagungen@
dvs-hg.de
ium -brazing
ev.de/alumin
DVS Media GmbH ww w.dvs-

Aachener Straße 172 www.d

vs-ev.de
40223 Düsseldorf /alumin
ium-bra
zing

P +49 21115 91-155

F +49 21115 91-150
britta.wingartz@dvs-hg.de
 EDITORIAL

The Membership benefits of The Welding

Institute are available all year
The Welding Institute exists because of its Members and for the benefit of its Members. After 95
years of recognising, developing, and sustaining professionalism in welding, joining and materials
integrity, The Welding Institute continues to deliver information, events and activities to influence
the future of the profession.

Whether you are a Member or a non-member, please read the editorial on page 35 to learn more
about The Welding Institute benefits available to you.

Eur Ing Chris Eady BSc (Hons) MSc CEng FWeldI

Associate Director Professional Affairs
The Welding Institute
Elected President of the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 3

 CONTENTS WELDING AND CUTTING 01/2018

News 6 Inclusivitycreatesinnovation–Award-
winningfemaleengineerdiscusses
industrydiversity
7 IsyourideaAdditivelyManufacturable?–
e“AMableDigitalInnovationHub“
8 Europe’smanufacturingtransformation
discussedattheEWFgeneralassemblyin
Lisbon
9 NeweBooksaddedforTWIProfessional
andIndustrialMembers
9 ArmourersandBrasiers’academic
achievementawardsarenowopenfor

6
Rachel Wiffen, process engineer at
Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited, entries
collecting her award at the “Made 10 ConferencesandExhibitions
in the midlands“ awards 2017.

From Companies 12 Ebnerconvertsweldingproduction

facilitiestoEWMmachines
13 Computertomographyanalysesdamage
torawmaterialsunderload
14 NUMtechnologytomaximise
productivity
15 World’slargestlinearfrictionwelded
componentoptimisedforusein
commercialaviation
16 Frictionstirwelding–joiningthefuture
ofindustry

12
Welding a double V-butt weld 17 ShortMessages
on a steel ring using “forceArc“.
(Photo: EWM AG) 19 Products

Welding Practice 22 Linearfrictionwelding

24 Frictionstirwelding

Events 25 “29thInternationalColloquiumPlastics
Technology“inAachen
25 Manufacturingsolutionsforaero
engineeringattherecent“Advanced
EngineeringShow“inBirmingham
26 “Svarka/Welding“:Advancedwelding
technologiesintheNorth-WestofRussia
27 wire2018andTube2018enjoystable
investmentclimate

Reports 30 Advancementofarcweldingrepairof
Mar-M247andalloy713C
(TWITechnologyBriefing)

15 32 Introductiontothebrazingofaluminium
anditsalloys–Part3:epopularheat-
ingsourcesforthebrazingofaluminium
Linear friction welded (LFW) wing rib.

4 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

 The
Welding Issue
Institute

01
2018

www.welding-and-cutting.info Technical journal for welding and allied processes

Technical journal for welding and allied processes of

the DVS – German Welding Society, Düsseldorf,
the Professional Division of The Welding Institute, Cambridge,
and the Institut de Soudure, Paris

Produced in Collaboration between

Friction stir welded samples.

16

Specialist Articles 42 Strainhardeningofahotstretchformed

Ti-6Al-4Valloyaircraftcomponent
UmbertoPrisco,AntonelloAstarita
48 Optimisationofgasmetalarcwelding
processesinautomationusingsurrogate
models
UweReisgen,KonradWillms,
GuidoBuchholz,ChikaKoyama,
A linear friction welded blisk.

22
DanielHerfert
55 Laserbeamweldingontheflangejointof
aluminiumcomponents–fluctuating
weldpenetrationdepthwhenthefiller
wireisomitted
DirkSteffens

62 Books
62 Imprint/AdIndex

National Pages 28 InformationfromtheDVS–German

35
WeldingSociety
TheWeldingInstituteNews
The foyer of the “Elbcampus“ in Hamburg –
the 25th anniversary of SLV Nord was cele-
brated here and in the auditorium. 29

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 5

 NEWS

Inclusivity creates innovation – Award-winning female

engineer discusses industry diversity
At the end of 2017, the UK government
released its Industrial Strategy, aiming to
drive productivity within the country. But is
a lack of engineering skills and diversity
within UK industry holding back productiv-
ity and competitiveness? What is being done
to encourage young people to take an engi-
neering career path? Here, winner of the
“Made in the Midlands Women in Engineer-
ing“ award, Rachel Wiffen, gives her take on
the engineering industry‘s skills shortage and
how this may be related to a severe equality
issue.
Since starting in the manufacturing in-
dustry, I have spent time working as a STEM
(science, technology, engineering and
maths) ambassador. Having visited schools
and delivered sessions to both GCSE and A-
level students, it is evident that many young
people, both male and female, don’t entirely
understand what engineering is – let alone Rachel Wiffen, process engineer at Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited, collecting her award at the
the opportunities available in the sector. “Made in the midlands“ awards 2017.
One of the most striking problems in to-
day’s engineering industry is the lack of en- turing is a male dominated sector. From the achievements of a selection of other incred-
gagement and information for students. At outside, society views engineering as an in- ible female engineers from the Midlands
school, I enjoyed mathematics and physics. dustry sector driven by white, middle aged manufacturing world and served to show-
In fact, my physics teacher was always an men – and to some extent, they are right. case the importance of tapping into the tal-
incredible advocate for girls pursuing sci- Statistics prove that just 9% of the man- ent pool of women in engineering.
ence paths. ufacturing workforce is female. But, do In January 2018, Made in the Midlands
I was lucky to have an inspiring teacher, these figures deter female engineers from will launch a new equality campaign,
who regularly spoke about the feats of fe- pursuing a career in the sector? As someone backed by Baroness Lorely Burt, Liberal De-
male scientists and encouraged us to realise that’s been there and done it, I can safely mocrat peer and party spokesperson for
our potential. However, it’s evident that not say that starting out can certainly be daunt- small businesses and women, to raise
every student has this advantage. It wasn’t ing. awareness of and upskill Midlands industry
until my final year in sixth form that I began During a leadership course for young in the area of inclusivity best practice. The
to realise my talent in physics and maths people in my industry sector, I received campaign will also be rolled out in Yorkshire
could help me pursue a career in the engi- some feedback that, despite my engineering by sister company Made in Yorkshire.
neering field. capability, “It‘s a shame that you’re a There is a lot of work to be done to im-
Engineering is an incredibly broad topic woman, because people don’t take you se- prove the equality of Britain’s engineering
and young people need to be informed riously from the outset”. While the comment industry, but doing so will produce incred-
about the different aspects of the industry. wasn’t made maliciously, it encompasses a ible results. Businesses are 15% more likely
When leading site tours at Bridgnorth Alu- lot of the problems that female engineers to improve their performance if they are
minium Limited, I often notice that visitors face. gender diverse. In fact, diversity has proven
are overwhelmed by heavy industry and it’s By nature, engineers want to invent, cre- to be crucial for innovation – 85% of corpo-
likely that young people also experience a ate and be challenged – but we shouldn’t be rate diversity and talent leaders agree.
feeling of being saturated with information facing outdated social challenges just to feel It‘s time to tackle the engineering equal-
when attempting to understand the oppor- appreciated in our sector. As engineers we ity issue and, by doing so, avoid the pitfalls
tunities available to them. For those curious should all be striving for equality, we need of the industry‘s impending skills shortage.
about the field, I would encourage them to to challenge these perceptions and we cer- The Made in the Midlands Equality Cam-
ask questions, put themselves out there and, tainly can’t let them affect our performance. paign is set to launch within the first quarter
most importantly, be ready to learn. In October 2017, I was awarded the of 2018. (According to press information
One of the most common concerns for “Made in the Midlands Women in Engineer- from Made in the Midlands; http://
budding female engineers is that manufac- ing“ award. The ceremony highlighted the www.madeinthemidlands.com/)

6 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1


Is your idea Additively
Manufacturable? –
The “AMable Digital Innovation Hub“
Additive Manufacturing changes the
world. 22 of the most renowned digital man-
ufacturing organisations have teamed up to
provide first class support to European
SMEs, midcaps and industry for a head start
into their individual additive journey. Start-
ing off from a business case analysis, more
than fourteen service offerings facilitate the
transition from idea to the first prototype,
from willingness to invest to training on the
job. There are as many solutions as there are
use cases fueled by the “AMable Digital In-
novation Hub“ (DIH) as a one stop shop.
Business case assessment to iden-
tify the potential of an idea
Is your idea Additively Manufacturable?
– This question is driving and guiding all ac-
tions within the “AMable“ eco-system
(www.amable.eu). Each challenge receives
a business case assessment to identify the
potential of the idea, the suitable services to
develop it and the best roadmap to ramp up
production for a successful market entry.
Key elements from the design stage are vi-
sualisation services that use latest technolo-
gies in virtual reality and augmented reality
to create understanding of geometries, sim-
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changes.
Feasibility of functional requirements is
ensured by design recommendations from
experts who use the latest construction and
simulation tools. While the process of 3D
printing is commonly perceived as an easy
and well automated task, a successful build
is still critical for functional parts. The “AM-
able“ tutors accompany each idea from start
to end to ensure that all relevant information
is carried through.
Digital backbone supports tutors,
customers and experts
At the digital heart of “AMable“, the tu-
tors, the customers and the experts are sup-
ported by a digital backbone that tracks all
changes in design, construction, print and
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
Precision-
Welding Tables
from the world
market leader.
finish while preserving privacy and trans-
parency simultaneously. “AMable“ imple-
ments the Industrial Dataspace principle for
Additive Manufacturing (IDS-AM) which
follows the paradigm of leaving the data with
the owner to put each participant in full
command of his intellectual property. Each
participant decides what to share and under
which conditions to share. Transparency is
created through the creation of the first ever
AM blockchain. The “AMable“ blockchain
is fully integrated into the Industrial Data-
space to continuously create digital finger-
prints of all relevant data and to link these
to the evolution of the product.
During the next four years, “AMable“ will
offer support to more than 150 additive ideas
with a financial support to third parties of
more than 5 Million Euros. The European
Commission supports this effort under the
umbrella of the “I4MS“ Initiative with a strong
commitment to SME support and digitisation.
Standardisation and training as
core activities
The technologies covered range from
plastics printing to metal printing, from busi-
ness case assessment through change man-
agement to access to capital and from robot-
ics through printing to prost processing.
Standardisation and training is a core activity
within AMable to support all ideas from start
to end with a clear future perspective. The
digital backbone is provided by international
technology providers to ensure long term
sustainability. The parties involved are CIS-
CO (NL), Industrial Dataspace (DE), Keen- Visit us at our booth and test
Bull (CH), Zabala (ES), Fraunhofer ILT & our welding and clamping tables.
ISST (DE), AIMEN (ES), DTI (DK) EWF (BE), METAV
Frederic (CY), Inspire (CH), Laboratory for Düsseldorf
Manufacturing Systems (GR), Lortek (ES), 20.02. – 24.02.2018
The Manufacturing Technology Center MTC Hall 15, Booth B03
(UK), Politechnico di Torino (IT), Sirris, (BE),
SUPSI (CH), TNO (NL), TWI (UK), Politech- IIff you
you have
h ave a any
ny questions,
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nika Wroclawska (PL), VTT (FI). ccontact
ontac t usus o
orr tthe
he d
dealer
ealer o
off yyour
our ttrust.
r us t .
Contact: Fraunhofer Institute for Laser
Technology (ILT) as the coordinator of the
project, Steinbachstrasse 15, D-52074
Aachen,Germany, www.ilt.fraunhofer.de/
en.html.
Bernd
B e r nd SSiegmund
ie g mu nd Gm
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eh rens t r as s e 29
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PPhone
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 NEWS

Europe’s manufacturing transformation discussed

at the EWF general assembly in Lisbon
Manufacturing is at the core of Europe’s
history since the industrial revolution. And
its legacy can be seen in the number of com-
panies, organisations and research institu-
tions that exist on the continent that inher-
ently work in the field. The new industrial
revolution, currently in its infancy, and
which will profoundly impact the economic
landscape, has also started in Europe. And
the European Commission has an ambitious
goal to maintain Europe as the world’s lead-
ing region in manufacturing.

Addressing challenges facing the

industry
Addressing that and other challenges
facing the industry – from the adoption of
new manufacturing technologies to the
areas of innovation that are already disrupt-
ing the industry and the professionals re-
quired to support them – was in a debate
during the general assembly of the European
Federation of Welding, Joining and Cutting
(EWF) in November 2017. An enthusiastic
group of representatives from the most di-
verse manufacturing organisations met for
a week to address the future of the manu-
facturing sector, from additive manufactur-
ing to industry 4.0. As a leading organisation
comprising 30 member states, that manages
a harmonised qualification system adopted
by 46 countries worldwide,
EWF plays a pivotal role in
this transformation.
Around 350 leaders from
the most diverse organisa-
tions, including research,
education as well as training
and manufacturing compa-
nies that are actively en-
gaged in devising the future
of Europe’s manufacturing,
gathered during the week to
discuss, among other topics,
key trends and technologies,
such as additive manufac-
turing.
A few numbers provide
an overview of the relevance
of the meetings held: Within
the research, education and
training communities, the
venue was an opportunity
for over 138 participants
from institutions and tech-
nological centres, as well as
56 from vocational educa-
tion providers and 46 from
universities to get together and exchange
experiences and opportunities with the 126
representatives from SMEs and large com-
panies present. Lastly, the meeting also in-
cluded some European Union organisations
and national agencies, as well as the national
institutes of welding.
Special event about additive
manufacturing
One of the fields that are advancing
more rapidly is additive manufacturing, and
a special event took place to discuss the op-
portunities and next steps for this technol-
ogy to grow. The conference with over 150
participants brought together stakeholders
from the leading projects. They had the op-
portunity to share their experiences and
knowledge to help shape the European
strategic actions for additive manufacturing,
defining the possibilities to be leveraged un-
der the European “Horizon 2020“ pro-
gramme and evaluating the impact of the
exploitable results of the projects showcased
during the event. The interactive conference
was an excellent occasion to learn more
about the latest trends, about the “Horizon
2020“ programme and the initiatives of Eu-
ropean Commission regarding the additive
manufacturing area. (According to press in-
formation from EWF; www.ewf.be)

8 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

New eBooks added for TWI Professional and
Industrial Members
Professional and Industrial Members of
TWI and The Welding Institute have been
given access to a new set of eBooks related
to a range of topics, including additive man-
ufacturing, hydrogen cracking, corrosion,
casting and superconductivity. These re-
sources are just the latest in the exclusive
benefits available to Members who join a
global network of welding and joining per-
sonnel and professionals. These latest pub-
lications are the follwoing:
• Welding steels without hydrogen cracking
• Stainless steel – microstructure, me-
chanical properties and methods of ap-
plication
• Hydrogen transport and cracking in
metals
• High temperature corrosion
• Fatigue crack growth – detect, assess,
avoid
• Additive manufacturing handbook:
Product development for the defense institute.com/ and following the link to the are a student, apprentice, graduate, qualified
industry eBooks section. engineer or simply have an interest in weld-
• Casting design and performance ing and joining, The Welding Institute has a
• Complete casting handbook: Metal Membership of The Welding Institute grade of membership to support you in
casting processes, metallurgy, tech- offers industrial recognition, career ad- every phase of your career.
niques and design vancement, information, resources, life-long You can find out more about becoming
• Superconductivity: An introduction support and, most importantly, personal a Member at www.theweldinginstitute.
Existing Members can see these titles im- and professional prestige through a wide com/membership/. (According to press in-
mediately by logging in at www.thewelding- range of membership benefits. Whether you formation from TWI)

Armourers and Brasiers’ academic achievement awards

are now open for entries
Applications are being invited for the
2018 Armourers and Brasiers’ Annual
Awards held in partnership with The Welding
Institute, Cambridge/UK. Cash prizes of
£1,000, £750 and £500 are being offered to
the winners to recognise outstanding indi-
vidual achievements in engineering.
The City of London Livery Company,
dating back to 1322, supports education and
research into materials science and metal-
lurgy through its annual award schemes.
Through the Armourers and Brasiers Gaunt-
let Trust, the company is offering prizes for
outstanding PhD, BEng/BSc and MSc stu-
dents and STEM (science, technology, engi-
neering and maths) Ambassador of the Year.
To enter, applicants must submit a short
report that highlights their achievements
and contributions, along with an endorse-
ment from their employer or academic su-
pervisor that explains their role and the im-
pact their contribution has made. Applica-
tion forms can be found on The Welding In-
stitute website at:
www.theweldinginstitute.com/awards/
armourers-and-brasiers-awards/.
If you think you, or someone you know,
is eligible for one of these awards, applica-
tions should be emailed to twiawards@
twi.co.uk or posted to TWI Awards, Profes-
sional Affairs Group, TWI Ltd, Granta Park,
Cambridge CB21 6AL, UK.
The closing date for entries is 31 March
2018. Winners will be invited to receive their
awards at the TWI Annual Dinner at Kings
College, Cambridge on 3 July 2018. (Accord-
ing to press information from TWI).

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 9

 NEWS

Conferences and exhibitions

Date Place Event/Information
28.02.-01.03.2018 Aachen/ 29th International Colloquium Plastics Technology
Germany Information: IKV, Internet: www.ikv-colloquium.com
08.03.2018 Cambridge/ UK welding exhibition
UK Information: TWI, Internet: www.twi-global.com/news-events/events/uk-welding-exhibition/
20.03.-22.03.2018 Tampere/ “nordic welding expo“ – exhibition for Cutting and Joining
Finland Information: Tampere Trade Fairs Ltd, Internet: www.nordicweldingexpo.fi/en/
27.03.-30.03.2018 Paris Nord/ Manufacturing exhibition “Global Industrie“
France Information: GL Events, Internet: www.global-industrie.com/en/
16.04.-20.04.2018 Düsseldorf/ “wire 2018“ – International wire and cable fair / “Tube 2018“ International trade fair for pipes, valves,
Germany fittings and components“
Information: Messe Düsseldorf, Internet: www.wire.de / www.tube.de
18.04.2018 Cambridge/ TAGsI/FesI symposium 2018: “structural Integrity and Materials in nuclear Power Plant“
UK Information: TWI, Internet: www.twi-global.com/news-events/events/tagsi-fesi-symposium-2018/
24.04.-27.04.2018 St. Petersburg/ International exhibition “svarka/welding“
Russia Information: Expoforum, Internet: http://welding.expoforum.ru/en/
02.05.-04.05.2018 Mexico City/ International exhibition “Fabtech Mexico 2018“
Mexico Information: Fabtech Mexico, Internet: www.mexico.fabtechexpo.com
07.05.-10.05.2018 Orlando/ “ITsC 2018“ – International Thermal spray Conference and exposition
USA Information: TSS/ASM, Internet: www.asminternational.org/web/itsc-2018
08.05.-11.05.2018 Dongguan/ 23rd “Beijing essen welding and Cutting“ Fair
China Information: www.beijing-essen-welding.com/en/
15.05.-18.05.2018 Jönköping/ Trade Fair “elmia welding & Joining Technology“
Sweden Information: Elmia, Internet: www.elmia.se/en/Welding/
16.05.-17.05.2018 Halle (Saale)/ 5th european Conference “Join-Trans 2018 – Joining and Construction of Railway Vehicles“
Germany Information: SLV Halle, Internet: www.jointrans.eu
12.06.-14.06.2018 Toronto/ International exhibition “Fabtech Canada 2018“
Canada Information: Fabtech Canada, Internet www.fabtechcanada.com
12.06.-14.06.2018 Düsseldorf/ 10th International Congress and exhibition “Aluminium Brazing 2018“
Germany Information: DVS – German Welding Society, Internet: www.dvs-ev.de/call4papers/index.cfm?vid=91
26.06.-28.06.2018 Chicoutimi (Quebec)/ 12th International symposium on Friction stir welding
Canada Information: TWI, Internet: www.fswsymposium.co.uk
01.07.-07.07.2018 Vienna/ symposium “Hydro engineering“ & Conference “ICOLD Austria 2018“
Austria Information: TU Graz, Internet: www.icoldaustria2018.com
05.07.-07.07.2018 Erfurt/ “Rapid.Tech + FabCon 3.D“ – International Trade show and Conference for Additive Manufacturing
Germany Information: Messe Erfurt, Internet: www.rapidtech.de/en/homepage.html
15.07.-20.07.2018 Nusa Dua/ 71st IIw Annual Assembly & International Conference “Advanced welding and smart Fabrication
Bali (Indonesia) Technologies for efficient Manufacturing Processes“
Information: IIW, Internet: www.iiw2018.com

DVS Technical Codes on Plastics Joining Technologies

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10 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

 • Robotics

• Sensors

• Artificial
Intelligence

applied
to welding

feelweld@iis.it

31 May 2018 - Milan (IT)

UCIMU headquarters - Metropolitan Area of Milan
Viale Fulvio Testi, 128 Cinisello Balsamo
Themes of the Conference:
Robotic applications for the production or control of industrial products and components of various
materials, manifactured with welding processes; simulations, advanced, integrated and innovative
technology solutions for improving the production quality, productivity and working conditions in the
various industrial sectors.

Under the patronage of Organized by Media partners

UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE

 FROM COMPANIES
Ebner converts welding production facilities to
EWM machines
Ebner, the specialist for heat treatment
technologies and industrial furnace con-
struction based in Leonding near Linz/Aus-
tria converted their manual welding appli-
cations to EWM machines after comparing
welding machines from four renowned
manufacturers.
In 2014, Ebner planned to modernise
their equipment and purchase new welding
machines, both for MIG/MAG and TIG
welding. During a test phase, welders, main-
tenance staff and welding coordinators
scrutinised and thoroughly tested products
from a total of four welding machine
providers. “The most important factor to
me was that the welders were satisfied, be-
cause they’re the ones that work with the
machines“, said Franz Haubner, Head of
Mechanical Production, concerning his ap-
proach to selecting a current total of 45
welding machines. They tested EWM ma-
chines from the “alpha Q puls“ and
12
“Phoenix puls“ series for MIG/MAG weld-
ing and machines from the “Tetrix“ series
for TIG welding. All machines were deliv-
ered complete and ready for work including
torches and the appropriate accessories.
The criteria for evaluating the machines
included welding machine handling, op-
tions for using various welding procedures,
manageability of the welding torches and
the services provided. EWM from Münders-
bach/Germany won this comparison hands
down as the company proved to give the
best value for money and the maintenance
was rated most highly.
The components that Ebner manufac-
tures for industrial furnaces can be the size
of a standard detached house. Franz Haub-
ner says with certainty, “If the component
won’t come to the welder, the welder must
go to the component“. For this reason, the
machines themselves must be light and easy
to push or pull along. However, the proviso
Bell furnace be-
longing to the
Austrian indus-
trial furnace pro-
ducers Ebner for
heat-treating
metallic products
(Photo: Ebner In-
dustrieofenbau
GmbH)
Welding a double
V-butt weld on a
steel ring using
“forceArc“.
(Photo: EWM AG)
MAG-welded fillet weld in PB position is virtual-
ly spatter-free. (Photo: EWM AG)
that the welders must be able to complete
their entire range of welding tasks using on-
ly one machine was even more significant.
Meeting this demanding requirement was
the “pièce de résistance“ for EWM and gave
their machines a clear competitive edge: As
all innovative welding procedures are saved
in these machines, a single device can weld
especially thick materials, such as steel rings
for load transfer, using “forceArc“ and use
“coldArc“ to weld particularly thin CrNi
steels, such as those used in nozzle casings.
“coldArc“and “forceArc“ welding pro-
cedures are extremely different in applica-
tion as are the parameters required for
welding using the two procedures.
“forceArc“ welds are mainly used on thick
structural steel welded using steel wire. CrNi
steels, on the other hand, are welded using
suitable welding consumables. The compo-
sition of the shielding gas used for the two
procedures is also different. Despite these
differing requirements, welders using EWM
machines can switch between the proce-
dures at the touch of a button – much easier
than when using the other welding ma-
chines tested.
The EWM double wire feeder is the rea-
son for this flexibility. The device is
equipped with two wire rolls, two welding
torches and two gas cylinders. If require-
ments change, the welder simply switches
to the alternative welding torch and the ma-
chine takes care of the rest at the touch of a
button. This makes changing between com-
pletely different applications as easy as pie.
The most immediate tool used by welders
is the welding torch. These must sit comfort-
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

ably in the hand, be light and work without
interference. EWM welding torches met and
indeed exceeded all these criteria. The inter-
ference-free wire feed reduced the number of
Computer tomography analyses damage to raw
materials under load
The ability to test various materials with-
out destroying them is essential in many ar-
eas of commerce and industry. The Fraun-
hofer Institute for Structural Durability and
System Reliability LBF, Darmstadt/Ger-
many, has now developed a new method
that for the first time combines the mechan-
ical testing of a component under realistic
loads with a radiographic examination. The
method is used to characterise materials,
and it makes it easier to assess inclusions or
damage to raw material with regard to their
influence on the durability and service life.
In so doing, Fraunhofer LBF provides ma-
terials designers and manufacturers as well
as scientists with information for better un-
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
The low-heat life of contact tips and gas nozzles is increased
“coldArc“ proce- by up to 50% meaning that the welding pro-
dure minimises cedure must be interrupted much less fre-
distortion when quently to change nozzles. This results in sig-
joining the 2-
nificant savings.
mm-thick stain-
From steel to CrNi and Ni-based alloys to
less sheet steel.
(Photo: EWM AG)
aluminium – at first this sounds like the pro-
cessing range of a typical specialist welding
shop. But this range is much larger than nor-
mal at Ebner. Usually, one characteristic curve
is sufficient for CrNi steels. In contrast, Ebner
uses more than ten different CrNi welding
consumables. Each of these has its own char-
acteristic curve.
Each of these characteristic curves was
C. Eidenberger, adjusted for Ebner by EWM and saved as a
welder at Ebner, “JOB“ in the EWM machines. In this way, the
H. Stephan, Man- entire range of applications was covered.
ager of the EWM Welders can quickly find the JOBs and easily
Austria branch, select them.
F. Haubner, Head Aside from the welders, the opinions of
of Ebner Mechan-
maintenance staff were also of importance
ical Production,
during the selection procedure. The mainte-
C. Gruber, Ebner
Welding Shop
nance staff focussed particularly on the easy
Technical Group accessibility of all components and the ease
Leader. (Photo: with which the machines can be serviced. The
EWM AG) outstanding and prompt support from the Ap-
plication Technology, Service and Sales de-
partments of the EWM Austria branch also
contributed to Ebner’s final decision.
At the end of the day, both the welders
weld seam errors. In addition, EWM “MT“ and maintenance staff were in complete
torches formed weld seams with minimal agreement that EWM should be their new
spatter. But the greatest advantage was the re- welding machine supplier. (According to press
duction of preproduction costs. The service information from EWM AG)
derstanding of material behaviour and ma-
terial characterisation. For more details, see
www.lbf.fraunhofer.de/ctanalyse.
“Understanding how damage occurs to
the material of a component while is placed
under realistic mechanical loads is one of
the key questions in materials science and
was previously not possible,” emphasises
Oliver Schwarzhaupt, scientific employee in
Function-Integrated Lightweight Construc-
tion at Fraunhofer LBF. With the new test
method, the tested component remains in
With the newly developed method, the Fraun-
the x-ray equipment during the mechanical hofer Institute for Structural Durability and Sys-
load. As a result, the exact location in the tem Reliability LBF is the first to combine me-
material can be observed and analysed chanical testing of a component under realistic
throughout the entire load duration. The loads with a radiographic examination.
13
 FROM COMPANIES
Crack growth in the groove of a fibre-reinforced
plastic sample.
Three-dimensional (3D) image of a crack in the
groove of a fibre-reinforced plastic sample.
NUM technology to maximise productivity
NUM’s latest-generation CNC systems
are helping the US manufacturer Star Cutter
Company to maintain its position as a world
leader in cutting tool machines. Star Cutter’s
new 5-axis tool and cutter grinding machine
– the “NTG 6RL“ – is based entirely on
NUM’s “Flexium+“ CNC platform, and fully
automates the high speed production and
reconditioning of complex cutting tools.
Star Cutter Company, Farmington Hills,
MI/USA, specialises in carbide and preform
manufacturing, cutting tools and CNC ma-
chines for tool/cutter grinding and hob
sharpening. Founded in Detroit back in
1927, the company nowadays operates six
manufacturing facilities at strategic locations
throughout Michigan.
Since 1998, Star Cutter has partnered
with NUM for cooperative development of
application-specific CNC hardware and soft-
ware. During the course of this nearly 20-
year collaboration, the two companies have
advanced cutting tool machine technology
significantly – Star Cutter currently manu-
factures seven highly specialised lines of ma-
chine tools, six of which are based on NUM’s
CNC systems.
According to Bradley Lawton, Chairman
of Star Cutter Company, “NUM was an ob-
vious choice. The company is renowned for
14
previous concepts were never able to
achieve the necessary precision of just a few
micrometers with the alternating insertion
and removal of the sample with intermittent
radiological examination. “The new process
represents a huge advance in regards to de-
tail resolution and precision, as well as the
retrievability of possible causes of damage,”
explains Schwarzhaupt.
While the scientists from Darmstadt are
subjecting the component to a mechanically
dynamic service life load, they can use the
radiological examination in this cycle to ob-
serve and illustrate the occurrence and
progress of the damage. With forces in the
test machine of up to 250 kN, even high-
strength components made of carbon fibre
like those used in aircraft construction can
be examined. “There is still a great need for
examination to understand the failure
mechanisms in carbon fibre-reinforced plas-
tics,” adds Schwarzhaupt.
With the most modern imaging process-
es, cracks and damage in material can be il-
the open architecture nature of its CNC so-
lutions and has done much to remove the
‘black box’ mystique that is endemic to
many of the competitive CNC products on
the market. And the quality and reliability
of NUM’s products is excellent, which is ex-
tremely important to us – over 99% of the
machines that we have produced in the past
20 years are still in everyday use. On top of
that, NUM’s customer support is superb and
we enjoy very responsive and helpful tech-
nical help”.
NUM and Star Cutter’s partnership has
created dividends for both companies, and
for their customers and machine end-users.
Starting with its “ETG“ and “PTG“ series of
tool and cutter grinders – which now have
lustrated vividly and in three dimensions,
opening up many possibilities for analysis.
With the use of a microfusion pipe, the x-ray
equipment in the Fraunhofer LBF has a high
resolution capacity of just a few micrometres.
In this way it is possible to detect the smallest
signs of damage even as it begins to occur,
or determine that the slightest irregularities
in the material are the point of origin for the
damage. In the area of fibre-reinforced plas-
tics in particular, the occurrence of damage
on the fibre level can be studied.
With this knowledge about the cause of
the error and the error sequence, developers,
designers and manufacturers can now im-
prove their materials, components and man-
ufacturing processes even before a crack is
macroscopically visible. “Our new concept
makes a great contribution on the topic of
material understanding and is clearly better
able to meet customer-specific requirements
in the area of material failures at an early
stage,” ensures Schwarzhaupt. (According to
press information from Fraunhofer LBF)
Star Cutter’s “NTG
6RL“ grinding ma-
chine features a
novel servo-assisted
popup mechanical
steady rest, which
provides continuous
tool support during
grinding operations.
an installed base of more than 200 – Star
Cutter has steadily migrated nearly all of its
CNC machines across to NUM’s CNC hard-
ware and “NUMROTOplus“ software.
Star Cutter’s latest “NTG 6RL“ full linear
5-axis tool and cutter grinder machine can
handle fluting, tertiary grinding, relief grind-
ing and automated wheel change. It is based
entirely on NUM’s powerful “Flexium+“
CNC platform. The “NUMDrive X“ modules
that form part of this high-end CNC solution
provide the drive flexibility that is needed
to accommodate a variety of third-party lin-
ear and direct drive torque motors, as well
as high frequency grinding spindle motors.
As a consequence, the machines are capable
of very high grinding and surface finish ac-
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
curacies, combined with unprecedented
grinding speeds, and promise to be the most
productive that Star Cutter has ever pro-
duced.
Steven Schilling, General Manager of
NUM Corporation in Naperville, IL/USA,
points out, “The higher bandwidth of the
NUM’s ‘DriveX’ servo drive and improved
internal processing of NUM’s “Flexium+“
CNC platform, which is now managed by
double-precision “IEEE 754“ floating point,
provides capabilities that extend down to
sub-picometre accuracy. This gives manu-
facturers like Star Cutter the opportunity to
create machines that can grind even the
smallest tools with superb accuracy.”
Another key attribute of the “Flexium+“
platform is that it can run grinding pro-
grams as large as 40 MB directly from the
NCK memory. And for very complex grind-
ing cycles, the CNC system can execute
cycles directly from the system’s disk drive,
via a high speed data transfer protocol. This
increased capacity and speed helps Star
Cutter’s customers to expand their
CAD/CAM grinding operations. Application
areas include the processing of advanced
materials and aerospace components, in
addition to medical devices and tools.
World’s largest linear friction welded component
optimised for use in commercial aviation
TWI, Cambridge/UK, has recently show-
cased the world’s largest Linear Friction
Welded (LFW) component – an aluminium
wing rib for commercial aircraft.
Comprising 22 rib ft joined to a 2.5 m
long baseplate, the wing rib is designed to
strengthen an aircraft’s wings, and TWI’s use
of LFW has opened up a new manufacturing
route for these components. The LFW
process also opens up potential for im-
proved part performance and reduced pro-
duction costs for the aviation industry.
A prototype was originally developed by
TWI as part of the ‘STeM’ programme fund-
ed by Innovate UK and GKN Aerospace and
the wing rib first exhibited at the Farnbor-
ough air show in 2015. However, the inno-
vative new design was more recently shown,
in a part-machined condition, at the Nation-
al Engineering and Construction Recruit-
ment (NECR) exhibition at the NEC in Birm-
ingham in November 2017.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
The grinding machine also
features a novel servo-assisted
popup mechanical steady rest.
This makes full use of the ‘detach-
able axes’ facility of “Flexium+“
systems equipped with “NUM-
Drive X“ modules. It enables end-
users to simply place the rest into
the machine for the production of
longer parts and to quickly remove
the full motor/mechanical assembly
when it is not needed.
Focusing on an intuitive user expe-
rience, the operator station features an en-
tirely new design which reduces button
pushing, significantly simplifying machine
setups and daily operations. The optional 6-
axis robotic part loader essentially programs
itself from the “NUMRoto“ tool files, requir-
ing minimal user inputs. Notifications can
be set to alert shop personnel of process
completion or of issues encountered during
unattended production.
The new machine is also designed for
ease of integration with other forms of in-
dustrial automation and handling robots.
NUM’s “Flexium+“ platform offers a wide
variety of system communication busses, in-
cluding EtherCAT, CAN and EtherNet IP.
Linear friction welded (LFW) wing rib.
The wing rib is made from aluminium
AA7050 and is pre-formed to a near net
shape, which greatly reduces material
wastage and thereby machining time and
costs. With 70% less material wastage and a
Star Cutter’s “NTG 6RL“ 5-axis
tool and cutter grinding
machine is based on NUM’s
“Flexium+“ CNC platform.
Measured process or post-process data can
be fed back to the CNC system’s “NUMRoto“
software to provide on-the-fly corrections,
facilitating adaptive real-time control of the
entire grinding process. Shop floor data can
even be shared easily with the rest of the
plant and to the cloud with NUM’s built-in
“MTConnect“ interface. (According to press
information from NUM (UK) Ltd.)
43% reduction in machining time, the se-
lective material placement greatly reduces
‘buy-to-fly’ ratios while enhancing perform-
ance. Furthermore, the grain orientation of
the rib feet can be tailored for directional
strengthening, which may allow for further
reductions in local thicknesses.
The performance of each wing rib has a
direct impact on the operation of the wing
and thereby influences the efficiency of the
airframe as a whole.
Using this new LFW manufacturing ap-
proach offers a real potential for improved
part performance and reduced production
costs, while the local selection and tailoring
of alloys and material textures allows for fur-
ther optimisation and cost saving.
You can find more information about
the LFW process in the “Welding Practice“
section in this issue of “Welding and Cut-
ting“ on page 22.(According to press infor-
mation from TWI)
15
 FROM COMPANIES
Friction stir welding – joining the future of industry
TWI is a world-renowned expert in ma-
terials and joining innovation, whose in-
dependent status has allowed innovations
to be shared among a disparate selection
of industries and businesses around the
globe. One example of this is how Friction
Stir Welding (FSW) has been picked up and
used by business for a wide range of ap-
plications.
Invented in 1991 by Wayne Thomas,
FSW is a welding method whereby a (typi-
cally) cylindrical shouldered tool with a
profiled pin is rotated and inserted be-
tween pieces of material to be joined. The
welding tool generates frictional heat,
causing the materials to soften without
melting, and mixes the materials together
creating a solid phase bond between them.
Friction stir welding has advantages for
processing speed, weld strength, integrity,
safety, energy efficiency and cost, while al-
so allowing for the joining of materials that
may otherwise be difficult to weld.
Particularly suited to automated oper-
ation, FSW is an adaptable technique that
can be applied to a wide range of situa-
tions, including robotic application. With
so many advantages, it is no surprise that
FSW has been chosen as a solution for
hundreds of organisations in a variety of
industries around the world.
While TWI has strong connections with
some 800 member companies, the inde-
pendence of TWI offers a real strength in
working with global industry, allowing for
partnerships and unbiased solutions and
innovation across all aspects of manufac-
turing, fabrication and whole-life integrity
management. As such, TWI has been able
to see the benefits of FSW spread to sectors
including aerospace, automotive, rail, con-
struction, computing and more.
Here are a few examples of where FSW
has been used by business and industry
around the world:
• Space Launch Vehicles: Friction stir
welding has been used in many of the
world’s space launch vehicles, includ-
ing the Space Shuttle main tank built
by Lockheed Martin, Boeing USA’s
Delta II and Delta IV rockets, the
SpaceX Falcon 9, the European Ariane
rocket and NASA’s new Orion spacecraft
& Space Launch System (SLS). More re-
cently, TWI used friction stir welding
to fabricate and deliver a prototype cast
16
Friction stir welded samples.
titanium propellant tank for the Euro-
pean Space Agency.
• Trains: The rail industry was an early
adopter of FSW, with Japanese manu-
facturers Hitachi, KHI and Nippon
Sharyo, among others, using the tech-
nique for both commuter and express
trains for use around the world. The
process has been used for Hitachi su-
per-fast trains (Shinkasen) which are
able to reach speeds of 320 kph and on
the new Virgin Azuma trains being as-
sembled at Newton Aycliffe. Friction stir
welded trains are also in operation on
the UK Channel Tunnel rail link and on
the London Underground.
• Aerospace: Aerospace has also seen a
strong uptake of FSW, which allows
parts to be joined without the use of
riveting to create lighter components
and structures for aircraft. Used by
companies including Boeing, Lockheed
Martin, BAE systems and EADS, the
technique was also used by Eclipse
Aerospace who developed the first fric-
tion stir welded jet aircraft, the “Eclipse
500“ and is used in Embraer’s latest
‘Legacy’ aircraft.
• Motor Vehicles: The ability to join light-
weight components with FSW has ob-
vious advantages for the motor indus-
try. Used by companies including Audi,
Ford and Mazda, FSW has also been
used by Tesla for their ground-breaking
all-electric sports car. However, FSW
has also seen links with more tradition-
al car manufacture, as seen through the
application of friction stir welding by
Morgan Motors.
• London Stadium: Following the success
of the London Olympics in 2012 there
was a need to convert the seating at the
Olympic Stadium (now ‘London Stadi-
um’) to allow a transition from ‘Athletics
Mode’ to ‘Football Mode’ ahead of the
2015 Rugby World Cup and before the
new tenants, West Ham United, moved
in. With time being a factor, FSW was
used (alongside TWI’s expertise) to de-
liver a quota of 3,500 panels for the new
extruded aluminium seating decks well
ahead of schedule.
• Nuclear Waste: FSW is considered so
reliable a process that it will be used
to encapsulate Swedish and Finnish
nuclear waste in giant copper contain-
ers designed to last for 100,000 years.
• Apple iMac: Apple Inc. endorsed the
friction stir welding technique at the
launch presentation and in the pro-
motional literature for their 2012
Apple iMac. With a 40% slimmer prod-
uct, Apple used FSW to join the front
and back of the case components since
conventional welding techniques
would not work with the new design.
If you’re interested in more information
about the FSW process please have a look
at the “Welding Practice“ section in this is-
sue on page 24. If you need more informa-
tion concerning Friction Stir Welding
patents and licences please contact
ipr@twi.co.uk. (According to press infor-
mation from TWI)
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

Short Messages
Robotic welding application
centre in China
In order to strengthen its robotic welding
business and speed up the growth in Asia,
Kemppi opens up a robotic welding appli-
cation centre in China. The centre provides
complete and innovative solutions and serv-
ices to the integrators and end customers.
Kemppi’s experienced welding engineers
help the customers to optimise their welding
applications and offer comprehensive train-
ing covering all aspects of welding. “Robotic
welding and Asia are both strategic focus
areas for Kemppi. Kemppi had its first de-
liveries to China already at the end of 1980s
and has invested significantly in robotic
welding solution development during the
past years. The robotic welding application
centre is a natural next step in serving the
important and fast growing robotic welding
markets in China and Southeast Asia even
better“, says Hannu Jokela, Vice President
APAC and Export Sales, Kemppi Oy. “Local
expertise is the key business factor for
Kemppi,“ he continues. The centre is
equipped with Kemppi’s wide range of ro-
botic welding equipment and robots from
well-known robot manufacturers. In the
centre the visitors can see the state of the
art welding automation systems in action.
They can witness the efficiency and quality
reached with Kemppi’s application opti-
mised “Wise welding“ processes and try how
easy a web browser based user interface is
The “A7“ MIG welder system is integrated with a
push pull MIG gun that is typically used for alu-
minium welding applications.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
to use and how much it saves set-up time.
Kemppi’s robotic welding application centre
is located in Kemppi China Subsidiary fa-
cilities in Beijing.
Supporting customers as partners
TTM Laser S.p.A. develops 3D laser systems for
cutting tubes and profiles as well as for welding
metal sheets in large formats.
For many sheet metal processing com-
panies, the expansion of their production
portfolio to include tube processing is a log-
ical step in order to differentiate themselves
from their competitors thanks to a wide pro-
duction range. In future, Bystronic,
Niederöns/Switzerland, will support this de-
mand with even more comprehensive solu-
tions than they have until now. To achieve
this, Bystronic is entering into a strategic
partnership with the Italian specialist for
laser-based tube and profile processing,
TTM Laser S.p.A. Currently, Bystronic sup-
ports its customers with high-quality system
solutions for the cutting and bending of
sheet metal. These include laser cutting and
bending systems, suitable automation solu-
tions, storage systems and software solutions
that integrate all these process steps. An ex-
pansion of this portfolio to include the pro-
cessing of tubes and profiles will increase
the added value that customers will receive
right across their metal processing process
chain. TTM Laser S.p.A. is a successful Ital-
ian technology company headquartered in
Cazzago San Martino (province of Brescia).
Since 2001, the company with approximately
40 employees has specialised in the devel-
opment of 3D laser systems for the cutting
of tubes and profiles and for the welding of
large-format sheet metal. Thus, TTM Laser
S.p.A. is currently able to offer a wide spec-
trum of laser-based solutions. For example,
users can process tubes with diameters be-
tween 12 and 815 mm. Bystronic and TTM
Laser S.p.A.’s common goal is to use this
partnership to pool know-how and drive for-
ward innovative manufacturing technolo-
gies. For the time being, it will consist of joint
sales activities. This will provide customers
in the global target markets with optimal ac-
cess to the combined processing solutions
from Bystronic and TTM Laser S.p.A.
Global growth with acquisition
Boosting H.B. Fuller’s problem-solving
potential, the company from St. Paul,
MN/USA has finalised its acquisition of Roy-
al Adhesives & Sealants, South Bend,
IN/USA, for $1,575 billion. Few people real-
ise the impact of adhesives. They are every-
where, making virtually any durable or con-
sumer product better. Adhesives have the
potential to make the world a better place,
and H.B. Fuller is tapping adhesives in
unique ways to improve a range of global is-
sues. H.B. Fuller, combined with Royal,
deepens its expertise in specialty and high-
value applications used in a range of sectors,
including electronics, hygiene, medical,
transportation, clean energy, construction
and more. Together, the companies will en-
able an interconnected world, support better
use of the world’s finite resources, improve
food security and access to clean drinking
water, and address the challenges of a glob-
ally disperse and aging population. With the
addition of Royal, H.B. Fuller will be able to
add more value to its customers in key mar-
kets that require highly specified adhesive
technology. The combined companies’
comprehensive suite of products support in-
novative product design with the potential
to touch everything from our clothes, homes
and workspaces to how we communicate
and travel. For example, the electronification
of cars has revolutionised vehicles from me-
chanical machines to electronic devices, and
it is changing how vehicles are manufac-
tured and serviced. Together, H.B. Fuller and
Royal now bring the whole package to OEMs
– from electronics applications, interior trim,
and interior and exterior lighting to power-
train under the hood and exterior structural
bonding. Royal also brings rubber-to-metal
bonding adhesives, a highly difficult appli-
cation in the automotive industry.
Further expansion of distribution
network
Climax, Newberg, OR/USA, a global
manufacturer of portable machining, weld-
ing machines, and advanced valve testing
and repair systems is pleased to announce
that it has teamed up with Leeden National
Oxygen Ltd as the strategic partner for Sin-
gapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Myan-
17
 FROM COMPANIES
mar and Indonesia. Leeden will represent
the Climax portable machine tools, Bortech
bore welders and Calder valve testing and
repair equipment. Steven Tham, Chief Ex-
ecutive Officer of Leeden National Oxygen
Ltd, had this to say: “We are greatly hon-
oured to be able to partner with Climax in
offering our customers on-site machining
solutions. As a world leader in the field of
portable machining, welding, and advanced
valve testing and repair systems, Climax has
solved many of the most complicated on-
site machining projects and applications for
the past fifty years. And it is with this high
level of confidence we have in Climax, which
brings us to this partnership. I trust that with
Leeden’s strength and exposure in the ma-
rine oil and gas, power plant and refinery
sectors, we would be able to achieve very
exciting growth ahead with Climax.” Andrew
Chin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
for Climax Asia Pacific, added: “Leeden
coming on board with Climax represents a
significant geographic expansion of our dis-
tribution network in the region. When you
combine Climax’s premier product portfolio
with Leeden’s experienced regional sales
team, technical know-how and logistic ca-
pabilities, only one thing happens – satisfied
customers getting the best possible solutions
for every job they do. We are thrilled to have
Leeden join Climax’s global network of part-
ners and we are looking forward to rapidly
expanding our regional presence with them.”
Joint venture for offshore wind
farm
Sif Holding N.V., Roermond/The Nether-
lands, announces that Triton Knoll Offshore
Wind Farm Ltd and a joint venture of Sif
Netherlands B.V. and Smulders Projects Bel-
gium N.V. have signed Preferred Supplier
and Early Works Agreements for the design
and fabrication of 90 monopiles and transi-
tion pieces as well as two foundations for
offshore substations. The estimated total
weight of Sif’s part of the project is 56 Kton.
Triton Knoll is an offshore wind farm devel-
oped by a joint venture of Innogy Renew-
ables UK Ltd, Swindon/UK, and Statkraft AS,
Oslo/Norway, located 32 km off the coast of
Lincolnshire and 50 km off the coast of north
Norfolk. The project will have an installed
capacity of 860 MW and will use MHI Vestas’
V164-9.5 MW turbines with a maximum tip
height of up to 187 m. The project plans to
install 90 wind turbines, 2 offshore substa-
tions, 1 onshore substation, associated in-
18
ter-array cables and export cables that are
routed both offshore and onshore. For the
design portion of the work Sif and Smulders
have selected one of the leading engineering
companies in this field, London/UK based
Atkins Ltd. Atkins has established a success-
ful track record over the years in the engi-
neering and design of similar offshore foun-
dations. The engineering and design for the
project has started in September 2017 based
on an Early Works Agreement. Fabrication
will start in the first quarter of 2019 following
the Financial Closure of the project, which
is expected to be halfway 2018.
HKS is now part of the Esab family
HKS Prozesstechnik GmbH, headquar-
tered in Halle/Germany, a provider of meas-
urement and monitoring solutions for weld-
ing technology, announces that it is now part
of the Esab family, a world-leading manufac-
turer of welding and cutting equipment and
consumables. Esab’s investment in the HKS
reinforces the strategic focus on automated
welding and will add a complementary tech-
nology and a strong global brand to the Esab
portfolio. HKS will continue to be an impor-
tant component of the Esab portfolio in the
future. HKS Prozesstechnik GmbH was
founded by the three partners Hollmann,
Kiese, Schauder in 1994 and has been able
to develop, manufacture and distribute 23
years of high-quality measurement and mon-
itoring solutions for all welding processes in
an unchanged shareholder structure. The
product range covers the entire range of elec-
trical and thermographic monitoring and
process analysis methods from the sensor to
sophisticated welding analysis systems. Sup-
ported by growing sales and an ever-increas-
ing internationalisation of the sales markets,
HKS Prozesstechnik GmbH’s goal was to be
even more global in the market for the com-
ing years, to create long-term growth oppor-
tunities and also to create a perspective be-
yond the age-appropriate departure of the
founders. All these objectives are met in an
excellent manner with the current takeover.
HKS Prozesstechnik GmbH will operate as a
business unit with the same team within the
Esab family and will continue to support
more than 1,000 customers and more than
2,000 installed systems worldwide. The cur-
rent management and sales team, service and
technical support team will continue to serve
the HKS process technology at the current
location in Halle.
Inspection qualification services
Wood Group, Aberdeen/UK, has won a
contract as sole supplier of inspection qual-
ification services to the Hinkley Point C nu-
clear power station. EDF Energy, the station
developer, has commissioned Wood’s In-
spection Validation Centre (IVC) to qualify
ultrasonic inspections on high integrity
welds in primary circuit components for the
two 1.6 GW reactors. The contract is effective
immediately and the initial task order is
worth $16m. Robin Watson, Wood chief ex-
ecutive, said: “Our role is to independently
check the inspection methods – and assess
and qualify the inspectors who will apply
them – to ensure that they can detect any
defects that could compromise the structur-
al integrity of critical reactor components
during the plant’s lifetime. Our certificated,
independent accredited service forms part
of the safety case for Hinkley Point C and
enables our customer to satisfy the UK nu-
clear regulator’s requirements on inspection
qualification. This contract advances our
strategy to secure key positions in independ-
ent validation and equipment qualification
services for UK new build programmes.”
Wood’s teams will assess the inspection pro-
cedures and their supporting technical jus-
tifications and will carry out practical trials
to demonstrate that the procedures can be
applied and meet their objectives. Using flaw
implantation techniques, faults will be in-
troduced into welded test pieces to test and
ultimately assure that inspectors can identify
them. The work will create a total of 35 new
Senior validation consultant Chris Curtis at work
in Wood’s Inspection Validation Centre.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
jobs at the IVC in Warrington/UK, which
works with specialist suppliers across the
world.
More skilled welders for the UK
with virtual welding training
Education is vital to the future of UK
manufacturing, and leading the drive to
plug the skills gap is UK welding products
company Weldability-Sif, Letchworth/UK,
who over the past 4 years have been dili-
gently working to increase the number of
welder training facilities available across
the UK. Over the last year, Weldability-Sif
managed to decrease the deficit of available
welders even further, when they joined
forces with the manufacturers’ organisation
EEF for the expansion of EEF’s welder-
training facility. Based within Aston, Birm-
ingham, is the EEF Technology Training
Centre TTC, part of EEF’s Aston Training
Campus since 2013. This September saw
the centre’s welder training suite get a ma-
jor revamp, thanks to Weldability-Sif. Newly
fitted-out with 24 welding bays and state-
of-the-art industrial equipment, the brand
new dedicated welder training suite is now
at the heart of EEF’s Aston TTC, with the
project completed just in time for the start
of the new education year. The centre also
houses cutting-edge, fully-immersive vir-
tual welder-training equipment from Weld-
ability-Sif, providing a complete ‘Virtual
Learning Environment’, which allows stu-
dents to train digitally and safely before try-
ing their hand at welding for real. Speaking
about the launch in September, Aston TTC
Centre Manager Christine Chapman re-
marked that Weldability-Sif ’s “high-tech
equipment for virtual welding has been a
fantastic investment for EEF.” Commenting
further on the centre’s virtual welding tools,
Chapman believes “VirtuWeld“ technology
“compliments the traditional welding facil-
ity and allows us to offer our apprentices
and other learners an engaging taster for
the skills and techniques needed in a real
welding environment.” Weldability-Sif has
now provided facilities across 35 education
locations in the UK which are actively en-
gaged in having issued more than 10,000
qualifications since embarking upon their
mission to ensure welders are trained to
high standards in the UK. The company
provides vocational welder training facili-
ties around the UK, further tackling British
manufacturing’s current shortage of skilled
welders.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
Strong growth in automotive
sector
High precision at unbeatable low pro-
duction costs: With this combination, Rei-
ka, Hagen/Germany, continues to set stan-
dards when cutting precision steel tubes
for automotive applications. The two
largest German automotive groups and var-
ious automotive suppliers benefit from this
in many ways. For the new CVJ (Constant
Velocity Joints) blank production, the
world’s largest car manufacturer secured a
new Reika high speed cutting line. Four
Reika lines are already working successfully
for many years now at the customer‘s prem-
ises. With the fifth machine, there will be a
total production capacity in Wolfsburg/
Germany of app. 100,000 pcs /day. The new
compact line “224/324“ is a custom-made
product, precisely manufacturing the cage
blanks precisely to the micrometre (part
standard length deviation: 2.2 my) with in-
tegrated end processing. According to the
customer’s requirements, the line is tai-
lored to two tube sizes. These different
Products
Efficient welding
The “TransSteel 2200“ (Fig. 1) is suitable
for use in various manual applications and
industries – it is primarily suited to steel con-
struction for use in workshops, as well as for
assembly, repair and maintenance work. Its
low weight of just 15.5 kg makes it ideal for
mobile use, and the “TransSteel 2200“ also
impresses with its robust housing. One huge
Fig. 1
Additonal Reika lines have already been sched-
uled for longstanding customers.
tubes and blank geometries can be
switched to two subsequent press lines and
processed fully automatically without any
operator intervention. Thanks to the auto-
matic tool changer in the finishing process
and a tailor-made clamping system, which
allows optimum clamping force without
any surface scratches of both tube diame-
ters, there are no time and cost-intensive
changeover times. Powerful wide range
motor spindles are equipped with intelli-
gent process monitoring, so important in-
formation, such as tool wear, is transmitted
to the operator at an early stage.
benefit of the MIG/MAG inverter power
source is the variety of characteristics avail-
able, including for aluminium and copper
silicon alloys. The “TransSteel“ also features
a second gas solenoid valve that makes it
easy to switch from MIG/MAG to TIG. Users
will also benefit from the ease of use: oper-
ation is quick and intuitive. Perfect weld
seams can be created in just three steps. The
power source also offers a feature that, based
on the selected mains fuse protection, sus-
tains the welding operation for as long as
possible by automatically steplessly adjust-
ing the welding current, without changing
the welding result. The automated “Power
Factor Correction“ (PFC) extends the cur-
rent consumption over time and ensures
that the available power is efficiently used.
The devices thus have a large action radius,
as the PFC technology allows long mains
leads to be used, enabling welders to employ
them with greater flexibility. (Fronius Inter-
national GmbH, Froniusplatz 1, 4600 Wels/
Austria; www.fronius.com)
Testing of circular weld seams
with robot technology
Offshore wind power plants are exposed
to high stress: extreme winds, constant wave
pressure and a high risk of corrosion due to
the salty sea air. Wind turbines must be ac-
19
 FROM COMPANIES
cordingly durable. Weld seams on tower
structures are often a critical weak point. If
this work is not performed with high pre-
cision, material fractures with severe con-
sequences may result. SGS testing person-
nel have therefore developed an innovative
NDT method. As early as the manufactur-
ing process, they monitor the quality of the
round weld seams. (Fig. 2) In this way, even
elaborate structural designs for applica-
tions under extremely high loads can be
protected. To achieve better, faster and
more affordable test results, SGS has de-
veloped the automated phased-array/
TOFD (time-of-flight diffraction) testing
system, which also involves conventional
pulse reflection technology. In this way, re-
liable tests on round weld seams are possi-
ble on tower structures with wall thickness-
es up to 100 mm. The method is now stan-
dardised, tested in serial production and
accredited as a “mechanical ultrasonic test
(PA/TOFD) on the round weld seams of
wind power plants” according to DNV GL-
OS-C401. The broadband probes used en-
able the detection of material and binding
defects independently of their position or
orientation in the weld seam. Both pores,
cracks or root concavities can be identified,
as well as the expansion of discontinuities.
This succeeds even in low-lying areas, as
well as near the surface. An additional spe-
cial feature: In the combined phased-ar-
ray/TOFD testing system of SGS, an au-
tonomous robot with controllable magnetic
wheels is used. With a speed from 20 to 50
mm/s, it processes the length of the round
weld seams. (SGS Germany GmbH, Röd-
ingsmarkt 16, 20459 Hamburg/Germany;
www.sgsgroup.de)
Fig. 2
Seamless cored wires
The “Diamondspark T-line“ has a world-
wide proven track record with the full range
of highest quality copper-coated seamless
20
Fig. 3
cored wires. The portfolio includes rutile
and basic types as well as a specialised range
for high performance subarc welding. The
“Diamondspark T-line“ covers a great variety
of welding applications in normal strength,
high strength, low-temperature, weather-re-
sistant and heat-resistant steels. Approved
by major approval societies, “Diamondspark
T-line“ products are the best choice for de-
manding industries like oil & gas, offshore
and pipeline constructions. The latest in-
vention, the “Diamondspark L-line“ (laser-
sealed) (Fig. 3), is a unique precision tool
which ensures highest productivity in auto-
matic welding. The “Diamondspark L-line“
is today’s best available choice to optimise
robotic or mechanised serial fabrication of
high integrity components in demanding in-
dustries. With diffusible hydrogen at the
level of solid wires, the “Diamondspark L-
line“ are the perfect seamless cored wires
for high and ultra-high strength steel weld-
ing and other extremely hydrogen critical
applications. (voestalpine Bohler Welding
UK Limited, European Business Park, Tay-
lors Lane B692BN Oldbury West Mid-
lands/UK; www. voestapine.com)
Work simplification by magnetic
clamping technology
Bernd Siegmund GmbH observes that
in all areas of metalworking magnetic
clamping devices have proven themselves
for quick and precise clamping. With the
“Duo Magnetic Clamping Block“ (Fig. 4)
Siegmund is creating another work-saving
accessory for its customers. If vices are often
cumbersome and time-consuming to han-
dle, the “Duo Magnetic Clamping Blocks“
enable a quick and precise clamping of parts
without distortion. The magnets can be con-
veniently placed anywhere on the welding
table. With two differently shaped clamping
sides, the magnetic clamping block can hold
practically any workpiece geometry in po-
sition. Whether flat or round material, pro-
files and sheets, everything can be processed
safely and without interference edges. The
“Duo magnetic clamping block“ is designed
to process work pieces on steel surfaces like
machines or welding and clamping tables.
It is suitable as a clamping device for drilling,
deburring, welding or thread cutting up to
grinding and chamfering of almost any ap-
plication. It has opposite clamping sides and
via the hexagon socket of the shift shaft sev-
eral magnetic clamping blocks can be inter-
connected. The activation for this is done
via a removable switch key. The additional
third clamping side even allows a vertical
placement of the block. The “Duo magnetic
clamping block“ is standardly available with
following three retention forces: 5 kN, 7 kN
and 10 kN. (Bernd Siegmund GmbH,
Aehrenstrasse 29, 86845 Grossaitingen/Ger-
many; www.siegmund.com)
Fig. 4
High-frequency induction (HFI)
welding
The Emmedi “MosWeld SiC HFI“ welder
(Fig. 5) will change the face of high-frequen-
cy induction (HFI) welding technology. Us-
ing high-current capable “SiC“ (Silicon Car-
bide) transistor technology, the system de-
livers the same frequencies as former “Mos-
fet“ units. However, what sets this unit apart
from other “Mosfet“ units, is that the “SiC
Mosfet“’s only require four semiconductors
versus 36 of the traditional “Mosfet“ tran-
sistors, per 100 kW of power. This particular
500 kW “MosWeld SiC“ unit has 16 “Mosfets“
versus 180 “Mosfets“ required of traditional
solid-state “Mosfet“ HFI welders. The “SiC
Mosfet“ transistor frequency rating is 150 to
500 kHz, which is the ideal frequency for
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

Fig. 5
most HFI welding applications. Previously,
IGBT transistors were the only transistors
with high-current capability. Their maxi-
mum frequency range of 150 kHz, as defined
by the device manufacturers, is on the lower
end of the ideal frequency range required
for most HFI welding applications. The
Emmedi “MosWeld SiC“ from AjaxTocco is
the first HFI welder to operate at the opti-
mum welding frequency range for most HFI
welding applications, with high-current ca-
pable “SiC Mosfet“ transistors. (Ajax Tocco,
1745 Overland Ave. N.E. Warren, OH/USA;
www.ajaxtocco.com)
Stainless steel weld testing
This solution delivers according to the
manufacturer outstanding acoustic per-
formances on stainless steel material. It is
offered as a brilliant synergy between the
Sonatest “Detachable Active Array Head“
(DAAH) probe series packaged in a “Dual
Linear Array“ configuration and the “veo+“
detector. (Fig. 6)
The benefits of this package include:
• Low noise advantage of a pitch and
catch design
• The superior focussing and steering ca-
pabilities of the phased array beam
forming (up to 32 E)
• When combined with “veo+“ sensitivity
and sizing does not need to be sacri-
ficed for SNR.
The probes can be quickly replaced and are
available in 2.25 MHz, 5 MHz and 7.5 MHz
range of frequencies offering flexibility and
precision for a range of stainless steel weld
inspection uses. The good sizing capability
of a 7.5 MHz “DAAH DLA“ probe paired with
the superior capabilities of “veo+“ offers an
extremely powerful and sensitive tool that
gives the user a truly brilliant solution to the
challenges of inspecting stainless steel
welds. (Sonatest (HQ), Dickens Road, Old
Wolverton, Milton Keynes MK12 5QQ/UK;
www.sonatest.com)
Fig. 6
Orbital welding technology from
Italy
The “MaTig-501“ (Fig. 7) system allows
fully automated tube-to-tube sheet TIG or-
bital welding at highly competitive costs and
with a significant reduction in production
times. The system meets the ever-increasing
requirements for quality and repeatability
in the execution of tube-to-tube sheet TIG
orbital welding. The company offers also its
new range of “Giotto“ series orbital heads
for tube to tubesheet TIG welding. General
features of the “Giotto“ orbital heads are:
• Filler wire driving system: The constant
flow and rotation of the reel on the or-
bital axis increases the accuracy and
quality of the weld.
• Single key settings: Exclusive capability
to adjust the geometry of the weld with
the single supplied key.
• Constant angular velocity: The adjust-
ment system, with its 2-channel, 256-
pulse digital encoder with continuous
feedback, ensures a uniform and accu-
rate weld.
• Electrode angle of incidence: The sys-
tem offered for each weld geometry is
accurate and repeatable and facilitates
geometric “set-up“ operations.
• Management of the welding arc: Con-
tinuous monitoring of the arc current
ensures constant penetration through-
out the weld.
• Anti-dazzle protection: Allows multiple
operators to work simultaneously on the
same tube sheet without the need for
personal protective equipment (PPE).
• 24/7 use: Water cooling system inside
the head for significant weld improve-
ment and guaranteed repeatability.
There are three “Giotto“ models: “standard“,
“Avc“ or “Aircooler“. The system’s main fea-
ture is control of the two-dimensional dis-
tance of the electrode which, when suitably
combined with the incidence angle of the
torch, allows you to manage the height of the
arc in both axial and radial directions from
the tube being welded. Automation is man-
aged by a DC motor driven by an absolute
encoder. (Maus Italia S.P.A., SP415 KM30
(nuova strada di arrocco), 26010 Bagnolo
Cremasco (CR)/Italy; www.mausitalia.it)
Fig. 7

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Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 21

 WELDING PRACTICE

Linear friction welding

Introduction
Linear friction welding (LFW) is a solid-
state joining process which works by oscil-
lating one workpiece relative to another while
under a large, compressive force; see Fig. 1.
The friction between the oscillating surfaces
produces heat, causing the interface material
to plasticise. The plasticised material is then
expelled from the interface causing the work-
pieces to shorten (burn-off) in the direction
of the compressive force. During the burn-
off the interface contaminants, such as oxides
and foreign particles, which can affect the
properties and possibly the service life of a
weld, are expelled into the flash. Once free
Fig. 1 • Linear
from contaminants, pure metal to metal con- friction welding
tact occurs, resulting in a bond. (LFW) process
The LFW process is typically used for schematic.
joining metals, however, it has been used to
join plastics and wood. LFW is particularly
effective for joining metals that have good ample of a linear friction welded blisk is Owing to the many benefits of LFW, the
high-temperature properties (compressive shown in Fig. 2. LFW offers many advantages process is finding increasing industrial in-
yield and shear strength) and low thermal when used to manufacture blisks. For exam- terest for the manufacturing of aircraft struc-
conductivities. This allows the generated heat ple, conventionally manufactured titanium tural components. Metallic aircraft compo-
to remain at the interface causing the inter- alloy bladed disk assemblies are reliant on nents are typically machined from oversized
face to rapidly heat and plasticise. This makes mechanical fixings and dovetail joints. LFW ingots, forgings and extrusions. This is an
titanium alloys particularly suitable for the allows for the blade to be integrally joined to expensive process due to the proportionally
process, however many similar and dissimilar the disk, which significantly reduces the large amount of material that is purchased
material combinations have been investigat- weight of the component. The lack of a me- compared to the amount that remains after
ed with varying degrees of success. chanical interface between the blades and machining. For example, buy-to-fly (BTF)
the disk also eliminates a common source for ratios of 20:1 are not uncommon. LFW re-
Applications fatigue crack initiation, which is often the life duces the material required to make a com-
LFW is commercially established as a limiting feature of these parts. Moreover, lin- ponent by joining smaller workpieces to pro-
technology for the fabrication of titanium al- ear friction welded blisks offer better aero- duce a preform, which is subsequently ma-
loy integrated bladed disks (blisks) in low dynamic performance, which helps to lower chined to the desired dimensions, as shown
temperature sections of aero-engines. An ex- the overall operating costs for the end user. in Fig. 3. This brings substantial improve-
ments to the BTF ratios, which significantly
reduces manufacturing costs.

Microstructure and mechanical

properties
Linear friction welds are similar in ap-
pearance in that they have several distinct
zones: a weld centre zone (WCZ), a thermo-
mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and a
heat-affected zone (HAZ). Technically, the
WCZ and TMAZ are both “thermo-mechan-
ically affected zones” but due to the vastly
different microstructures they possess they
are often considered separately. The WCZ
experiences significant dynamic recrystalli-
sation (DRX), the TMAZ does not. The ex-
tent and microstructural composition of
these zones are very dependent on the ma-
terial and processing conditions used. A typ-
Fig. 2 • A linear friction welded blisk. ical example of a weld is shown in Fig. 4.

22 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

 LFW can produce joints that are superior Fig. 3 • A titani-
or similar in strength to the parent material um alloy aero-
of various titanium alloys, aluminium alloys, space component
nickel-based superalloys and steels, as well being machined
from a linear fric-
as certain dissimilar material combinations.
tion welded pre-
Moreover, recent research at TWI Ltd has
form.
shown that the fatigue performance of the
weld can also exceed that of the parent mate-
rial in titanium alloys.

Advantages
Linear friction welding offers many ad-
vantages over competing manufacturing
processes, for example:
• The weld remains in the solid state,
avoiding many of the defects associated
with melting and solidification during
fusion welding, such as pores and solid-
ification cracks. The distortion of the
welded component is also reduced.
• The process has lower peak temperatures
than fusion welding, reducing inter-
metallic formation and allowing for a
range of dissimilar materials to be joined.
• The process does not need a filler metal,
flux and shielding gas.
• The process is easily automated, making
the process highly repeatable and not
dependant on human influence, result-
ing in very low defect rates.
• LFW reduces the material required to
make a component by joining smaller
workpieces to produce a preform, which
is subsequently machined to the desired
dimensions. This brings substantial im- Fig. 4 • A macroscopic section of a titanium alloy linear friction weld.
provements to the buy-to-fly ratios,
which significantly reduces manufactur-
ing costs.

Summary
Linear friction welding is an established
technology for the manufacturing of titanium
alloy blisks for aero-engines. Owing to the
many benefits of the process, it is finding in-
creasing industrial interest for the manufac-
turing of structural components.
TWI Ltd has developed extensive know-
ledge of LFW over many years of research and
development. If you would like to know
more about the process, please contact fric-
tion@twi.co.uk. 5 TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
Moreover, a ‘white paper’ on the subject,
written by TWI Ltd in collaboration with aca- JOIN-TRANS 2018
demia, is available to download for free. The Joining and Construction of Railway Vehicles
paper is titled ‘A Literature Review of Ti-6Al-
May 16 –17, 2018
4V Linear Friction Welding’ and is published
in Halle (Saale), Germany
online with the journal of ‘Progress in Mate-
rials Science’. (Information copyright TWI, www.jointrans.eu
Cambridge/UK, 2018)

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 23

 WELDING PRACTICE
Friction stir welding
Introduction
Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-
state joining process developed at TWI Ltd
in 1991. FSW works by using a non-consum-
able tool, which is rotated and plunged into
the interface of two workpieces. The tool is
then moved through the interface and the
frictional heat causes the material to heat
and soften. The rotating tool then mechan-
ically mixes the softened material to produce
a solid-state bond. The FSW process is illus-
trated in Fig. 1.
Applications
FSW is mainly used in industry to join
aluminium alloys of all grades, in cast, rolled
or extruded condition. Aluminium alloy butt
joints with a thickness from 0.3 mm to 75
mm have been successfully joined in a single
pass (dependent on workpiece material, ma-
chine power and structural stiffness). Other
materials have also been successfully joined,
namely magnesium, titanium, copper and
steel alloys. Plastics and metal matrix com-
posites (MMC) have been explored. Dissimi-
lar combinations between these materials
have also proven possible.
Since its invention, FSW has become a
proven technology in most manufacturing
sectors. Some of its applications include:
• Shipbuilding and marine
- panels for decks, sides, bulkheads and
floors
- hulls and superstructures
- helicopter landing platforms
- masts and booms
• Aerospace
- fuselage and wing structures
- fuel tanks for space vehicles
• Railway industry
- rail stock vehicle floor, side and
roof panels, namely for high-
speed trains
- railway tankers
• Automotive
- engine chassis cradles
- wheel rims
- tailor welded blanks
- car body structures
- seat frames
• Electronics
- enclosures for circuits
- cooling and thermal management
plates
- Apple’s iMac computer body
24
Fig. 1 • Friction
stir welding
(FSW) process.
Microstructure and mechanical
properties
Friction stir welds typically exhibit three
main microstructural regions: a weld nugget,
a thermo-mechanically affected zone
(TMAZ) and a heat-affected zone (HAZ).
Technically, the weld nugget and TMAZ are
both “thermo-mechanically affected zones,”
but are considered separately for exhibiting
distinct microstructural features. The weld
nugget experiences dynamic recrystallisation
while the TMAZ does not. The extent and
microstructural composition of these zones
are dependent on the material and process-
ing conditions (parameters and tool design,
for example). Fig. 1 provides an illustration
of these zones.
With regards to the mechanical proper-
ties of friction stir welded aluminium alloys,
it is now well established that they are gen-
erally superior to those obtained by arc weld-
ing processes.
Advantages
Friction stir welding offers many advan-
tages over fusion-based joining processes,
especially when joining aluminium alloys:
• Remaining in the solid state, avoiding
many of the defects associated with
melting and solidification during fusion
welding, such as pores and solidification
cracks.
• The peak temperatures are lower, allow-
ing a reduction in distortion and shrink-
age.
• Being able to join many ‘non-weldable’
aluminium alloys, namely from the 2xxx
and 7xxx series.
• Producing superior mechanical prop-
erties.
• No filler metals, flux or shielding gas are
required. No fumes, porosity or spatter
are generated.
• Fully automated, making the process
highly repeatable.
• Energy efficient.
• Does not require special edge prepara-
tion in most applications.
Summary
Friction stir welding offers many advan-
tages to the manufacturing sector for a wide
range of applications. TWI Ltd has developed
extensive knowledge of FSW over many years
of research and development. If you would
like to know more about the process, please
contact friction@twi.co.uk. (Information
copyright TWI, Cambridge/UK, 2018)
Fig. 2 • Friction stir
welding applications:
(a) wheel rim,
(b) joining of
aluminium extrusions,
and (c) space
propellant tank.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
 EVENTS

“29th International Colloquium Plastics Technology“

in Aachen
The Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV)
in Industry and the Skilled Crafts at RWTH
Aachen University will stage its “29th Inter-
national Colloquium Plastics Technology“
in Aachen/Germany on 28 February and 1
March 2018. The Institute again expects
around 800 experts from the global plastics
industry to attend the event, which takes
place every two years. In 2016, the delegates
came from more than 300 companies and
15 nations. All the papers will be translated
simultaneously into English.
Research at IKV is currently oriented to
four main topics: Additive Manufacturing,
Plastics Industry 4.0, Lightweight Construc-
tion and Integrative Plastics Technology.
IKV’s scientific assistants will give 36 pre-
sentations about the latest research at the IKV Colloquium in the Eurogress Aachen (Photo: IKV/Fröls)
Institute on these topics, and well-known
experts from industry will give keynote At “IKV 360°“ on the afternoon of the first tures from well-known speakers will enrich
speeches that lead into the Colloquium’s 18 day, IKV will open its doors to Colloquium the program with their connection to the
sessions. They will also present their posi- delegates and will present its research live practical side of the subject and their prox-
tions and comment on the research results. in the laboratories and pilot plants. The In- imity to industrial application, while the dis-
The program will be rounded off by five ple- stitute’s research staff will be on hand to talk cussions among delegates, speakers, ex-
nary lectures from industry and research on to the visitors while the machines are up and hibitors and IKV staff will significantly
trends and future developments. running. The papers and presentations on strengthen the Institute’s network.
The industry trade show in the foyer of the second day of the Colloquium are in- Another item on the agenda is the award
the Eurogress Aachen is an integral part of tended to deepen the practical impressions of the Georg Menges prize, donated by the
the IKV Colloquium. It offers exhibitors an gained from the demonstrations. VDMA, PlasticsEurope and the IKV Spon-
opportunity to present solutions for the plas- “Recruiting. Networking. Innovating“ is sors’ Association. It will be presented in 2018
tics industry and to discuss relevant topics the motto of the IKV Colloquium. Young up- for the 11th time. The award is made to a
with industry partners. IKV expects ex- coming scientists will present their innova- person who has rendered outstanding serv-
hibitors from along the whole value chain, tive subjects, and it is this presentation of re- ice to cooperation between the sciences and
namely raw material producers, machine search and innovation throughout the entire economics in the field of plastics processing.
manufacturers, converters, processors, sup- field of plastics processing technology that More information about the event is
pliers of peripheral equipment and service sets the IKV Colloquium apart from other available online at www.ikv-colloquium.com.
providers. event formats. The keynote and plenary lec- (According to press information from IKV)

Manufacturing solutions for aero engineering at the

recent “Advanced Engineering Show“ in Birmingham
TWI Ltd, Cambridge/UK, took the lead in
demonstrating product and process solutions
for the aerospace industry at the “Advanced
Engineering Show“ at the NEC in Birming-
ham/UK in November 2017. The organisation
exhibited a number of capabilities within the
Aero Engineering zone, including inspection,
additive manufacturing, thermal spraying and
linear friction welding, which involved show-
ing the world’s largest linear friction welded
component. One area of particular interest
was refill friction stir spot welding technology,
capable of joining thin sheet aluminium of
up to 3 mm for the top layer.
TWI had several experts speaking at the
show, including Associate Director Robert
Scudamore who chaired a session offering
an overview of Additive Manufacturing from
research and development through to com-
mercial exploitation for part build and re-
pair.
Surface Engineering Consultant Dave
Harvey presented an introduction to Cold
Spray Additive Manufacturing, explaining
how the cold spray process can be used as a
coating, repair or additive manufacturing
technology. He also provided an overview

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 25

 EVENTS

of cold spray material characteristics and

properties, including several examples of
product development.
Finally, Advanced NDT Technology Fel-
low Professor Ian Cooper discussed the state
of evolution of NDT techniques for the in-
line and post-build inspection of additively
manufactured components.
The show’s programme floor provided
ample opportunity for delegates to meet fellow
engineering professionals and exhibitors, with
a keynote speech on the importance of Con-
nected Manufacturing by Mark Garnier, MP,
Minister for Investment and Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State at the Department
for International Trade, proving very popular.
(According to press information from TWI) TWI stand at the “Advanced Engineering Show“ in Birmingham/UK.

“Svarka/Welding“: Advanced welding

technologies in the North-West of Russia
The leading Russian exhibition of inno-
vative welding technologies “Svarka/Weld-
ing” will take place from 24 to 27 April 2018
in St. Petersburg/Russia.
Since its beginning in 1969, for more
than 40 years “Svarka/Welding” has been
developing successfully in accordance with
the needs of the market, and promoting the
introduction of advanced welding and join-
ing technologies, equipment and materials
in industrial production in Russia.
Russia continues to be one of the top
five world markets for welding products. In
addition, St. Petersburg is the ideal location
for industrial events as the largest industrial
and scientific centre which implemented a
unique gas transmission project, the mod-
ernisation program in the energy sector,
shipbuilding, construction, etc. Therefore,
the companies from Germany, Belgium, In-
dia, China, the USA, France, Estonia, as well
as 56 regions of Russia will demonstrate their
innovations, equipment and materials for
all types of welding, cutting, and weld de-
positing.
More than 6,000 specialists from 30
countries and from 212 cities of Russia are
expected to visit the exhibition. 450 dele-
gates of the congress program from fuel- and
energy complex, industrial complex, ship-
building, machine building, automotive in-
dustry, construction, transport are ready to
discuss current issues to improve the effi-
ciency of welding operations.
“Svarka/Welding 2018” is the only Russ-
ian welding exhibition recommended for
participation by the Russian Export Center.
Another special feature is the support of
PJSC ”Gazprom” – one of the main con-
sumers of welding equipment not only in
Russia, but also in Europe and Asia.
ExpoForum as venue is the new conven-
tion and exhibition centre for holding busi-
ness and entertainment events of any size
and format in St. Petersburg – the city which
received the World Travel Awards as “Eu-
rope’s Leading City Destination 2017“.
The exhibition is organised by EF-Inter-
national in partnership with Gazprom, the
Alliance of Welders of St. Petersburg and the
Northwestern Federal District, Messe Essen
GmbH (Germany) and the German Welding
Society (DVS).
Furthermore, the fair is supported by the
Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russ-
ian Federation, the Government of St. Pe-
tersburg, the National Welding Control
Agency (NAKS), the Union of Industrialists
and Entrepreneurs of Russia, the Union of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of St. Pe-
tersburg, the Chamber of Industry and Com-
merce of the Russian Federation, the China
Machine Engineering Society (CMES). For
more information visit: www.welding.expo-
forum.ru (According to press information
from ExpoForum-International Ltd)
The 19th inter-
national exhibi-
tion “Svarka/
Welding” will
take place from
24 to 27 April
2018 in St.
Petersburg/
Russia.

26 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

wire 2018 and Tube 2018 enjoy stable investment climate
The wire, cable und tube industries look
to the future with high expectations. Rising
investment on global markets make for high
spirits in the steel industry worldwide.
16 to 20 April 2018 will see the world’s
No. 1 trade fairs “wire“, the International Wire
and Cable Trade Fair, and “Tube“, the Inter-
national Tube and Pipe Trade Fair, open their
doors again at the Düsseldorf Exhibition
Centre to present innovative technologies,
new machinery and plants as well as prod-
ucts and services from the sectors.
In excess of 2,600 key players from the
industry will present innovations from the
wire, cable and pipe industries on 110,000
m2 of net exibition space in 16 halls over 5
trade fair days. With these figures the Düs-
seldorf trade fairs impressively confirm their
No.1 positions as leading trade fairs for the
sectors wire, cable and pipes.
“wire 2018“ will be held in exhibition
halls 9 to 16 and parts of the temporary hall
18. On display will be machinery and equip-
ment for wire manufacturing and finishing,
process technology tools and auxiliary ma-
terials for process engineering as well as ma-
terials, special wires and cables.
In addition to this, innovations from the
areas of measuring and control technology
Your article from „WELDING AND CUTTING” separately printed
We arrange your article according to your instructions, also advertisements are possible.
For any further information please contact Mrs. Reintjens. Email: martina.reintjens@dvs-hg.de
DVS Media GmbH • Aachener Straße 172 • 40223 Düsseldorf • T +49 211 15 91-156 • F +49 211 15 91-150 • media@dvs-hg.de • www.dvs-media.eu
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
Industries look to
the metal trade
fair summit in
April 2018 with
optimism.
(Photos: Messe
Düsseldorf/
ctillmann)
“Tube 2018“ will
be presented in
Halls 3 to 7.0 and
Halls 16, 17 and
parts of the tempo-
rary hall 18.
as well as test engineering and specialist
areas will be on show. There will be an even
stronger focus on glass fibre cables. With
this move Messe Düsseldorf responds to the
increasing use of fibre glass cables in the en-
ergy, construction and communications sec-
tors.
The segments wire, cable and glass fibre
machinery will be presented in Halls 9 to 13
and 16 with Fastener Technology following
on from this area in Hall 15. Mesh Welding
and Spring Making can be found in Hall 13.
Traditionally well represented at “wire“
are exhibitors from Italy, Belgium, France,
Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland,
Turkey, United Kingdom, Sweden and Ger-
many. From overseas many companies are
expected to come from the USA, South Ko-
rea, Taiwan, India and China.
“Tube 2018“ will be presented in Halls
3 to 7.0 and Halls 16, 17 and parts of the tem-
porary hall 18. Its extensive ranges include
machinery and plants for pipe and tube pro-
duction, finishing and processing as well as
raw materials, tubes and accessories, sec-
ond-hand machinery, process technology
tools, auxiliary materials, measuring and
control technology as well as test engineer-
ing.
These ranges are complemented by
pipeline and OCTG technology, profiles and
machinery as well as plastic tubes. In re-
sponse to the sustained high demand from
China this event will once again host a China
Pavilion. Under the heading “Meet China’s
Expertise” Chinese companies from the
wire, cable and tube and pipe sectors will
be presented in Hall 16.
Tube accessories are located in Hall 17,
tube trade and tube manufacturing can be
found in Halls 3 and 4, tube bending and
forming technology follows on in Hall 5. Ma-
chinery and plants as well as tube and pipe
processing machinery are on display in Halls
6 and 7a. Profiles and plastic tubes can be
found in Halls 3 to 7.0 as well as 16 and 17.
At “Tube“ the countries represented with
most exhibitors are also Italy, the Nether-
lands, Spain, Turkey, France, United King-
dom, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and Ger-
many. Most overseas exhibitors will come
from India, the USA, China and South Korea.
For current information on the two trade
fairs go to their Internet portals: www.wire.de
and www.Tube.de. (According to press in-
formation from Messe Düsseldorf)
27
Successful welder course premiere in Crete
Thanks to a successfully completed
welder course, 18 young Greeks in Crete now
have promising occupational prospects. This
is pleasing not only for the graduates them-
selves but also for the German-Greek As-
sembly (DGV), GSI mbH and the K.E.K. Vo-
cational Training College of the Heraklion
Chamber of Industry and Commerce which
had jointly initiated the welder course in
Crete and were able to implement it with
the support of sponsors. Within the frame-
work of a two-day delegation trip, Hans-
Joachim Fuchtel, Parliamentary State Sec-
retary to the German Federal Minister for
Economic Cooperation and Development,
handed the final certificates over to the
young graduates in a festive ceremony.
The successful qualification of these spe-
cialists in welding technology is a con-
stituent of a comprehensive catalogue of
measures with which DGV would like to cre-
ate resources for the qualification of special-
ists in Crete. Otto Krentzler played a decisive
role with regard to the idea of also taking
account of the internationally recognised
welder training according to the DVS
IIW/EWF 1111 guideline within these qual-
DVS-IIW Young Professionals:
Establishing contactsin Indonesia
Thanks to generous sponsors, the DVS-IIW Young Professionals were able to take part in the 70th
IIW Annual Assembly & International Conference in China. (Photo: IIW)
28
ification measures because the Honorary
President of the German Confederation of
Skilled Crafts (ZDH) has been active as a co-
ordinator for DGV’s cooperation between
chambers for two years.
The project idea and initiation for the
welder training in Crete came from DGV
which was also able to make committed
sponsors (i.e. Dortmunder Volksbank, Hell-
weg-Baumärkte and Signal Iduna) enthusi-
astic about the idea. GSI mbH and the K.E.K.
Vocational Training College contributed to
the success of the project with their expert
know-how in welder training and the nec-
essary premises in Heraklion.
Good mood and
good future
prospects:
Thanks to the
welder course,
the young
Greeks can look
into the future
positively.
(Photos: DGV)
Because of the enormous demand for the
first offered course, three courses have already
taken place in the meantime. Another positive
aspect is the reaction of the companies in
Crete as well as in the rest of Greece which
are now increasingly looking for International
Welders too. In view of this success, the con-
tinuation of the project is not only desired but
also already scheduled: GSI and K.E.K. are
planning to set up a welder laboratory in Crete
too and to offer train-the-trainer courses.
Moreover, all these projects relating to welding
technology are serving as pilot projects for the
other Greek chambers in order to create new
occupational perspectives in Greece.
Thanks to generous sponsors, DVS-IIW
Young Professionals will be promoted this
year too. They will then be able to partici-
pate in the 71st IIW Annual Assembly & In-
ternational Conference which will take
place in Bali (Indonesia) from 15 to 20 July
2018. DVS is a leader with this work for the
up-and-coming generation in the Interna-
tional Institute of Welding (IIW) and is thus
performing a role model function for the
others in the around 50 IIW member na-
tions.
Worldwide, the experts in joining tech-
nology will come together on the occasion
of the international event in order to ex-
change ideas about trends and to elaborate
new approaches. At the IIW event, the DVS-
IIW Young Professionals will have the pos-
sibility of presenting their research results
in front of an international public in the var-
ious technical commissions and to establish
valuable contacts.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
25 years of SLV Nord
On 8 September 2017, 150 invited guests
from industry, skilled trades, universities and
higher education institutions celebrated the
25th anniversary of SLV Nord (North Welding
Training and Research Institute) on the Elb-
campus in Hamburg. 25 years ago, the Ham-
burg Senate and DVS wanted to bundle and
strengthen welding technology in the North.
Thus, SLV Nord gGmbH was created in 1992
by merging the Hamburg Welding Training
Institute of the Chamber of Handicrafts and
the Hamburg Welding Training and Re-
search Institute at today’s University of Ap-
plied Sciences (HAW). The founders were
DVS, the Hamburg Science Authority, the
Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and
the Hamburg Chamber of Handicrafts.
Hjalmar Stemmann, Vice-President of
the Hamburg Chamber of Handicrafts, ex-
pressed his congratulations and declared
that he was proud that SLV Nord has now
been a part of the Hamburg Chamber of
Handicrafts for 25 years. It is geared to the
current needs in an exemplary way and is
well-known for high quality and reliable
service. As a symbol that success would re-
main faithful to it in the future too, he handed
over a small carbide lamp from the begin-
nings of the Hanseatic gas industry: a light
which should shine on SLV Nord for a very
long time to come. Sven Noack, Director of
SLV Nord, explained that an SLV is charac-
terised by competence with specialist net-
working and by tradition, passion and abili-
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
The foyer of the
“Elbcampus“ in
Hamburg – the
25th anniversary
of SLV Nord was
celebrated here and
in the auditorium.
ties in engineering technology, connected
with a high aptitude for training. The cus-
tomers and partners of SLV Nord could rely
upon that in the coming 25 years too. In
this respect, the new company slogan de-
scribes the maxim for action: “We join with
passion“.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lutz Müller from HAW
Hamburg and Chairman of the DVS state
branch in Hamburg / Schleswig-Holstein
said the following about the regional sig-
nificance of the institution: “DVS is dedi-
cated to promoting joining technology,
training, the support of users, the fostering
of the up-and-coming generation of spe-
cialists and research. Precisely in these
subject areas, SLV Nord has great expert
competence and professionalism with re-
gard to the implementation of target-ori-
ented measures. The DVS state branch and
SLV Nord are cooperating closely in order
to make their wide specialist know-how
available to the regional skilled trades, to
industry and to the institutions. That is
safeguarding the youngsters required by
the economy.“
SLV Nord awarded him the “Weld
Gauge in Gold“ in recognition of his serv-
ices to SLV Nord, above all in Welding En-
gineer and Welding Specialist training,
connected with the great commitment to
welding and joining technologies in the
North. This prize was conferred for the
Amongst others, a “Shower of Gold on the first time. For 25 years, Prof. Müller has
Anniversary“ provided entertainment with the
been teaching materials science in the
demonstration given by Ronald Pajuelo from
courses for welding coordinators at SLV
the Liebherr-Nenzing Service company.
Nord. The many other congratulators on
the anniversary also included Jörg Vogel-
sang, Managing Director of GSI –
Gesellschaft für Schweißtechnik Interna-
tional, and Martin Lehmann, Managing
Director of DVS-PersZert.
29
 REPORTS

Advancement of arc welding repair of Mar-M247

and alloy 713C (TWI Technology Briefing)
1 Background
Precipitation-strengthened nickel alloys
are commonly used for cast components in
the aero-engine and power generation in-
dustries. The components are of high value,
such that their scrappage can have a signifi-
cant economic impact. Therefore, it is desir-
able to be able to perform arc weld repairs
on these components, particularly in low
stress regions in which post-weld heat treat-
ment might be deemed unnecessary.
Precipitation-strengthened nickel alloys
have a range of weldability with weld crack-
ing susceptibility being often well correlated
with aluminium and titanium content. Alloys
containing more than six atomic percent
combined aluminium and titanium are gen-
erally considered unweldable. This includes
alloys which are widely used, like Mar-M247
and alloy 713C, in which TWI’s Industrial
Members have expressed an interest.
Previous work on these alloys has shown
significant difficulty in performing weld re-
pairs without solidification or liquation
cracking, so this body of work was initiated
with the intent of investigating process space
not yet explored. A literature review was un-
dertaken, ‘TWI Technical Literature Review
22954: A Review of Weld Repairs of Mar-
M247 and Similar Alloys’, which set the di-
rection of this work.
2 Objectives
Develop procedures for the weld repair
of nickel alloy components produced from
Mar-M247 and alloy 713C using either
matching or dissimilar filler material.
Fig. 1 • Multi-pass
weld on alloy 713C,
using a UTP A 6222
Mo filler and a
400°C preheat.
3 Experimental approach
A series of arc weld repair trials was per-
formed on the parent materials using either
near matching (VBC 9247/ Inconel filler met-
al 92 for Mar-M247/Alloy 713C) or dissimilar
(UTP A 6222 Mo – similar to alloy 625) weld-
ing consumables, varying a number of
process parameters, including heat input,
material condition, temperature control and
joint restraint.
Weld repairs were performed using
mechanised and manual tungsten inert gas
welding, in a range of conditions, including
autogenous melt runs, bead on plate build-

English Edition

Basic knowledge of joining technology – explained in a comprehensible way!

„Fundamentals of joining technology – Welding, brazing and adhesive bonding“

The new standard work for joining technology explains the three joining technologies (weld-
ing, brazing and adhesive bonding) in a detailed and comprehensible way.
Also
available
In this case, consideration is always given to the area of conflict between the technical in
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possibilities and necessities, the materials, the design-related configuration and the economic Welding, brazing and adhesive bonding“
boundary conditions. Newcomers and experts are thus being provided with reliable, compre-
hensive notes in order to choose the joining process appropriate for each application. U. Reisgen and L. Stein
472 pages, 334 photographs and illustrations
The book is directed at engineers and technologists with tasks in design, work planning as 1st edition 2016
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30 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

INFO
The full report is available from:
https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/industrial-member-reports/advancement-of-arc-welding-
repair-of-mar-m247-and-alloy-713c-1080-2017 b
Food &
Pharmaceutical,
biotechnology
This work was supported by the Industrial Members of TWI as part of the Core Research Programme (CRP). beverage
& chemical
industry
More information about the CRP can be found at: https://www.twi-global.com/what-we-do/research-and- b industry
innovation/core-research-programme/
Orbital (TIG)
welding power
sources and
orbital welding
ups and machined groove fill-ins, to deter- 1 A repair procedure was demonstrated heads
mine a process parameter set that could be on example Mar-M247 turbine blade
used to produce weld repairs that do not con- components.
2 Weld build-ups were successfully per- Pipe cutting &
tain flaws. Semiconductor
beveling
formed on Mar-M247 using UTP A 6222 industry
machines
4 Results and discussion Mo or VBC 9247 by the use of low heat
Initial exploratory trials showed that low input, 400°C pre-heat or -20°C pre-cool
Heating,
heat inputs generated weld repairs that were and a machined groove with a bevel an- ventilation &
generally less prone to cracking. These trials gle of 30°. air conditioning
industry
also showed that there was no significant dif- 3 Weld build-ups were successfully per- (HVAC)
ference between samples which were welded formed on alloy 713C using UTP A 6222
with matching filler and those which were Mo or FM92 by the use of low heat in-
Tube facing and
welded with dissimilar filler. The trials put, 400°C pre-heat and a machined Aerospace
pipe end prep
industry
showed no obvious effect of heat treatments, groove with a bevel angle of 30°. machines

low pre-heats or pulse current frequency.
Welding trials performed using more
pronounced pre-heating and pre-cooling
demonstrated that the use of pre-heats of
400°C and pre-cooling of -20°C greatly re-
duced cracking susceptibility in both Mar-
M247 and alloy 713C, compared to initial
welding trials.
The use of a bull nose cutter to machine
grooves which could be filled with weld met-
al as simulated repairs, resulted in crack- sus-
ceptible welds in nearly all weldments.
Crack-free weldments were only produced
with this geometry using the dissimilar UTP
A 6222 Mo filler metal in Mar-M247 using a
400°C pre-heat. Trials using machined
grooves, with a range of bevel angles, showed
that pre-cooling was less successful as a weld
preparation technique than 400°C pre-heat-
4 The crack geometry most commonly
observed in weldments of these alloys
is crater cracking, with propagation Split frames for
heavy duty form
through the centreline of the weld metal tooling & pipe
weld preparation
due to the high restraint in that region.
5 The most common cracking mecha-
nisms seen are liquation and solidifica-
tion cracking of the mushy interdendrit- Off shore
applications
ic regions in the weld metal and heat
affected zone, following the principal
solidification direction of the dendrites. Oil, gas,
6 Cracking susceptibility increased with petrochemical
& pipeline ID mount end
applications
increasing heat input. d prep machines
& pipeline
7 UTP A 6222 Mo filler metal was slightly distribution
& pipeline
d
less crack susceptible than matching
filler metal using the geometries and
weld procedures for this project.
8 Pulse frequencies greater than 100 Hz
showed no significant difference in their

th e finest
ing. A bevel angle of 30° was demonstrated effect on the heat-affected zone and
to be sufficient to reduce restraint to a con- weld metal microstructure or arc stabil- ... on e so urce for
g an d
in orbita l cu ttin
dition which allowed crack-free weld repairs. ity.
!
w elding produc ts
The use of the weld build-up procedure de-
veloped in previous stages generated suc- 6 Recommendations
cessful repair weld build-ups in Mar-M247 The outcomes of this project should be
components using both matching VBC 9247 taken into consideration when developing
and dissimilar UTP A 6222 Mo filler with no arc welding repair procedures for Mar-M247
cracks present. An example repair weld and alloy 713C. Such repairs are challenging
build-up is shown in Fig. 1. and procedures require further development
and testing before use in a production envi-
5 Conclusions ronment. ORBITALUM TOOLS GMBH E.H. WACHS
From the weld trials performed in this Rob Shaw, TWI Ltd, Cambridge/UK Josef-Schuettler-Str. 17 Sales & Service Center
78224 Singen, Germany Europe
body of work, the following conclusions can E-mail: robert.shaw@twi.co.uk Tel. +49 (0) 77 31 792-0
be drawn: (Copyright TWI Ltd, 2018) tools@orbitalum.com
www.orbitalum.com

B R AN DS O F IT W O RB ITAL CUT TIN G & WELDIN G

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 31 T h e I T W O R B I TA L C U T T I N G & W E L D I N G g r o u p p r o v i d e s g l o b a l

customers one source for the finest in tube and pipe cutting,
beveling and orbital welding products.
 REPORTS
Introduction to the brazing of aluminium and its alloys
– Part 3: The popular heating sources for the brazing of
aluminium
1 The manual flame-brazing of
aluminium
This form of heating is best employed
where:
1. The required production volume is rel-
atively low
2. The production of joints that are widely
separated from each other
3. Short production runs of a series of
marginally different components
4. The required brazing temperature does
not exceed 660°C
From this it can be seen that the process is
very flexible, and this is one of its main at-
tractions; however it has to be remembered
that the rate of joint production, and the
quality of the finished joint, is always directly
under the direct control of the operator.
Thus it is an inevitable feature of this process
that the rate of production and the appear-
ance of the finished joints will be constantly
varying and will be varying in direct propor-
tion to the skill and experience of the oper-
ator who is making the joints.
1.1 Torches
Most torches are fitted with a means of
controlling the amount of fuel gas and air
(or oxygen), that is to be fed to the nozzle of
the torch. As a result, the composition of the
gas mixture that is burning at the nozzle is
capable of wide variation and this is also a
process parameter that is under the direct
control of the operator. The presence of too
much fuel gas will result in the production
Fig. 2 • The rotary-in-
dexing brazing machine
for the automated
brazing of header-tanks
to radiator cores.
(Photo Courtesy
of VerMoTec GmbH,
St Ingbert, Germany)
32
of a carburising flame, while too little will
result in the production of a flame that is
highly oxidising. Both of these extremes are
very undesirable and must be avoided.
As a general rule, the flame should be
adjusted to be marginally gas-rich; however,
the use of a flame of this type can result in
the formation of small gas blisters in the fillet
of filler material. If this does occur their pres-
ence can be an annoyance in certain finish-
ing operations.
For the best results the flame size should
be adjusted so that the parts attain brazing
temperature within 20 to 30 seconds. This
is generally fast enough to avoid flux exhaus-
tion, yet slow enough to provide a smooth
increase in the temperature of the joint area
and so avoid the work becoming overheated.
If a single torch cannot achieve this type of
Fig. 1 • A graphical
representation of
the meaning of
“Process Window”.
heating rate, then some form of multiple-
headed torch will be required.
It also has to be remembered that too
large a flame may lead to overheating of the
parts, leading to wastage of energy and, per-
haps, undesirable metallurgical changes in
the parent materials. On the other hand, too
small a flame will lead to unsound joints due
to the assembly failing to attain a temperature
that is high enough to cause the filler material
to melt and flow into the capillary joint gap.
In situations where it is required to flame-
braze aluminium and its alloys by hand, one
has the added complication of the very nar-
row ‘process window’ (the temperature dif-
ference between the liquidus of the filler ma-
terial and the solidus of the material being
brazed) to take into account. In this case it is
typically no more than about 10 to 30°C.
1.2 Hand-torch brazing technique
Flame brazing by hand falls into six
clearly defined steps:
1. Cleaning the parts prior to brazing
2. Fluxing the joint area of the component
parts
3. Assembling the parts
4. Heating the parts to brazing temperature
5. In some cases, quenching the parts to
assist with the flux removal process
6. Post-braze cleaning
However, since the fundamental consider-
ations that relate to the flame brazing
process are widely known, they do not need
to be addressed here.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
 In the majority of cases when brazing in
air, fluxes are needed to maintain the sur-
faces of the joint in an oxide-free condition
so that wetting can occur. If the capillary gap
is very small, there might not be sufficient
flux present in it to dissolve the oxide films
present on the work. Alternatively, having
dissolved them, the flux’s own properties of
melting range, viscosity and surface tension
may have changed in such a manner that
the advancing front of molten filler metal is
no longer capable of expelling the oxide-
laden flux from the joint. It is for this reason
that in all cases where a flux has to be used,
care has to be taken when the size of the
joint gap is being decided! It is this consid-
eration that provides another of the funda-
mental rules of brazing:
During any part of the process cycle when
brazing aluminium and its alloys in air in
conjunction with a flux the joint gap must
never be smaller than 0.1 mm nor greater
than 0.2 mm.
2 Some general comments on
flame heating
2.1 The process window
Perhaps the most unique feature of the
brazing of aluminium and its alloys is the
fact that the ‘process window’ is very narrow,
and for clarity, this factor needs to be ad-
dressed here since it is a matter that has a
major influence on the choice of brazing
filler materials that can be used to join alu-
minium containing parent materials. As we
saw in Part 1 of this series of articles, the alu-
minium-silicon filler materials that have to
be used have a high affinity for the parent
materials that are to be joined.
Unfortunately, the use of these filler ma-
terials has further negative ramifications due
to the fact that there are also a number of
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
potential metallurgical difficulties that relate
to the composition of the parent materials
themselves, particularly those that contain
magnesium, and these considerations are
touched upon later in this article. Thus,
when approaching the flame brazing of alu-
minium it is important to bear in mind that
aluminium is not simply another metal that
has to be brazed. It is different when com-
pared to the other commonly used engineer-
ing metals that are to be joined by brazing,
and so its joining by the brazing process
specifically requires particular attention to
the details of the procedure.
The initial consideration of these basic
facts leads to another of the fundamental
rules of brazing, namely:
When brazing, an assembly can be heat-
ed only as fast as the parent materials used
in its construction can conduct the heat away
from its point of application. If more heat is
applied than can be conducted away, the
parent material will melt at the point of ap-
plication of that heat.
Fig. 4 • A series of
brazed aluminium tubes
that have been flame-
brazed by an automated
system. (Photo Courtesy
of VerMoTec GmbH,
St Ingbert, Germany)
Fig. 3 • A specialised
trolley machine employ-
ing flame heating that
can be used by two
operators simultaneous-
ly when necessary.
Clearly, localised melting of the parent
material is a result that is specifically re-
quired if the parts are to be joined by a weld-
ing process. However, when brazing, the oc-
currence of heat damage to the parent ma-
terial, and perhaps accidental melting of
them, is something that must always be
avoided.
It is this fundamental requirement that
points to the need to have a balanced heat
input to the joint. This will ensure that nei-
ther under-heating nor over-heating of the
work will occur since both of these features
will have a negative effect on the production
of a satisfactory joint. Once the filler material
has melted and flowed and the joint has
been made, heating must be discontinued
so that the joint can begin to cool.
A typical brazing cycle of this type is il-
lustrated in Fig. 1. Note particularly how rel-
atively easy it is to overheat an assembly by
heating it too rapidly and, more importantly,
what the consequences of that action might
be. This effect has to be taken together with
that which relates to the change in the com-
position of the molten filler material, and
hence the change in its flow-properties, as
it dissolves a portion of the parent material
during the time it is wetting and flowing on
the surface of the parent metal.
The overall effect of the combination of
these factors is coupled to the situation that
if hand-torch brazing is the preferred heat-
ing method, it will be the skill of the operator
that is mainly relied upon to control the rate
of heat input to the work. Clearly, this is an
additional burden on the joining process,
and only serves to underline why it is so es-
sential for the person who is wielding the
torch to exercise close control of the tem-
perature attained by the assembly during
the heating stage of the operation. Indeed,
33
 REPORTS
in many situations it is this potential com-
bination of ‘negatives’ that often forms the
reason why managements decide to install
an automatic brazing machine, rather than
using manual brazing, to do the work.
In reality, Fig. 1 represents the general
case of heating for brazing. It should be noted
that in some cases when, for example, steel is
to be brazed to copper with a conventional
low-temperature silver-bearing alloy, the
magnitude of the process window will be
about 250°C. However, when brazing alumini-
um and its alloys, the available process win-
dow is never more than about 30°C and in
many cases might be as small as 15°C. In these
circumstances it becomes clear why when
such materials are to be joined by flame braz-
ing it is necessary to ensure that very precise
control of the process temperature is always
an inherent, and vital, feature of the joining
process.
This is just one of the technical features
of the process that makes the brazing of alu-
minium so different to all other engineering
materials in every-day use. It also partially
explains why the change of parent material
from copper to aluminium for the construc-
tion of automotive heat exchangers and con-
densers in the mid-1990 was found to be far
a more troublesome project to implement
than that which had originally been con-
templated by that industry.
It is a fact, however, that the automated
flame brazing of aluminium is now widely
practiced, and a typical rotary indexing ma-
34
Fig. 5 • Note the ef-
fect of an increase of
only 0.3% manganese
in the quality of the
finished joint. (Photo
courtesy Solvay Fluor
und Derivate GmbH
& Co KG, Hanover,
Germany)
Fig. 6 • Note how the
presence of magne-
sium in the parent
material results in a
high incidence of
voids in the joint.
(Photo courtesy
Solvay Fluor und De-
rivate GmbH & Co KG,
Hanover, Germany)
chine used for the brazing of aluminium
header tanks to a car radiator system is il-
lustrated in Fig. 2, while an interesting ex-
ample of the layout of a relatively simple
trolley machine suitable for brazing short
runs of aluminium components for the au-
tomotive industry is shown in Fig. 3. In Fig.
4 some typical examples of tubular alumini-
um automotive pipe-work systems are
shown, together with their associated fix-
tures that are used when automated flame-
brazing is the chosen production method.
3 The effect of magnesium being
present in a parent material
As is the situation with many excellent
ideas, there are limitations to the use of this
approach in the manufacturing of heat ex-
changers. The limitation relates to the com-
position of the core of the clad material. If
the core material contains magnesium, there
can be quite severe problems with the braz-
ing process. In this context it is vital to recog-
nise that it is the total magnesium content
that has to be considered. For example, if
one parent material contains 0.2% magne-
sium and the other 0.4%, the anticipated dif-
ficulty factor likely to be encountered will
be that associated with a 0.6% content. It is
the combined total of the magnesium con-
tent that has to be taken into consideration,
and not just the higher magnesium content
of the two parent materials.
Magnesium is added to some alumini-
um-base alloys to enhance their strength
and improve their machinability. In certain
6,000-series materials the amount added
can be as high as 1%. In furnace brazing ap-
plications where, unlike flame brazing, com-
paratively slow heating rates are the norm,
this level of magnesium content can lead to
some quite severe problems in the quality
and integrity of the brazed joints. At tem-
peratures above about 400°C, the magne-
sium tends to migrate to the surface of the
parent material where it reacts with the alu-
minum oxide coating that is present to form
magnesium oxide (MgO) and a complex alu-
minum-magnesium oxide (Al2MgO4). The
magnesium also reacts with the flux to form
a series of fluorine-bearing magnesium salts
(MgF2, KMgF3 and K2MgF4).
As a result, the composition of the flux
changes, causing an increase in its working
temperature. It is also the case that due to
the migration of the magnesium, the surface
of the parent material also undergoes a
change in its composition, and the new ma-
terial has a substantially higher oxidation
rate. All of these effects combine to cause
poisoning of the flux, leading to a correspon-
ding reduction in its effectiveness. These
deleterious effects can lead to an increase
in the level of porosity and voids found in
the joint, see Figs. 5 and 6.
As a result of these problems it is gener-
ally accepted that when standard non-cor-
rosive fluxes are to be employed, the total
magnesium content of the parent material
has to be limited as follows:
1. For use in controlled atmosphere fur-
nace brazing the level must be between
0.4 and 0.5%
2. For use with flame brazing the limit is a
maximum of 1.5%
This difference is due to the greater rapidity
of heating when flame brazing is being used.
Further details related to automated
brazing were discussed in some depth in
this journal when it published the three-part
series ‘An introduction to automated braz-
ing’ in 2017.
P. M. Roberts, Delphi Brazing
Consultants,
Congleton, Cheshire/UK
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
 NEWS
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE WELDING INSTITUTE
Editorial
The Membership benefits of The Welding Institute are available
all year
Happy New Year to all our Professional Members and Industrial
Members who receive this Welding & Cutting Journal directly, and
to all non-members who have picked up this copy to learn more
about welding, joining and materials integrity. Welding & Cutting
is one of many benefits made available to Members of The Welding
Institute, that aim to keep you up to date with industry news, and
to provide you with information to support your continuing profes-
sional development. Although Welding & Cutting is delivered to
your door or, through the new app, to your tablet or mobile, it is only
a small fragment of the information that has been made accessible
to you through The Welding Institute.
There is no doubt that welding and joining technology has advanced
immeasurably since The Institution of Welding Engineers Limited
was created on 15 February 1923. In the same way that they were
unlikely to even conceive Friction Stir Welding, laser cutting, or Sur-
fiSculpt, those founding Members would be equally astonished by
the quality of the content, impact of the (multi)media, and the speed
of access to documents, photographs, graphics and videos now
available through the ‘libraries’ that they began to create 95 years
ago. In addition to a physical library of books, reports and periodi-
cals, The Welding Institute Information Services also provide e-
books that you can add to your personal ‘bookcase’, the Weldasearch
abstracts database, and the MI-21 welding consumables database.
In addition to six issues of Welding & Cutting, the Institute of Rail
Welding’s Welding Lines, and other newsletters, The Welding Insti-
tute Information Services provided Members with access to 60,000
publications and 24,000 abstracts last year.
The most significant benefit of The Welding Institute is the interna-
tional network of welding, joining and materials integrity profes-
sionals that exists within its Membership. It is the Professional
Members of the Institute who mentor, assess, and decide on which
applicants are eligible to become Members and be registered as En-
gineering Technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engi-
neers. The Engineering Council UK-SPEC requirements, applied
through the Institute peer review process, is a powerful and effective
method of regulating the profession; who better to apply the stan-
dard for entry to the profession than competent professionals from
the industry that employs you? It is also Members of the Institute
who deliver a large proportion of the Branch and Technical Group
programmes to educate and inform the wider Membership, provid-
ing the support, encouragement and information for the professional
development of new entrants and improvers alike.
In its first annual report, on 31 March 1924, the Institution of Welding
Engineers listed members in South Africa, Holland, Zimbabwe,
India, Spain, Brazil, USA, and China. The Membership of The Weld-
ing Institute has grown significantly since then, and its Membership
has become increasingly global. For countries or regions where
Members are too widely separated to be able to organise and deliver
events and activities, The Welding Institute delivers webinars that
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
January
February
2018
Your membership of The Welding Institute provides
Technical Group and Branch meetings,
webinars and conferences
Access to an international
engineering network
5% savings on
TWI training courses
Over 60000 publications Advice on technical queries Recognition and prizes
and 24000 abstracts through industry awards
How will you use your membership?
can be viewed online, often with live question and answer sessions,
and often recorded and placed on the website so that they can be
viewed again, at other times.
The Welding Institute also provides Members with a Technical En-
quiry service, and every Member has the benefit of a 5% discount
on TWI training courses, many of which lead to the CSWIP certifi-
cation relied upon by employers as competence assurance for spe-
cific job roles. However, it is not the case of The Welding Institute
telling its Members what to do, we also require your feedback and
input to enable us to represent your views and requirements in the
many standards committees, lobby groups and other meetings we
contribute to on your behalf. The Welding Institute contributes di-
rectly to EN and ISO standards, and to UK government policy con-
sultations, and has international policy influence through its work
with EWF and IIW; your responses to our surveys, and your contri-
butions to our committees inform our engagement with these fora.
Whilst Members of The Welding Institute value and enjoy their pro-
fessional status as EngTech TechWeldI, IEng MWeldI, and CEng
MWeldI, there is also cause to recognise high achievement in con-
tributing to the work of The Welding Institute, the application of ma-
terials joining technology, or the advancement of the industry. The
Welding Institute Awards are conferred annually on individuals or
teams of colleagues who have made significant contributions to our
industry, and are presented during The Welding Institute Annual
Dinner to celebrate their achievements. The nomination period for
the 2018 Awards has now closed, so it is time for Members to think
about who is eligible for nomination for next year’s Awards.
Whether you are reading this as a Member or a non-member, you
are encouraged to learn more about The Welding Institute benefits
available to you and to make full use of them. The Welding Institute
is your professional engineering institution and exists to support
your professional development and to enable you to exert your in-
fluence over the future of the profession.
Eur Ing Chris Eady BSc(Hons) MSc CEng FWeldI
Associate Director Professional Affairs
The Welding Institute
Elected President of the European Federation for Welding, Joining
and Cutting
35
 THE WELDING INSTITUTE NEWS
The Armourers and Brasiers Travel Awards 2017
Conference:
SAMPE Europe Conference 2017
Date: 15-16 November 2017
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Student’s Name: Athanasios Pouchias
TWI Supervisor: Jasmin Stein
I had the great honour to be awarded with an Armourers &
Brasiers travel award to attend the SAMPE Europe Conference
2017. SAMPE is a general organisation devoted to the promotion
of technical excellence in materials and process engineering, to-
talling around 15,000 engineers, technologists and materials sci-
entists.
The conference took place in Stuttgart, Germany from 15 to 16 No-
vember. The conference covered an expansive list of subjects regard-
ing lightweight materials and their processing. The conference
commenced with keynote presentations from BMW on ‘Multifunc-
tional Materials for Aeronautics and Space,’ presented by Dr Gun-
nar Rieber, and Lufthansa Technik on ‘More Mobility for Composite
Aircraft’ by Dr Christian Sauer. The first day was concluded with
tours of AUDI, Porsche, DITF, Trumpf and Fraunhofer ICT. The sec-
ond day more than 64 professional speakers from both industry and
science took the stage in four parallel sessions.
During the conference I had the opportunity to present a poster of
the work I have carried out during the first year of my PhD. My
research focuses on monitoring the Resin Transfer Moulding
(RTM) process, which is one of the most promising available tech-
nologies for manufacturing large complex three-dimensional parts
from composite materials. The collection of the parameters that
are used by current models is inadequate and, therefore, online
Deceased members (Oct 2017)
Name Number
Eur Ing Antony Hugh Stillwell-Cox 505104
Richard (Dick) Reeve 120163
Keith Charles Edward Adams 504178
Mark Sen 159250
36
monitoring of the process is proposed to enhance the understand-
ing of resin’s flow and cure. The RTM process is mostly used in
aeronautical, automotive and wind energy applications, such as
the manufacturing of wind turbine blades.
The SAMPE conference supports sectors occupied with aerospace
and defence, automotive and transport, offshore and energy, and
many others related to advanced materials and process engineer-
ing. The main sessions of the conference addressed the develop-
ment of materials, like composites, new light metals and alloys.
The conference was very exciting as I could notice great interest
in composite materials, mostly thermoplastic materials for the au-
tomotive and aerospace industries. Also, there is a push from in-
dustry to automate manufacturing processes, which is urged by
the automotive sector because of the high-volume production
needs. Germany is one of the leaders in addressing the ‘Industrie
4.0’ concept and this couldn’t be missing from this conference.
The presentation of my poster offered me a great opportunity to
communicate and discuss the project with the leading manufac-
turing and advanced materials associates. Finally, this conference
provided the chance to network with the scientific community and
professionals and receive their insight on the state-of-the-art work.
I believe attending this conference has been a rewarding experi-
ence and has increased my confidence for addressing challenging
research problems in the future.
http://www.theweldinginstitute.com/awards/armourers-and-
brasiers-awards/armourer-and-brasiers-awards-criteria-and-ap-
plications-process/
Grade Joined Branch
SenWeldI 1989 Eastern Counties
SenMWeldI CEng 2009 East Midlands
Senior Member (CEng) 1967 Eastern counties
Member CEng 2003 Global
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
 THE WELDING INSTITUTE NEWS

SkillWeld success for the next generation of welders

at the UK’s national welding competition

Apprentices and trainee welders were put through their paces at the
UK’s national final of the SkillWeld Competition at the NEC in Birm- The SkillWeld annual competition is supported by Semta and the
ingham at the end of November 2017. Winners came from across the main sponsors, Air Products and Lincoln Electric. The committee,
country, with Conor Alexander from Lakes College, Cumbria, taking chaired by Chris Eady of The Welding Institute, comprises represen-
gold. Silver went to Declan Kenny (NPTC Group in Wales) and tatives of leading industry champions - Lincoln Electric, Doosan
bronze to Gwion Jones (Doosan Babcock/West Midlands). Power Systems, GE Power, ECITB, EAL, AWD, Weldability-sif, Code-
Skillweld 2017 was open to all apprentices and trainee welders who A-Weld, and Pearson Training and Consultancy.
are on a recognised welding training course, including welding and
fabrication, regardless of age. This national competition provides a http://www.airproducts.co.uk/microsite/uk/skillweld/TheCom-
great showcase for those thinking about a career in welding, as well petition.htm
as a great opportunity for competitors to gain recognition in this very
competitive field. SkillWeld has three competition rounds that cul-
minate in the national finals at The Skills Show in November.
In the first round of competition, the passive heats, competitors weld
a number of standard carbon steel test pieces that are assessed by
their lecturer or trainer; the semi-finals, at one of seven regional cen-
tres in the UK, challenge the competitors with test pieces in carbon
steel, stainless steel, and aluminium. The national final requires the
fabrication of test objects in carbon steel, stainless steel and alu-
minium.
SkillWeld is an elite competition that identifies the ten best trainee
welders in the country. SkillWeld finalists may be eligible for selection
to represent their country at the EuroSkills and WorldSkills competi-
tions, taking place in Budapest in 2018 (EuroSkills) and Kazan, Rus-
sia, in 2019 (WorldSkills). Josh Peek AWeldI from L&G Engineering
in Norfolk, who won a bronze medal at SkillWeld in 2014 and a gold
medal at EuroSkills, achieved a medal of excellence at the WorldSkills
competition in Abu Dhabi last autumn.

New members (25 Oct 2017 – 9 January 2018)

Member No Name Member Grade EngC Registration Branch Prev. Member Grade

512102 NICHOLAS, Joanna Fellow n/a ECS Member CEng

563490 GAN, Tat-Hean Fellow n/a ECS Member

701827 KERN, James Member CEng Leeds Associate

706087 WU, Victor Wai Hung Member CEng UNOS 0
695630 JANOWSKI, Damien n/a CEng EM Member IEng
645009 KESKESIADIS, Dimitrios n/a CEng SCT Member IEng
601735 KHOKHAR Ashfaq n/a CEng ECS Member/IEng
695630 JANOWSKI, Damien n/a CEng EM Member IEng

633522 HUGHES, Benjamin Member IEng NUA 0

608125 PERUMAL, Govindan Member IEng UNOS 0
504172 TAYLOR Jonathan Member IEng SCS TechWeldI EngTech

671776 AKINWUMI, Tobiloba Member n/a NSCT 0

702143 DWAN, James Member n/a UNOS 0
133095 BYRNE, Glenn Member n/a SD
706344 YASINSKY, Alexey Member n/a NSCT 0

623821 HUNTER, Matthew Technician EngTech N/SCT 0

655938 FERNIE, Guy Technician EngTech TEE 0
673576 RAMSAY, Sean Technician EngTech UN/OS 0
656593 OAK, Andrew Thomas Technician EngTech UNOS 0

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 37

 THE WELDING INSTITUTE NEWS

The ‘Wales Skills’ welding competition

By William James Hanford (Welding Institute South Wales

Branch)
Wednesday 13th December was a very good day at Neath College,
who hosted the Wales Skills welding competition. We had 30 out of
40 test pieces to mark from 10 candidates, who each completed four
different tasks. Task 1 was a TIG welded vertical tee joint plate (PF
Vertical up), task 2 was a MAG welded fillet joint pipe to plate (PE
Vertical up), task 3 was an MMA welded butt joint (PA Flat), and task
4 was an MMA welded multi tee joint (PB H/V). As always there had
to be a winner, but I feel everyone involved were winners and should
feel very proud of their achievements.
I look forward to the final next year and maybe testing the next gen-
eration of welders in the near future. The overall quality of the test
pieces was good, although a few areas need addressing for next
year’s final. That said, the candidates had very good marks, so well
done to all.
Finally, I gave a talk to the candidates after they had completed the
skills competition, and informed them of the work they do at The
Welding Institute and the South Wales Branch. I also asked them if
they would like to join the Institute and handed out the Associate
Membership application form.

L-R: Lead Judge

William James
Hanford, Judge 2
Kristian Mason,
Judge 3 Clive Slo-
combe

38 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

 THE WELDING INSTITUTE NEWS

Eastern Counties Branch of the Welding Institute afloat; range greater than 250Nm, seating for 6 survivors and
1 stretcher and an ability to tow
Event: Lecture Also to be considered were lifespan, maintenance, training, build,
Subject: The Design Challenges of Building Modern Lifeboats for the RNLI freeboard and helicopter operation.
By: Iain Wallbridge BEng (Hons) CEng MRINA MSNAME Senior To meet all these (and many other) requirements was a complex proj-
Naval Architect RNLI ect requiring market research and trials of commercial and other res-
Venue: TWI, Granta Park, Great Abington CB21 6AL cue organisations craft, waterjet propulsion capability, RNLI crew
Date: Wednesday 18 October 2017 trials, and rough weather performance. This study indicated a need
Report by: J Weston, Hedges, Lodge Road, Walberswick, Suffolk IP18 for a new design and this commenced with hull form trials. This was
6UP Tel: 01502 722584, Email: weston559@btinternet.com an interesting process involving comparison of several hull forms of
models in both tank and free running trials.
Sir William Hillary was instrumental in the founding of The National An RNLI double chine warped hull-form was finally chosen which
Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck in 1824. In- has an LOA 13.6m, beam 4.5m, draught 1m, displacement 18 tonnes,
deed, in 1830 at the age of 60, Sir William took part in the successful engines 2off Scania D13 driving Hamilton 364 waterjet propulsion
rescue of the packet St George, which had foundered on Conister units and a fuel capacity of 2680L.
Rock at the entrance to Douglas Harbour. In 1854, the institution be- This was the first lifeboat designed using 3D CAD, which enabled
came the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the first of the new good understanding of layouts and equipment without the need for
lifeboats to be built was stationed at Douglas in recognition of the extensive mock-up building.
work of Sir William. Initially rowed or sailed boat designs changed Iain then discussed the way advanced composites were used to give
over the years with steam power being introduced in 1890, motor strong integrated structural modules. Also how technical issues, such
boats in 1905, and inflatables in 1963. Motorised boat development as flooding survivability, were met and how self-righting trials were
continued with the Tyne class in 1982 and the Shannon (in-house carried out.
manufacture) in 2013. Next, the RNLI all weather facility at Poole was described, and we
Iain then gave us some key RNLI facts: were given an insight into the way boats were built and fitted out.
• 238 lifeboat stations around the coast of the UK and Ireland with Iain also touched on the facilities at the Inshore Centre at East Cowes
408 boats and on the repair of damaged boats and of their refurbishment.
• 240 beach lifeguard facilities Key to the successful operation of the RNLI are the people who must
• More than 4,600 lifeboat crew members be trained and prepared for safe lifesaving. A challenge because they
• More than 3000 shore helpers and volunteers from all walks of life are volunteers who today, on joining, seldom have wide seafaring ex-
• 8 flood rescue teams perience. Boat and equipment design must take account of their ca-
• Thames (3) and Inland Waters stations (4) pabilities, the times of operation (e.g.2.00am) and ensure that systems
• Funded by voluntary contributions and legacies are reliable, easy and safe to use.
• Coordinated by UK Maritime Coastguard Agency and Irish Coast- In performing all of the above it must be remembered that RNLI is a
guard. charity with, in 2016, a running cost of £177.3m. A sound investment
In 2016 there were:
• 8,851 Launches (23/day)
• 8,643 rescues, 431 lives saved
• 20,538 people aided, 127 lives saved by Life-
guards
Iain then showed pictures of the current Lifeboat
fleet: Severn, Tamar (27), Trent (37), Mersey (37),
Tyne (18), B & D Class (inflatables 314), E Class (in-
land 4), Hovercraft (7) and new Shannon Class.
What then are the constraints that face the designer?
• Operational Requirements – vessel capability
• Technical – materials, systems, structures
• Support – 25-50 year life, obsolescence, boatyards
• Legislation – MCA, IMO, HSE
• Environment – manufacture, disposal, pollution
• People – social changes, volunteers, training,
safety
• Finance – best value for the organisation
Iain then discussed these requirements with refer-
ence to the new Shannon Class.
Operational requirements include a speed of 25knts,
operation in 16m waves and wind speeds of 60knts,
self-righting, launch and recovery from beach or Photo courtesy of RNLI and Nigel Millard

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 39

 THE WELDING INSTITUTE NEWS
when we remember that, since 1824, 140,000 lives have been saved
by the RNLI.
Iain then fielded questions which ranged from selection of engine
type, propulsion systems, crew training, the sophisticated SIMS (Sys-
Eastern Counties Branch of the Welding Institute
Event: Lecture
Subject: Surfi-Sculpt® melting and moving material using power beams to
form structures and surfaces
By: Tom Pinto, MEng, CEng Senior Project Engineer, Electron Beam
Section TWI
Venue: TWI, Granta Park, Great Abington CB21 6AL
Date: Wednesday 13 September 2017
Report by: J Weston, Hedges, Lodge Road, Walberswick, Suffolk IP18
6UP Tel: 01502 722584, Email: weston559@btinternet.com
Tom Pinto, who has worked at TWI for 10 years, commenced his
presentation with an introduction to TWI Ltd. He then went on the
discuss Electron Beam (EB) welding and processing, EB Texturing,
Surfi-Sculpt® and how it works, what it can do, and what it can be
used for, before summing up and answering a wide range of ques-
tions.
We are all familiar with electron beams as they are what activate the
phosphor dots in our cathode ray TVs. In the vacuum of the TV tube
a stream of electrons can be scanned across the screen area at rates
so fast that the we are not aware that the individual dots are being
targeted and refreshed to give us an exciting picture.
These electron guns have many areas of application:
Cathode ray tubes 1,000,000,000's
X-ray sets 1,000,000's
Scanning electron microscopes 1,000's
Metal processing – in vacuum
(Metal refining, drilling & Welding) 1000's
Metal processing – non-vacuum (Welding & cutting) 100's
Non-metal processing (Lithography, curing/cross
linking polymers 100's
Big science (particle accelerators) 10's
Tom went on to describe the EB welding and processing equipment
and systems, and demonstrated how the process was used for both
very thick (+300mm) and very thin (~0.5mm) welding. It is a process
with the advantages of being clean (welded in vacuum), high speed,
low heat input, low distortion and autogenous. He also showed a
wide range of components produced by EB welding and noted the
safety challenges that radiation could present.
He then described the surface modification technology, Surfi-Sculpt
(Dance & Keller 2002), which makes use of the capillary phenome-
non that occurs when an EB interacts with the surface of a material,
as when welding. Molten material expelled from the capillary forms
a bulge above the surface of the metal, which can be built upon and
manipulated by applying repeated bursts of melting. Thus, the par-
ent material forms a new surface. The Surfi-Sculpt process is not an
40
tems and Information Management Systems) and performance under
extreme conditions. An excellent presentation well supported by
slides and video.
For more information and to donate see www.rnli.org
additive process, whereby material is deposited on the surface; nei-
ther is it a machining process, whereby material is removed from
the surface.
Repeated bursts of EB energy can continue to build up the projec-
tions or modify their shape. The ability to rapidly deflect the beam
over the surface of the material allows an area to be altered by the
Surfi-Sculpt process very quickly, areas of several square centime-
tres per second being possible. Curved surfaces can also be treated.
Tom used an excellent range of pictures to support his description
of a number of application areas. For example:
Heat transfer: Studies have shown that the heat transfer coefficient
of Surfi-Sculpt treated surfaces gave a 50% improvement over non-
textured surfaces. This feature was further investigated under a
‘HeatSculptor’ EC Project.
Orthopaedic implants: It is thought that Surfi-Sculpt surfaces can
augment bone adhesion on an implant interface. A UK funded proj-
ect, ‘OrthoSculpt,’ is examining the mechanical fixing of cement-
less implants, load transfer and enhancement of bone fixing and
bone regrowth,
Composite-to-metal joining: Increasingly, composites are being used
to make lightweight products and with their use is the challenge of
joining to metals. The raised Surfi-Sculpt surfaces assist the process
and improve load transfer properties.
Texturing: The process can build surfaces which have re-entrant
shapes, and shapes which are hollow.
In summary, Surfi-Sculpt is a novel process, offering:
• Individualised intricate functional surfaces;
• Intrusions and protrusions up to a few mm and a minimum of
tens of microns;
• Fast and customised processing (cm2/sec);
• Application to a variety of materials;
• Consistent level of repeatability;
• Minimal heat input required.
Tom then fielded many questions from an appreciative audience.
For further information, search Surfi-Sculpt on the web.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
IIW Reference Catalogue ISO 5817
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SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Strain hardening of a hot stretch formed
Ti-6Al-4V alloy aircraft component
The strain hardening of a large titanium component
for aircraft applications processed through hot stretch
forming below the β transus is studied. Tensile speci-
mens were extracted from zones of the forging charac-
terised by different thermomechanical histories to
analyse their differential hardening. Data obtained
from the tensile testes were compared to hardness
measurements and microstructure observations. It was
found that the material experienced higher strain and
strain rate with increasing the distance from the die.
This resulted in a higher strain hardening of the related
zones of the forging, which show a loss of ductility and
an increase of the tensile properties in contrast with
less stressed regions.
1 Introduction
Due to its high strength, corrosion resistance and
low density, Ti-6Al-4V alloy is the most commonly used
α/β titanium alloy and has covered over 50% of the full
shares of titanium applications [1]. In particular, provid-
ing a low specific weight, Ti-6Al-4V is finding a wide-
spread use in aeronautics. However, the poor formability
of Ti-6Al-4V implies that titanium alloy components can-
not be formed at room temperature. They are often man-
ufactured in hot environment to enhance their forma-
bility and to decrease their deformation resistances
[2; 3].
For these reasons, Ti-6Al-4V parts are mainly
processed by hot forming or by cold preforming and
then hot sizing. Hot forming results in several advantages
such as the reduction of springback effects and the stress
relieving of the formed material. Since Ti-6Al-4V creeps
at elevated temperatures, creep forming is another al-
KEYWORDS
hot stretch forming, titanium alloys, Ti-6Al-4V,
strain hardening
THE AUTHORS
Umberto Prisco, Ph. D. is a lecturer in Materials Science and Engineering
at the University of Napoli Federico II in Naples/Italy. He graduated in
Chemical Engineering in 1999. In 2003, he obtained his PhD from the Uni-
versity of Napoli. In 2003, he was a research fellow at the Nanoscale
Physics Research Laboratory, University of Birmingham/UK.
Antonello Astarita, Ph. D. is a research fellow at the Department of
Chemical, Materials and Industrial Manufacturing Engineering at the Uni-
versity of Napoli Federico II in Naples/Italy. He holds a doctoral degree in
Materials Science from the University of Napoli and was also Visiting Sci-
entist at the University of Manchester/UK. Furthermore, he has been work-
ing as a consultant for several manufacturing companies.
42
ternative forming processes applicable to this alloy [4].
This paper is specifically focused on an innovative
forming technique for the production of Ti-6Al-4V aero-
nautic components: Hot Stretch Forming (HSF). HSF is
a technological process specifically developed to deform
titanium at elevated temperatures by combining tradi-
tional stretch forming and hot titanium forming tech-
niques. In HSF, a metal sheet, plate or extrusion is formed
by simultaneously stretching and bending it over a die
accordingly to the following procedure. Firstly, the metal
blank is tightly gripped along its edges by gripping jaws.
The jaws can be pulled by pneumatic or hydraulic rams.
After the attainment of the required temperature, usually
by induction heating, the workpiece is pressed against
the die, the tensile forces exerted by the gripping jaws
increase and the workpiece plastically deforms into a
new shape, reproducing the die contour.
Achieving a buy-to-fly ratio of 4:1, HSF reduces the
weight of titanium required to manufacture a component
(traditional machining operations attain a 40:1 buy-to-
fly ratio for the same component). Moreover the overall
processing time and the machining time for each part
are consistently reduced employing this technology,
while the repeatability of the process is satisfactorily
guaranteed. HSF is then a cost-effective and repeatable
technology, feasible to be used for immediate production
in volumes to meet aircraft build rates.
In the past years, many experts have done a great deal
of research on HSF and got a lot of valuable data and re-
search methods which are worthy of reference. For ex-
ample, Xiao et al. [1] studied the process parameters op-
timisation of Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheet during hot stretch-
creep forming. They found that temperature is the main
factor affecting the springback angle of hot stretch-creep
formed components while dwelling time, post stretch per-
centage and stretch velocity have only a small effect on it.
Furthermore, with the increase of temperature, the spring-
back angle can be reduced significantly. Astarita et al. [2]
studied the development of residual stresses during HSF
of titanium using both an approach based on experimen-
tal tests and finite element analysis. Deng et al. [5] con-
centrated their attention on the hot stretch bending and
creep forming of titanium alloy profile. They carried out
stress relaxation tests in the temperature range from 773
to 973 K. The creep behaviour of titanium was charac-
terised employing an Arrhenius model and a finite ele-
ment model of the hot stretch bending and creep forming
process. However, the past research mainly focused on
laboratory specimens or on sheets and profiles which
have poor relation with the real manufacturing practice
of the aerospace industry. Moreover, despite the above
mentioned studies, there is a lack of knowledge about
HSF, especially in terms of transformation induced into
the material by the process.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
 Fig. 1 • a) cross
section of the
hot-rolled profile
(dimension in
inches), b) section
of a fuselage with
the side frames,
c) the profile in
its final shape as
obtained by the
stock to be ma-
chined, d) portion
of an aircraft
fuselage with the
side frames in
places.

To fulfil this lack of knowledge, this paper studies a

real component for aircraft application manufactured
through hot stretch forming. The principal aim is to
analyse the transformation generated in the base material
by the HSF process both in terms of microstructure, with
focus on metallurgical aspects, and tensile properties.
Moreover, considering that the different parts of the work-
piece undergo different thermo-mechanical stories, the
behaviour of the forged material located at different part
of the forging is investigated. To this aim, the discussion
needs to move to the detailed description of a real HSF
apparatus and of the different steps of an industrial HSF
process.

2 Experimental procedures
The as-delivered parts used for the HSF are Ti-6Al-4V
hot-rolled profiles with cross section shown in Fig. 1(a).
The length of the profile is around 134” (340.36 cm). The
chemical composition of the base material is:
Al = 6.28 wt%, V = 3.88 wt%, Fe = 0.25 wt%, O = 0.2 wt%,
C = 0.03 wt%, N = 0.03 wt% (Ti balance). The base material
has a 0.2% offset yield strength and an ultimate tensile
strength equal to 794 and 927 MPa, respectively.
These profiles are used to build the side frames of
large fuselages (Fig. 1(b)-(d)), and they are usually man-
ufactured by machining. Fig. 1(c) shows both stock and
finished workpiece. The stock is shown in transparency
so it can be possible to appreciate the geometrical rela-
tionship between the two.
Fig. 2 shows the HSF apparatus used in this work, the
apparatus used in the tests is a commercial one [6]. The
equipment includes a rigid base 12 on which the die sur-
Fig. 2 • The HSF
face 14 is mounted. A die fixture 24 is fixed to the die sur-
apparatus used in
face; it is intended to contain and block the die, which is
this work.
shaped so that a programmed profile is imparted to the
workpiece “W” as it is bent around it. The front door 46,
which closes the die lock, is provided with coils that can
radiate heat sufficient to bring the workpiece to the re-
quired forging temperature. Some insulating layers, as 70,
protect the interior of the die lock. Two coupled hydraulic
cylinders, 18A and 18B, drive the opposed arms, 16A and
16B, which can pivotally swing about the vertical axis of
the base. The workpiece gripping system completes the
assembly, namely the hydraulic tension cylinders, 20A
and 20B, and their hydraulically jaws, 22A and 22B. The
gripping system is thermally insulated with respect to the
workpiece.

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 43

SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Fig. 3 • Scheme
of the forging
process: a) the
workpiece is lon-
gitudinally
stretched; b) the
heated workpiece
is bended over the
die.
Fig. 4 • Time/
temperature plot
A schematic of the contact workpiece/die and the
showing the thermal cycle carried out during the HSF process are
forming cycle. shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, respectively. Firstly, the work-
piece is inserted into the die fixture with its extremities
protruding from the side openings and the front door is
closed. The ends of the workpiece are blocked into the
jaws. At the same time, the heating elements are switched
on so that the workpiece can reach the forming tempera-
ture, set in the range 680-760 °C (a photograph of the ap-
paratus and workpiece at the end of this stage of the
process is shown in Fig. 5). This temperature range is far
below β transus for Ti-6Al-4V so alpha-beta microstruc-
ture is retained during the forming process. As soon as
the forging temperature has been attained, the tension
cylinders apply longitudinally the tensile load to stretch
the workpiece as required; subsequently, the main cylin-
ders rotate the two arms 16A and B (see Fig. 2), bending
the workpiece against the die. During the whole process
the temperature is controlled through a control-loop feed-
back. The HSF is followed by a creep forming stage and,
at last, by a controlled cooling during which the workpiece
is still under tension to minimise the residual stresses and
44
stabilise the final shape of the workpiece. During the HSF
process, the raw profile underwent a longitudinal strain
and a bending to its final curvature.
The forged frame was sectioned according to the
scheme of Fig. 6 to extract specimens for the metallo-
graphic observations. Specimens were obtained from dif-
ferent zones of the central part of the forging and were
numbered from 1 to 6. The different zones were analysed
longitudinally, i.e. along the stretching direction, and
transversally, i.e. perpendicularly to the stretching direc-
tion, to capture possible microstructural difference. The
specimens for metallographic observations were prepared
according to ASTM E3-01, ASTM E-340-00 and ASTM
E1558-99.
With the aim of studying the behaviour of the forged
material located at different part of the forging, standard
tensile test specimens were extracted from three different
zones of the central bow of the forging, as shown in Fig. 7.
The specimens obtained from this cut-up plan, oriented
with the longitudinal axis along the longitudinal axis of
the forging, were machined to a nominal diameter of 12.7
mm and a gage length of 50 mm and were tested as per
the ASTM E8 standard at a strain rate of 10-3 per s. All
tensile tests were performed by loading the test specimens
till fracture. One half portion of the fractured specimens
was examined under a scanning electron microscope.
Nine specimens were prepared for each zone of the forg-
ing; a total of nine specimens were tested.
Similarly, the hardness of the three different zones
was measured using a Vickers microindenter applying a
force of 200 gf. A minimum distance was assured between
the indentations according to ASTM E384 standard. The
microhardness of the forging was measured at ten points,
which were chosen randomly in each above mentioned
zone. They were averaged to be the value of microhard-
ness.
3 Results and discussion
The initial microstructure of the as-received Ti-6Al-
4V profiles, shown in Fig. 8(a), consists of equiaxed α
grains with a size of 15 μm, surrounded by β phase and
secondary α lamellae; the primary α phase constitutes
around the 80% by volume of the whole microstructure.
This microstructure is typical of a hot-rolled Ti-6Al-4V al-
loy which followed the same thermomechanical route of
the unprocessed profile [7; 8]. The α grains seem slightly
elongated along the horizontal axis of the page which co-
incides with the rolling direction. The mean anisotropy
ratio, width over length, of the grain equal to 0.64 confirms
this finding. The forging microstructure is homogeneous
over the various inspected zones and it is quite similar to
that of the base material: equiaxed α grains with a size of
around 15.5 μm, surrounded by β phase and secondary α
lamellae (primary α phase equal to 80% by volume). The
anisotropy ratio did not change significantly during the
HSF process being equal to 0.72.
The results of the tensile tests performed on the three
sets of specimens are reported in Fig. 9 in terms 0.2%
offset yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS)
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
Fig. 5 • The HSF apparatus and the red-hot workpiece during the forging Fig. 6 • Sectioning scheme of the forging to obtain the surfaces for
(its ends protruding out from the die fixture are visible). metallographic observations.

and elongation at break (EL). These data provide a clear Fig. 7 • a) The
indication of the plastic behaviour of the processed ma- three zones of the
terial in the three inspected zones, tension tests are indeed forging from
which the speci-
used to measure the effect of plastic deformation on
mens for tensile
strength. Although the micrographic analysis did not show
testing were ex-
any microstructural difference among the three zones of tracted, b) a ten-
the forging, it is clear from Fig. 9 that their tensile proper- sile test specimen
ties are different. In particular, there is a sensible decay of Fig. 8 • SEM
(measures in mm).
micrographs of
the YS and UTS going from the most external zone – name-
a) base material,
ly zone 1, the one which undergoes the most severe bend-
b) hot stretch
ing – to the internal one. Similarly, the EL slightly increases
formed material.
from the exterior to the interior of the forging, i.e. passing
from zone 1 to zone 3. Summarising, zone 3 demonstrated
to be the most ductile among the three inspected zones,
while zone 1 shows the lower plasticity.
Considering that the YS and UTS of the base material are
794 MPa and 927 MPa respectively, it is evident that the
processed material experienced a strain hardening during
the forging process. Zone 1 is the one which was most se-
verely deformed among the three so that it is also the one
which hardened the more. On the contrary, due to its con-
tact with the die and the resulting friction, zone 3 sustained
the less severe deformation on macroscopic scale. Then,
this zone is the one less strain hardened and the more
ductile among the three examined zones of the forging.
Results of the Vickers hardness tests confirm the pre-
vious findings, see Fig. 10. Zone 1 shows the largest average
hardness followed by zone 2 and zone 3. This effect is
surely due to strain hardening that affects the forging more
severely going from the exterior to the interior, i.e. from
zone 1 to zone 3. Zone 1 underwent the larger strain at location slip. As a result, the dislocation density increases
higher strain rate compared to the other ones. quickly with increasing the plastic strain. The strain hard-
The strain hardening of Ti-6Al-4V in the α + β phase ening coefficient, describing the strain sensitivity of the
region at different strain rates and deformation tempera- flow stress, is the outcome of a trade off between harden-
tures was already observed [9; 10]. The importance of the ing mechanisms depending mostly on strain and softening
strain rate on strain hardening for Ti-6Al-4V below β tran- mechanisms depending on temperature and time [11; 12].
sus is confirmed by the occurrence of a peak flow stress This coefficient changes as the strain rate changes, in par-
during isothermal compression at a very low strain fol- ticular, it decreases as the strain rate decreases due to re-
lowed by extensive flow softening where the softening rate duced deformation rate and increased time available for
is higher at low strains and considerably less at higher recovery (softening) processes during straining. Both of
strains. The dominant deformation mechanism of Ti-6Al- these factors contribute to reduced dislocation density at
4V at low strains, as in the case under study, is due to dis- a given time [13; 14].

Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1 45

SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Fig. 9 • Results of
the tensile tests
for the specimens
taken out of the
three zones of the
forging.
Fig. 10 • Hard-
ness of the three
different zones of
the forging.
In this study, it was found that the flow stress of Ti-
6Al-4V under HSF depends on both the strain and the
strain rate. Specifically, for a constant strain, the flow stress
increases rapidly with increasing strain rate, while for a
constant strain rate, the flow stress increases gradually
with increasing strain. This explains the different strength
of the three monitored zones under the present HSF con-
ditions. Higher strains and strain rates cause the enhance-
ment of the material’s strength in zone 1 due to the higher
rate of strain hardening. By contrast, the milder deforma-
tion conditions, in terms of strains and strain rate, expe-
rienced by zone 2 and 3 results in a lower hardening and
then in a lower mechanical strength of the material ex-
tracted from these zones.
4 Conclusion
A real component for aerospace application processed
through HSF under the β transus temperature was studied.
The transformation generated into the base material by
the HSF process both in terms of microstructure and ten-
sile properties were analysed. Different parts of the work-
piece underwent different strain hardening as function
of their thermo-mechanical story. Specifically, it is shown
that the processed material increases its tensile strength
and decreases its ductility with the increase in sustained
strain and strain rate. These results cast light over the pos-
sible sources of strength variations over the different zones
of a large hot stretch forged part.
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[14] Raghunath, B.K, R. Karthikeyan, and M. Gupta: An Investi-
gation of Hot Deformation Response of Particulate-Rein-
forced Magnesium + 4.5% Titanium Composite. Materials
Research, 2006; 9(2), pp. 217/22.
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SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Optimisation of gas metal arc welding processes
in automation using surrogate models
Applications of the gas metal arc welding (GMAW)
process include large-scale series production, e.g. in
the automotive industry, small-scale production and
individual production, mostly located with small and
medium sized businesses. As the GMAW process is in-
herently complex due to interdependencies of the in-
volved physical and technological degrees of freedom
with the resulting process behaviour and product qual-
ity, welding process expertise has to be provided by a
welding expert to initially set up and optimise the weld-
ing process by identifying suitable technological
process parameters. To support the welding operator
and initiate the identification of said parameters a set
of software tools have been developed to provide weld-
ing expertise in machine accessible form. With this,
initial process parameters can be identified in depend-
ence of the given GMAW application and the specified
weld product quality. The given approach includes the
generation and testing of weld quality and welding
process models.
1 Introduction and motivation
Due to the numerous application possibilities, eco-
nomic efficiency and high degree of adaptility to au-
tomation, gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is the most
widely used welding method in practice. The low invest-
ment costs allow, besides large-scale manufacturing, as
for example in automotive engineering, also the appli-
cation of the GMA welding method in small and medium
enterprises. However, due to the complexity of the phys-
ical connections of the welding process, the high flexi-
bility of the GMA welding method entails high demands
made to the welding qualification of the machine oper-
ator when setting the welding parameters. Here, the op-
erator is nowadays supported by welding equipment
manufacturers who provide welding power source-spe-
cific characteristics which should ensure the stability of
the welding process. Still, the operator must carry out
the application-specific adaptation of the process pa-
rameters in accordance with the required weld joint
quality [1].
This procedure requires welding expert knowledge
from the side of the operators and often a series of time-
and material-consuming test welds until sufficiently good
results are obtained. This must be considered especially
during product change since this procedure exerts con-
siderable influence on the set-up process (offline opera-
tion). Even with optimally set process parameters, devia-
tions in the joint region of the part may occur during the
welding process. These are partly caused by distortion
due to the thermal influence of the welding process which
requires the adaptation of the process parameters, even
during the running process (online operation).
48
THE AUTHORS
Professor Dr.-Ing. Uwe Reisgen is the head
of the ISF – Welding and Joining Institute of the
RWTH Aachen University in Aachen/Germany.
Dipl.-Ing. Konrad Willms Konrad Willms is the
head of the Automation in Welding research
group at the ISF – Welding and Joining Institute of
the RWTH Aachen University in Aachen/Germany.
Dipl.-Ing. Guido Buchholz Guido Buchholz is a
research associate in the Automation in Welding
research group at the ISF – Welding and Joining
Institute of the RWTH Aachen University in
Aachen/Germany.
Chika Koyama, B.Sc. studied applied mathemat-
ics and computer science at the FH Aachen (Uni-
versity of Applied Sciences) and is a software De-
veloper at the ISF – Welding and Joining Institute,
RWTH Aachen University in Aachen/Germany.
Dipl.-Inf. Daniel Herfert studied computer
science at the Humboldt University Berlin/Ger-
many and is Head of the Working Group Adaptive
Modelling and Pattern Recognition within the
GFaI e.V (Society for the Advancement of Applied
Computer Science) in Berlin.
KEYWORDS
GMAW, surrogate modelling, weld geometry, model
evaluation
For production planning, these unknown factors mean
uncertainties regarding product tolerances which will
propagate over the entire production chain. Moreover,
the current skills shortage and changing production
boundary conditions further complicate competitiveness,
especially that of small and medium enterprises. However,
to meet the ever increasing requirements of an adaptable
production, it is necessary to support the operator in the
selection and optimisation of the welding parameters in
automated GMA welding and to provide the operator with
suitable tools.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

Against this background, a software-based tool is in-
troduced which provides welding expert knowledge in
machine-readable form by means of exploring quality
models. This tool allows to provide the machine operator
with optimal process parameters for manual and partic-
ularly for automated GMA welding for the varying appli-
cations and in accordance with the quality requirements
for the weld joint. By the application of this tool, the op-
erator does, on the one hand, not need detailed knowledge
of welding and, on the other hand, time expenditure for
the determination of optimal welding parameters is con-
siderably reduced.
2 Methodical solution approach
For the development and the implementation of this
parameter optimisation tool, quality models in connection
with optimisation methods were used within the frame-
work of the research project. Quality modelling can be
carried out by means of surrogate models and requires a
suitable data base. This data base is best generated via
design of experiments and it should cover the entire valid
parameter space. As a result from the welding tests, the
resulting weld joint quality after variation of the setting
parameters is determined and used for surrogate model-
ling. The surrogate model allows thus, via the setting vari-
ables, a reliable description of the resulting weld joint
quality under the given process boundary conditions. Al-
though the surrogate model allows for the description of
the effects of the setting parameters on the weld joint
quality, in practical applications, however, things should
be done the other way round. A possible solution of this
problem is the inverse use of the surrogate model by
means of iterative numerical optimisation methods which
have been tested and realised in this work.
Fig. 1 depicts the obtained optimisation concept. From
the existing methods and processes, suitable optimisation
methods for GMA welding were selected, depending on
the task (offline, online operation) [2...5]. The search space
regarding setting parameter range and corresponding
geometry was defined by surrogate models of the welding
process. A significant module of the concept includes the
evaluation and decision algorithms which evaluate the
optimisation results with regard to the weld quality with
reference to the required criteria of the weld joint quality.
These algorithms decide, further, whether the result of
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
Fig. 1 • Optimisation
concept via inverse use
of surrogate models.
the optimisation is accurate enough and whether it can
also be implemented in the process.
Development and implementation of the optimisation
concept was, by way of example, carried out for the thin
sheet range since here already small deviations from the
process boundary conditions may have a significant in-
fluence on the welding results. The overlap joint has been
chosen here as welding joint. The material was mild steel
of S235JR quality according to DIN EN ISO 10027 with a
plate thickness of 3 mm, the welding process was a pulsed
gas metal arc welding process with voltage driven pulse
phase and current driven base phase.
3 Modelling
The pre-condition for a model-based weld parameter
optimisation is the existence of models for the process-
product causality which allow, depending on the setting
parameters and the disturbance variables, imaging on the
weld joint quality. For the creation of quality models, sur-
rogate modelling offers excellent possibilities. Under the
term of surrogate modelling, the methods and processes
can be summarised which allow for the description and
linking of input and output data. Figure 2 depicts the pro-
cedure with the individual steps for surrogate modelling.
The first actions include the selection of parameters
and the determination of the parameter space. The next
group of activities comprises the generation of the test
plan and the generation of the data which are required
Fig. 2 • Procedure of modelling.
49
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Fig. 3 • Criteria
for the character- for modelling. The pre-condition for surrogate modelling
isation of the is always the creation of a data base which allows for good
weld joints (left), interpolation and/or approximation.
sub-areas for the The quality of a surrogate model is significantly de-
calculation of
pendent on the density, i.e. the number of valid experi-
fsheet2 (right).
ments, and the distribution of the data. While the number
of the data points is mostly limited by boundary conditions
during data collection with real experiments by time and
material expenditure, the distribution of the data points
in the parameter space can be optimised via methods of
design of experiments. As a method for the calculation of
the distribution of the data points within the parameter
space, the Latinized Centroidal Voronoi Tesselation Meth-
ode (LCVT) has proven successful for the authors’ work
in the ISF Aachen [6]. After the data generation, the input
variables are mathematically linked with the respective
output variables. Different application programs can be
used for this [7...9].
Within the scope of this work, the statistic software
“GNU R“ was used for modelling [10]. Unfortunately, it
is not possible to make reliable statements in advance
about the basic mathematical approaches which are to
be used or about the number of required data points so
that the evaluation of the model quality is indispensable
for the effective use of a model [11]. The criteria which
must be fulfilled by a valid model must be defined in ad-
Fig. 4 • Example of
a valid model, top
left: z set and as-
sumed model, top
right: Adaptation,
bottom: Histogram
of the residuals.
50
vance, depending on the intended application field of
the model.
For the generation of the test plan and the data base,
the welding parameters wire feed speed, pulse frequency,
pulse voltage, welding speed and the distance of the weld-
ing torch position to the vertical edge of the weld joint
were varied for the overlap joint. As additional variable,
the joint gap as possible disturbance variable for auto-
mated welding was considered. To cover a wider range of
geometries, the ratio between deposition rate, i.e. wire
feed speed, and the welding speed has not been set at a
fixed value.
For the analysis of the weld joints, four macro-sections
each were produced. The characteristics which define a
given weld geometry are, at the same time, the variables
which are later the target values for optimisation. It is there-
fore notable that they are meaningful, quantifiable and re-
dundance-free. To this end, first the DIN EN ISO 6520-1
was referred to which lists geometrical irregularities of
welded seams in GMA welding [12]. Although general ref-
erences could be extracted from this standard, it does not
explicitly deal with gas metal arc welding on lap joints
which applies also to the related DIN EN ISO 5817 [13].
Therefore, in accordance with the standard, own char-
acteristics were defined which are depicted in Figure 3 as
macro-sections. Here, the area which is framed in green
corresponds with the total molten region of the weld joint.
The weld depth corresponds with the maximum melting
in the lower plate where the weld width specifies the max-
imum melting in the root of the welded joint. For specify-
ing the fusion of the joint to the upper plate, the part of
the molten upper plate of the total area (white) has been
determined which is calculated as follows.
First, the total area ftotal is divided by the red-dashed
auxiliary lines into the areas fwire part1, fsheet1 and frest. The
area fsheet1 develops by melting of the lower plate and the
area fwire part1, if applicable, stems from the molten filler
material. The total fwire of the wire at the area ftotal can be
calculated accordingly by calculating the area of the
molten wire fwire:
fwire = 0,25*π*vD*d2 / vS
Here, vD is the wire feed speed, vS is the welding speed
and the wire diameter is 1mm.
It holds that fwire part2 = fwire – fwire part1,
and thus fsheet2 = frest – fwire part2
The variables which are used for the characterisation of
the welded joint are, at the same time, the properties
which will be referred to later for evaluating the optimi-
sation results.
The data which were gained from the measured mi-
crographs were subsequently summarised in a data base.
Altogether, there are 225 data sets from 135 welds for mod-
elling. From the data, linear modelling based on expert
knowledge and analyses of model quality were used for
the iterative modelling which, depending on the welding
parameters, describe the weld quality mathematically ac-
cessible.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
4 Model quality evaluation
There are numerous possibilities for the evaluation of
linear regression models. However, it showed that the
consideration of different model quality criteria resulted
in strongly differing quality of the models. For the evalu-
ation of linear regression models, numerous evaluation
possibilities can be referred to, for example the coefficient
of determination R² which, based on the variance decom-
position, determines the ratio of model scattering to total
scattering and which is thus a measure for the linear con-
nection of the scattering. Another method is based upon
special statistical tests which are used to examine whether
the residuals of the estimated model errors have a struc-
ture and whether the model seems, therefore, not optimal
or whether the residuals are randomly distributed around
the model.
These evaluation criteria do, unfortunately, not allow
a statement whether the model which was created with
the existing data is more or less valid, compared with the
other models. In order to ensure the evaluation of the
model quality which is as unique as possible, the com-
parative principle of Bootstrap will be referred to in more
detail in the next chapter. Bootstrap is a resampling
method which is used for estimating the distribution of
the considered test statistic based on a random sample in
order to make a statement about the quality of the present
result. The distribution of the test statistic in classical
Bootstrap is approximated by the empirical distribution
function. The basis for this estimation is the central limit
theorem which specifies that the distribution of a test sta-
tistic which is generated by a large number of random
variables, approximates the normal distribution and is
thus imaging reality and/or the coincidence with sufficient
accuracy. Via Monte Carlo method, new random samples
are generated based on the existing random sample by
sampling with replacement. This procedure is based on
the law of large numbers which states that, under the
same conditions, the relative frequency of a random ex-
periment is approximating the theoretical probability, the
so-called expected value [14, 15].
For creating the evaluation criterion, first of all the al-
gebraic signs of the residuals are considered. It is assumed
that the regression model has not been chosen to be op-
timal with the existing supporting points when the resid-
uals have a structure, i.e., when they are, for example,
positive or negative area by area (Fig. 5) instead of scat-
tering uniformly around 0 (Fig. 4). In Fig. 4, an example
has been created where a data set was created by means
of the function f(χ) = χ + ε with normally distributed ε
and which was adapted with the same function. It can be
seen clearly that the residuals do not have a structure and
are scattering randomly around the model. Fig. 5 depicts
a bad example where the data were, by means of the func-
tion f(χ) = χ + ε also created with normally distributed ε
and adapted with the function f(χ) = χ. These plots show
clearly that the residuals in the centre region are all nega-
tive and that those in the outer regions are all positive.
For this reason, now for each residual the number of
neighbours is determined where a neighbour is a residual
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
Fig. 5 • Exam-
ple of an invalid
model, top left:
Data set and
assumed model,
top right:
Adaptation,
bottom: His-
togram of the
residuals.
with a distance which must be stipulated beforehand.
When the number of neighbours is at least as high as the
stipulated minimum number, the ratio number of resid-
uals with equal signs to the total number of neighbours is
considered. This variable is called the cluster quotient.
The test statistics for the Bootstrap method is the largest
cluster quotient of a regression model.
In the next step, from all residuals an equal number
of residuals is sampled with replacement and added to
the model values so that an identical number of new sup-
porting points is obtained. By means of these supporting
points, the same term is used for creating a new regression
model which is called the Bootstrap model. For this Boot-
strap model, the test statistics, the largest cluster quotient,
is determined and stored. The steps must be repeated fre-
quently for the generation of many comparison values,
besides the test statistics of the original model. A suitable
number of repetitions is n=1000. From these values, the
empirical p-value is calculated where the quotient “num-
ber of Bootstrap test statistics larger than original test sta-
tistics” to number of Bootstrap test statistics is created. If
the p-value is higher than the previously determined level
of significance (mostly 0,05), the original model is con-
sidered to be valid, in contrast with the randomly created
Bootstrap models since more than 5% of the models have
a higher test statistic than the original model. This is in-
terpreted to mean that the original model has less struc-
ture in the residuals than the comparison model [16].
Fig. 6 depicts the Bootstrap quality evaluation for a
valid and an invalid model. In the following, the applica-
tion for actual process models is specified. As far as the
target criteria were concerned, adaptations were carried
out using the setting parameters and the results from the
test series. The quality of the models was, subsequently,
evaluated by means of the demonstrated Bootstrap
method. Exemplarily, the target criterion “weld width”
is now considered in more detail. The residual distribu-
51
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Fig. 6 • Result of the Boot-
strap method for a valid
model (left) and for an in-
valid model (right).
Fig. 7 • Distribution of the
residuals (left) and of the
largest cluster quotients
(right).
tion of the adapted model of this target criterion is de-
picted in Fig. 7 (left).
The result of the Bootstrap analysis is summarised in
Fig. 7 (right). It represents the absolute frequencies of the
largest cluster quotients of the 1,000 Bootstrap models in
one histogram. The position of the test statistic of the orig-
inal model is marked with a cross. The empirical p-value
is 0.625, this means that 62,5% of the Bootstrap models
have a larger “largest cluster quotient” than the original
model. Therefore, the original adaptation can be evaluated
as valid.
Based on the tested weld parameter combinations
and the resulting characteristics of the welded joints, the
quality models were created by means of surrogate mod-
elling. By way of example, Fig. 8 depicts the connections
of the created models for the quality criterion ‚weld width‘
in the form of 3D diagrams.
5 Optimisation
The created weld process models now offer the possi-
bility to provide, by means of the optimisation concept, au-
tomatically suitable welding parameter settings for the re-
quired weld quality. For the achievement of this concept,
suitable methods for welding process optimisation have
been chosen under consideration of the following criteria.
An important criterion here is the accuracy with which
the optimiser determines the parameters. The deviation
52
of the calculated geometry to the nominal geometry
should be as small as possible with the local quality of
the surrogate model flowing into the evaluation function
in order to select from among different possible parameter
combinations those parameters which bring about a low-
est possible local error of the surrogate model. Another
criterion is the computation time, especially for online
applications. Here, the optimisation process must be ca-
pable to provide adapted welding parameters during the
production process within a certain time frame in the
event of disturbances so that the disturbances can be ab-
sorbed and that no defects occur in the welding result. It
must be ensured that the selection of the parameters is
carried out to the effect that the respective sub-systems
are capable to implement the parameters. It must be fur-
ther ensured that the parameter combinations which are
evaluated for determining the optimal parameter set do
not make the process unstable.
Currently, the solution approach aims at the optimi-
sation of the weld quality. Apart from this, also economical
factors can be considered where a fastest possible or a
given welding speed shall be obtained with the selected
parameters. Any other weighted specifications are also
thinkable. In offline applications the aspect of accuracy
is in the fore while in online applications the criteria time
and accuracy are competing since it is, under the target
time aspect, hardly possible to examine the entire param-
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1

eter space. All other criteria must, of course, be consid-
ered, if possible.
In accordance with the requirements for offline and
online applications, non-linear optimisation methods
were chosen since the transfer of the search space occu-
pancy into the variables for the description of the weld
quality are specified by a non-linear surrogate model per
weld geometry variable. There are two types of optimisa-
tion (mathematical (classical) and heuristic optimisation)
for the solution of non-linear optimisation problems.
While the methods of classical optimisation are recom-
mended for applications with smaller search spaces where
they provide exact results, the heuristic optimisation
methods are particularly suitable for very large search
spaces. In this field, they offer a technique for searching
good, almost optimal solutions of the optimisation prob-
lem within a shortest possible time.
Within the framework of the tests, the methods of
mathematical gradient-based optimisation were used be-
cause the search space was very limited due to the range
of values of the welding parameters and thus accordingly
methods of mathematical optimisation with short com-
puting time were applicable which are to be preferred due
to the better and reliable convergence, compared with
the non-convergent heuristic method. To address the op-
timisation problem, the methods Active Set [17], Sequen-
tial Quadratic Programming (SQP) [18], Trust Region Re-
flective [19] and Interior Point [20] were tested with regard
to the optimisation results.
For these tests, “MATLAB“ was used for developing a
software which can be used for offline and also for online
optimisation. The software offers the possibility of inte-
grating the surrogate models for the specification of the
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
Fig. 8 • Variation of models for quality
criterion ‚weld width’.
weld qualities. Further, the results of the optimisation,
such as the optimised welding parameters for a given weld
quality under consideration of the evaluation parameters
by the operator, are displayed after conclusion of the op-
timisation.
For the validation of the offline optimisation and the
applied gradient-based optimisation algorithms, a com-
prehensive verification by means of real welding tests was
carried out. As a result of the validation, all selected meth-
ods of gradient-based optimisation for offline application
were in good accordance with the error limits which are
required for practical applications. For online applications,
under consideration of the runtime requirements, the use
of the SQP algorithm brought about the best results. With
computing times of less than 1 second still good accor-
dance is possible. Although the results are no longer as
exact as in offline optimisation, they are as far as their ac-
curacy is concerned still within a reasonable range for
carrying out necessary parameter adaptation during the
running welding process. Using the example of the weld
quality criterion “weld width”, Fig. 9 depicts the results of
the validation with the SQP method for the offline and
also for the online application.
6 Summary and conclusion
Within the framework of the aforementioned research
work, a software-based tool was developed which allows
to provide the optimal process parameters for automated
GMA welding in accordance with the quality requirements
made to the weld. To this end, the introduced method of
surrogate modelling of lap joints in the thin sheet range
was used for process modelling which allow for the math-
ematical correlation of welding parameter settings with
Fig. 9 • Comparison
of the data which
have been validated
using the SQP algo-
rithm (left: offline,
right: online).
53
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
the resulting weld quality criteria. Since neither the DIN
EN ISO 6520-1 nor the DIN EN ISO 5817 do explicitly stip-
ulate quality criteria for GMA welding on overlap joints,
useful characteristics were, based on the standard, defined
which had been determined by means of macro-sections.
While creating the quality models, the validity of the
models was analysed by means of evaluation methods.
For the evaluation of linear regression models, numerous
evaluation possibilities are available, such as for example
the coefficient of determination R² or special statistical
tests. Within the framework of these investigations, the
Bootstrap method was used since this method, in contrast
with the others, allows to make a statement whether the
model is good or bad, compared with other models. If
improvement of the model quality is required, this is
achieved either by increase of the data density and/or by
a reduction of the parameters.
With the aid of these models, a solution concept for
the parameter optimisation was developed and imple-
mented by the inverse use of these models by means of
iterative numerical optimisation methods. This shall be
used for the provision of welding parameters before the
process starts, for the setting-up process and also during
the running process for the adaptation to changing process
boundary conditions. To this end, different non-linear
optimisation methods were chosen and validated with
regard to their suitability. For the offline optimisation, all
selected methods brought about good results and were
within the error limits/tolerances which are required for
practical application. Under consideration of the time de-
mands during online optimisation, the SQP algorithm
provided the shortest possible computing time with con-
stant stable results. Although the achieved results of the
validation are, due to the limited computing time, no
longer quite as exact as in offline optimisation, the accu-
racy, however, which is achieved with a computing time
of under one second, lies still within a reasonable range.
The use of this kind of software-based tool supports
the machine operator to that effect that special welding
expert knowledge for parameter optimisation is no longer
required. Time expenditure, moreover, for the determi-
nation of the optimal welding parameters during the set-
ting-up for product changeover is considerable less. The
tool can also be used for quality control during the auto-
mated welding process by means of generating automat-
ically adapted welding parameters which can be used for
adaption, dependent on the sensor-determined deviations
from the process boundary conditions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research work was supported by “Industrielle Gemein-
schaftsforschung IGF/AiF” with the reference number 17765
BG and the German Research Foundation DFG within the frame-
work of the Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Production Tech-
nology for High-Wage Countries”. The authors would like to
express their thanks for the support.
54
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Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
 Laser beam welding on the flange joint of
aluminium components – fluctuating weld
penetration depth when the filler wire is omitted
A filler material must be added to some aluminium al-
loys, particularly the 6xxx group, during the laser weld-
ing process in order to lower the risk of hot cracking as
the melt solidifies. This is usually done by adding a sep-
arately fed wire. This filler wire can be omitted if ap-
propriate coated or multilayer materials, such as Fusion
by Novelis Inc., are used. The subject of the assessment
is fluctuating weld penetration depths at flange joints
(Fig. 1), which arises only in heat conduction welding
without a filler wire. The process window for this phe-
nomenon is defined by the specific welding parameters
used. In deep penetration welding for example, there
is a keyhole because of the higher level of power densi-
ty. This keyhole causes an almost constant welding
depth. High-speed camera images are used with the
aim of contributing to understanding the process so
that the causes of the peaks in penetration depth can
be defined. These spikes in penetration depth are to be
found for example when the joint geometry is insuffi-
ciently wetted, meaning that the welding process can
be actively influenced by the use of a fluxing agent. The
fluxing agent helps the weld pool to wet the joint, so
that spikes no longer occur in the process.
1 Introduction
Outer skin components in the automotive industry
are frequently joined at flange joints using laser beam
technology (Fig. 1). In line with the current state of tech-
nology, such joining of aluminium alloys can require the
aid of a filler wire that adds alloy elements to the melt and
therefore reduces the risk of hot crack formation (Fig. 1,
detail, Fig. 2, left). Contrary to the standard (DIN EN ISO
17659), the flange joint is not welded on the radiused side
of the joint (Fig. 1, right) but from the opposite side. The
welding using the ALO3 optics from Scansonic, with filler
KEYWORDS
laser beam technology, aluminium alloys, flange joints
THE AUTHOR
Dirk Steffens (M. Sc.) obtained a B. Eng. degree in Automotive Engineer-
ing from the University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund/Germany in 2012
and a M. Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Paderborn/Germany in 2014. Since July 2014 he has been Cand. Dr.-Ing. in
Mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig/Ger-
many while he has been working focused on laser welding at Daimler AG,
TECFabrik – materials and production technology in Sindelfingen/Germany.
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
wire, is executed as the current standard process (Fig. 2,
left).
However, such tactile processes also involve several
disadvantages. The welding speeds are, for example, rel-
atively slow. Furthermore, the wire continuously causes
wear and therefore faults and additional expenditure.
With the use of the multilayer materials, e.g. Fusion
(Fig. 3), it is not necessary to bring in an additional filler
wire, because the alloying elements required for the pre-
vention of hot cracks are incorporated in the form of the
silicon present, by mixing of the AlSi10 clad layer into the
weld seam.
Consequently, joints in Fusion material in this context
can be welded in a remote process by a scanner optics,
such as the PFO 3D from Trumpf (Fig. 2, right). Unlike
with the standard process, the energy input does not main-
ly enter the component via the melting of the filler wire
(Fig. 2, left). Welding using the Fusion material enables
direct incidence of the beam into the joint with a mini-
mum of reflections, as the wire is omitted (Fig. 2, right).
This fundamental difference means that the original joint
geometry of the flange joint then has a considerable in-
fluence on the welding process. A distinction must be
made here between heat conduction welding and deep
penetration welding, however, as explained in further de-
tail below.
2 Heat conduction welding and deep
penetration welding
Laser beam welding can be categorised as either heat
conduction welding or deep penetration welding, depend-
ing on the intensity I of the beam (I = PL/AF) applied to
the workpiece. In literature, a threshold value of 106 W/cm2
is often used as the limit for this quotient of the laser
power (PL) and laser beam area (AF) [2-4, 22, 23].
This value is invalid for the assessment in this work,
due to the current configuration of the flange joint. The
joint geometry facilitates the energy input into the com-
ponent, meaning that the threshold value is reduced, and
a deep penetration weld can be implemented at an in-
tensity of I ≤ 106 W/cm2 (e.g.: I = 2,500 W/(π * 0.032 cm2 =
8.8 * 105 W/cm2).
As the name heat conduction welding suggests (Fig.
4, left), the laser beam’s energy absorbed by the surface
of the workpiece in this second laser beam welding mode
only penetrates through the workpiece by means of con-
ducted heat. There are numerous back reflections from
flat component surfaces that result in energy losses in this
process. Thus the efficiency, and accordingly the weld
penetration depth for heat conduction welding, is usually
low [4, 23, 24].
55
SPECIALIST ARTICLES

Fig. 1 • Trunk lid with a flange joint (left) and the definition of Fig. 2 • Weld on the flange joint made with ALO3 bifocal (left) and PFO 3D (right).
a flange joint to ISO 17659 (right).

With deep penetration welding on the other hand, the

higher power intensity used leads to material evaporating,
resulting in a vapour capillary forming (known as a key-
hole). The presence of the vapour capillary can be identi-
fied during welding as a plume or (if ionised) plasma
emission exiting the top of the keyhole (Fig. 4, right). The
keyhole itself allows the laser beam to penetrate deeply
into the component through the multiple reflections that
take place inside the keyhole, as energy is absorbed at the
capillary wall. The amount of energy lost is significantly
reduced compared to heat conduction welding, and the Fig. 3 • Structure of the multilayer material Fusion.
efficiency and weld penetration depth is therefore signif-
icantly increased [2, 3, 22...24].
Fig. 5 compares longitudinal sections of welds made
using heat conduction welding and deep penetration
welding, for square butt joints between flat plates and
flange joints, to better illustrate the subject. The square
butt welds (Fig. 5, top left and top right) have a uniform
penetration depth. As described above, penetration depth
increases when transitioning from heat conduction weld-
ing (left) to deep penetration welding (right).
Fig. 4 • The principles of heat conduction welding (left) and deep penetration welding
However, there is a sharply fluctuating penetration
(right).
depth on the heat conduction welded flange joint (Fig. 5
bottom left, here: longitudinal fracture pattern, with white
border). The comparison to the square butt weld made
with the otherwise identical set of parameters (Fig. 5 top
left) suggests that this difference in the uniformity of pen-
etration is due to the joint geometry. Conversely, when
deep penetration welding the flange joint, an almost con-
stant welding depth occurs again (Fig. 5 bottom right,
much like the case for the corresponding square butt weld
(Fig. 5 top right). Generally, there could be two reasons
for these differences. On the one hand, the volume of
molten material, which can completely fill the flange joint,
increases, due to the greater efficiency of deep penetration
welding. On the other hand, the vapour capillary that
forms in the flange joint during deep penetration welding
means that the original joint present does not influence
this type of welding as strongly.
This article focuses exclusively on the analysis of the
effect of the greatly differing penetration depths that occur
during heat conduction welding of the flange joint. The Fig. 5 • Comparison of longitudinal sections made in heat conduction welding (left)
base material for all assessments is a common 6xxx alloy, and deep penetration welding modes (right), on plane sheets (top) and in flange joints
AlMg0.5Si0.6. If the filler wire is omitted, a multilayer mate- (bottom).

56 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1


Fig. 6 • Model concept for flange joint wetting.
Fig. 7 • Cross-sections and fracture patterns of the penetration depth fluctuations.
Fig. 8 • Test set-
up for the high-
speed camera
images.
rial must be used to guard against heat crack sensitivity,
as noted above. In this work however, a monolithic mate-
rial has been used deliberately, to exclude any influences
of the complexities of a multi-material (e.g. on surface
tension, σ).
3 Model concept
While deep penetration welding is highly dynamic
and the melt flow behaviour can mainly be ascribed to
the flow of the vapour capillary, the flow field for heat
conduction welding is dominated by the Marangoni effect.
This describes the melt pool movement which results
from the inhomogeneous temperature distribution on the
solid and molten material surface. The resulting shear
stresses are determined by the temperature-dependent
and substance-dependent surface tension σ, which is thus
a decisive factor in the process [5, 24].
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
The above applies to partial penetration welding of a
flat plate. In addition, the flange joint itself influences the
melt flow behaviour, through the radii present and any
joint gap. Upon closer consideration of the flow behav-
iours, Bachhofer’s analyses [13] are used. These may be
related to deep penetration welding, but geometrically
the fillet welds analysed are very similar to the flange joint
examined in this work.
The fluctuating penetration depth then arises only in
heat conduction welding as a result of an insufficient wet-
ting of the joint root. This will be proofed hereinafter. For
the sake of simplification, the Young equation is used from
this assumption to characterise the surface tension, σ (Fig.
6). It examines the surface tensions of the plate or the
substrate σs (Al (s), solid aluminium) and the melt σl (Al
(l), liquid aluminium) and the interfacial tension γs/l, in
relation to one another under the wetting contact angle
α: Thus σs = γs/l + σl * cos α (Fig. 6, centre). [11, 12, 17,
25...27].
The contact angle α is the measure of wettability –
the smaller α is, the better the wetting. Conversely, the
wetting can be positively influenced by increasing σs or
reducing σl. The interfacial tension γs/l is deliberately
shown in brackets – it only applies to the later tests with a
fluxing agent. Otherwise it is assumed that there is no
wetting. The detailed view in Fig. 7 suggests this, given
the cross-section of the weld without flux, when between
two penetration depth peaks. The solidified joint (red ar-
row) is located above the deepest molten point of the plate
edge (black arrow), although the weight of the melt tries
to counteract this (i.e. tries to sag the bottom of the molten
weld down). The absence of any wetting can be further
proven with the results from “sessile drop” tests of pure
aluminium on various aluminium oxides [18, 19]. Accord-
ing to these results, wetting only starts from a temperature
of 1,150°C. This is well above the melting temperature of
the aluminium alloys of the used sheets (approximately
650°C) and thus, well above their brazing temperatures
as well [25-27].
The image in the middle (Fig. 7, third from left) shows
a cross section through a spike in penetration. The effect
which causes the formation of the spikes is analysed be-
low.
4 High-speed camera images
High speed camera images are used to improve the
understanding of the process and identify the phenome-
non of penetration spiking. The test set-up used is shown
in Fig. 8. The welding optics remain fixed, and the sample
is moved in the X direction on a slide. The camera is po-
sitioned at an angle of approx. 25° off of the Z axis so that
the image includes the welding area as well as the joint
prior to and after welding.
The frame rate is 22,500 images/s, meaning an image
is taken every 44 µs. At a weld speed of 4 m/min, a distance
of 3 µm is therefore covered per image. The measurements
in the associated fracture pattern of the welded sample
(Fig. 10, start of welding) are used for correlation purpos-
es.
57
SPECIALIST ARTICLES

5 Analysis of the formation of penetration

depth peaks
The high-speed camera images shown were taken
from an experiment using a laser power of 1.75 kW and
with a welding optics tilt of 7° (drag). The weld start (from
frame no. 82 onwards) is shown in Fig. 9.
At the beginning of welding, both sheet edges are
evenly melted (frame 82), meaning that a combined
molten bath arises shortly afterwards (from frame 84 on- Fig. 9 • Camera images of the weld start.
wards). However, the molten bath depth does not sink,
but instead rises in the joint (see corresponding red ar-
rows in the fracture pattern, Fig. 10). The causes of this
can be high surface tension of the melt σl and/or low
surface tension of the sheet edges σs (see model in Fig.
6, left). Both effects counteract extensive wetting of the
joint root.
As mentioned previously, the influence of wetting
effects is greater in heat conduction welding than in deep
penetration. This forms the basis for the emergence of
penetration depth peaks, which start to form (Fig. 10,
red lines) with a uniform periodicity (as shown previ-
ously in Fig. 7, right: fracture pattern along the weld).
Fig. 11 shows an example of one such cycle (as shown Fig. 10 • Fracture pattern of the weld start (welding direction from right to left).
in the fracture pattern in Fig. 10, corresponding to frames
505-740). The red line (1) in frame 505 marks the location Fig. 11 • Camera
of the laser beam on the melt, which is constant in all of images of a beam
the images shown in Fig. 11. The white line (2) depicts immersion cycle.
the front edge of the melt. However, this edge retreats
during welding (see frames 505-614) due to the surface
tension of the melt σl (model in Fig. 6, right).
The melt tries to assume the most energetically
favourable form and thus assumes a spherical shape [11,
12]. This compares with a vapour capillary that would
extend away from the forward welding direction, in deep
penetration welding [14].
The backwards movement of the melt front is further
supported by the joint geometry which is opening up-
wards in Z, albeit the melt spreads out further sideways
in Y than through the depth of the joint. Through super-
position of the effects mentioned, part of the laser beam
ends up impinging on a point beyond the melt front, ment of the melt front (2) is illustrated again in frames
thus entering directly into the joint root. 632 to 740 in Fig. 11.
The converging plate edges are proportionally melted
on both sides by this newly incident radiation, meaning 6 Influence of welding parameters
that further melt (3, in Fig. 11) starts to form from below The dependencies of this process on its various influ-
(4, in Fig. 11) and then join the main melt. encing factors are more tightly delimited using specific
The fracture pattern in Fig. 10 suggests that only part variations in welding parameters. Fig. 12 highlights the
of the beam penetrates into the joint. The beam diameter influence of welding speed on the number, n, of penetra-
of 0.6 mm (at focus) is greater than the width of the tion depth peaks. With a constant power of 1.75 kW and a
molten penetration depth peak (at 0.15 mm) in the X di- constant beam drag angle 7°, the welding speed is in-
rection at its lowest Z position. creased from 2 to 8 m/min. The number of penetration
Image 627 clearly shows this rising melt from the depth peaks is then determined over an analysis length
penetration depth peak combining with the melt front of 5 mm.
above and behind it. 800 µs pass between the first de- It is clearly evident that n decreases as speed increases
tection of the beginning of the melting process from the (green line of fit shown in Fig. 11). Nevertheless, the de-
joint root (frame 609) and the joining of the two melts cline is not linear. For example, at 2 m/min there were 17
(frame 630), which is shown in the images by the slight, peaks over 5 mm; when the weld speed was doubled to
local shaking of the weld pool. 4 m/min, there were 10.5 peaks over this length and not,
This process then starts again: the backwards move- as expected, half the number (i.e. n did not equal 9.5).

58 Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1


Fig. 12 • Influ-
The behaviour shown follows an exponential function,
ence of welding
meaning that the frequency, f, of the penetration depth
speed on the pen-
peaks is not constant with increasing speed, but instead
etration depth
peaks. also increases (blue line of fit shown). Examples are shown
in fracture patterns in Fig. 13.
Fig. 13 • Fracture In this consideration, it must also be taken into ac-
patterns of the count that the respective resulting line energy = P / V and,
penetration depth equivalently, the molten volume, decrease at greater
peaks as a func- speeds. The influence of melt volume is illustrated in Fig.
tion of the weld 14, by varying the beam power for constant welding
speed.
speeds and a constant beam drag angle.
The volume of the melt increases accordingly with a
greater power, P; however, the number n of penetration
depth peaks decreases almost linearly, at all welding
speeds. This suggests that the beam therefore struggles
to enter into the joint, as an enlarged melt volume fills
out the joint more.
A comprehensive comparison of two parameters with
almost identical line energy (P/V = 1.35 kW/(3 m/min) =
27 kJ/M ≈ 1.75 kW/(4 m/min) = 26.25 kJ/m) suggests that
welding speed has a greater influence on the penetration
depth peak formation. For example, over a weld length of
5 mm, more penetration depth peaks formed at 3 m/min
(n = 13.5) than at 4 m/min (n = 10.5).
Welding and Cutting 17 (2018) No. 1
7 Welding with Nocolok flux agent
In order to further prove the arguments advanced
from the analysis of the high-speed camera images, the
wetting behaviour was positively influenced during the
welding process by applying Nocolok 028-55 flux agent
to the plates prior to welding. As this process is closely re-
lated to the brazing process, a flux agent may be suitable
providing better wettability of the joint root for the melt.
In this context, the condition of the sheet surface is
also very important because changes (e.g. oxide layers)
have a very significant impact on surface tension. Meas-
uring the wetting angle of water (at room temperature)
on various aluminium surfaces illustrates this: with a
smooth surface, the wetting angle is α = 63° (± 5°). If,
however, the oxide layer is removed beforehand using a
pickling treatment (e.g. with NaOH), the value for the wet-
ting angle can be significantly reduced to α = 31° (± 5°)
and the surface tension of the plate σs significantly in-
creased [15, 16].
The use of a flux agent is particularly suitable for heat
conduction welding: the oxide layer on the sheets is re-
moved through chemical reduction with the flux, meaning
that a diffusive exchange of atoms can then take place be-
tween the melt and its underlying plate surfaces [6, 7].
Nocolok 028-55 is applied as a paste and, in accor-
dance with DIN EN 1045, is classified in the FL20 flux
agent group, with a working temperature range >570°C.
The constituents are non-hygroscopic fluorides, meaning
that the residues are not generally corrosive. [6]. They are
well suited because, at 0.5%, the Mg content of the alloy
used is below the recommended maximum of 0.9%. How-
ever, traditionally used hard solders contain a larger pro-
portion of silicon at 7% and 13% than the 0.6% of the plate
material.
For direct comparability, the sample treated with No-
colok is welded using an identical parameter set to that
of the preliminary test (4 m/min, 1.75 kW, 7° drag). The
resulting cross-section and longitudinal fracture patterns
from the welding process are shown in Fig. 15.
The detailed view of the cross-section (Fig. 15, left)
shows that the melt can better wet the joint root with the
flux agent. It penetrates deeper into the gap between the
plates (red arrows in Fig. 15, left, c.f. Fig. 7, detail). The
area marked with black arrows in Fig. 15, left, is not wetted,
meaning it can be assumed that the local temperatures
here no longer reached the value required to activate the
flux over this region. The corresponding fracture pattern
along the weld (Fig. 15, right) has a very consistent pene-
tration depth, without spikes in penetration depth. By im-
plication, it can thus again be stated that the cause of the
original phenomenon of penetration depth peaks is in-
sufficient wetting. In this respect, the high-speed camera
images from the flux experiment (Fig. 16) do not now
highlight any abnormalities.
The joint root is immediately wetted by the melt, due
to the increased surface tension . The melt front (2, in Fig.
16) remains in a constant position and locally fills out
sideways across the joint, above the non-wetted part
(black arrows in the cross-section, Fig. 15). The laser beam
59
SPECIALIST ARTICLES

does not now enter in to the joint Fig. 14 • Influ-

ahead of the melt front, resulting in a ence of the laser
very consistently penetrating weld. power on the
penetration depth
In addition, in this process it is
peaks.
important to note that improved wet-
ting also causes a change to the melt
flow conditions. The high-speed im-
ages reveal that the melt pool mo-
tions are less dynamic.

8 Discussion and outlook

The omission of filler wire when
laser beam welding a flange joint on
aluminium components can lead to
a fluctuating penetration depth when
heat conduction welding.
High-speed camera image analy-
sis has helped to indicate that this
phenomenon is due to a lack of wet-
ting of the joint root and an associat-
ed increase of the melt level in the Z
direction. As the joint geometry then
widened at this point, melt surface
tension acted against the welding di-
rection and pulled the melt front
backwards, so that part of the laser
beam could then enter into the joint
beyond the front of this now receded
melt. Penetration depth peaks then
occured due to the entry of the beam
into the joint root.
The behaviour described de-
pends on the laser power used, but
even more so on the welding speed.
As the speed is increased or the pow-
er reduced, the number of penetration depth peaks in-
creased.
The wetting problem is intuitively described by an ac-
tual model concept. The complementary application of a
flux agent actively improved the wetting properties of the
joint root and prevented the deeper entry of the laser
beam into the joint, by maintaining a constant melt front.
Unlike in the tests without a flux agent, the penetration
depth then remained very consistent.
The surface tension of the parent materials, σs, can also
be changed using various other methods, e.g. mechanical
pre-treatments of the material surface.
Influencing the surface tension of the melt, σl, is also
possible, e.g. using a different alloy composition. For ex-
ample, σl can be reduced by using a higher magnesium
content (with 2-5 wt%) [13]. It must, however, be noted
that the sheet material itself must then be changed, as the
melt originates from it. The desired improved wetting ef-
fects could also be affected by other influences, e.g. a mod-
ified weld pool dynamic, as a result of the higher magne-
sium content.
This article has focused on surface tension. However,
other issues regarding other influencing factors remain
open and need to be analysed further to gain a fuller un-
Fig. 15 • Cross-
section and frac-
ture pattern of
welding with the
flux agent.
Fig. 16 • Camera
images of welding
with flux agent.
derstanding of the process. The weld penetration peaks
themselves do not impact negatively on the functionality
of the joint. The additional connection width into the joint
tends in fact to increase the joint strength. Possible appli-
cations of more consistently penetrating heat conduction
welding would, however, be in high precision aluminium
parts which have a flange joint which must be welded at
very low power.
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Welding and Cutting – editorial preview

Issue 2 (March/April) Issue 3 (June/July)
□ Examples of application in welding and cutting technology □ Automation using robots and sensors for joining and cutting
□ Thermal spraying: materials and applications □ Adhesive bonding of metallic and non-metallic materials
□ ITSC 2018 – International Thermal Spray Conference

Closing date for editiorial contributions: 12 March 2018 Closing date for editiorial contributions: 14 May 2018
Closing date for advertisements: 22 March 2018 Closing date for advertisements: 22 May 2018

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