IPE 141

Industrial & Production Engineering

Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet
 Comprehensive lecture notes on Manufacturing Processes I

Lecture 25 Joining Processes

Soldering

25.1 Introduction
Solder is an alloy (a homogeneous mixture of metals) of tin (Sn) and lead
(Pb), typically 60% tin and 40% lead. It melts at a temperature of about
200°C. Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined
together by melting and then flowing a filler metal into the joint. Usually,
soldering is used to form a permanent connection between electronic
components. The metal to be soldered is heated with a soldering iron, and
then solder is melted into the connection. Therefore, solder is a metallic
‘glue’ that holds the parts together and forms a connection that allows
electrical current to flow. However, coating a surface with solder is called
'tinning' because of the tin content of solder. The best size of the solder for
electronics is 22 swg (SWG = standard wire gauge). Lead is poisonous and
always wash hands after using solder.

25.2 Description
Soldering is the process of making a sound electrical and mechanical joint
between certain metals by joining them with soft solder. This is a low-
temperature melting point alloy of lead and tin. The joint is heated to the
correct temperature by soldering iron. Solder for electronics use contains
tiny cores of flux, a chemical cleaning, flowing, and purifying agent, in the

IPE 141 pg. 241

form of wires inside a mains flex. The flux is corrosive, like an acid.
Common fluxes are: ammonium chloride or rosin for soldering copper and
tin; hydrochloric acid and zinc chloride for soldering galvanized iron (and
other zinc surfaces). Flux cleans the metal surfaces as the solder melts. This
is why melt the solder actually on the joint, not on the iron tip. Without flux,
most joints would fail because metals quickly oxidize, and the solder itself
will not flow properly onto a dirty, oxidized, metal surface.

25.3 Solder Types

There are many different types of solders being used by industry. Solders are
available in various forms that include:

• bars,
• wires,
• ingots, and
• powders.
Wire solders are available with or without a flux core. Because of the many
types of solder available, this section only covers the solders most commonly
used by steelworkers. There are two broad categories of solders:
1. Lead-based solder, mostly used in the industry, and
2. Lead-free solder, a solder without lead, recommended to the works
because of the health hazards of lead.
The industrial solders are:

• Tin-lead solder: The largest portion of all solders in use is solders of

the tin-lead alloy group. It is the custom of the industry to state the tin
content first; for example, a 40/60 solder means to have 40% tin and

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60% lead. They have good corrosion resistance and can be used for
joining most metals. Their compatibility with soldering processes,
cleaning, and most types of flux are excellent. But, tin-lead alloy
melting characteristics depend upon the ratio of tin to lead. The higher
the tin content, the lower the melting temperature.

• Tin-antimony-lead solder: Antimony is added to a tin-lead solder as a

substitute for some of the tin. The antimony, up to 6%, increases the
strength and mechanical properties of the solder. However, solders
having a high antimony content should not be used on aluminum, zinc,
or zinc-coated materials.

• Tin-zinc solder: Several tin-zinc solders have come into use for the
joining of aluminum alloys. The 91/9 and 60/40 tin-zinc solders are for
higher temperature ranges (above 300°F), and the 80/20 and 70/30 tin-
zinc alloys are normally used as precoating solders.

• Lead-silver solder: Lead-silver solders are useful where strength at

moderately high temperatures is required. The reason for lead by itself
cannot be used is that it does not normally wet steel, cast iron, or copper
and its alloys. Adding silver to lead results in alloys that more readily
wet steel and copper.

• Tin-antimony solder: Tin-antimony solders are used for refrigeration

work or for joining copper to cast-iron joints. The most common one is
the 95/5 solder.
• Tin-silver solder: Tin-silver solder (96/4) is used for food or beverage
containers that must be cadmium and lead-free. It also can be used as a
replacement for tin-antimony solder (95/5) for refrigeration work.

IPE 141 pg. 243

25.4 Soldering Technique
Good soldering is a skill that is learned by practice. The most important point
in soldering is that both parts of the joint to be made must be at the same
temperature. When the solder flows evenly, and at a sufficient high
temperature, it makes a good electrical and mechanical joint. The two
soldering methods most often used are:

• soldering with coppers, or

• torch soldering.
Soldering iron is a hand tool that comes with various ratings from 15W to
over 100W. The advantage of a high wattage iron is that heat can flow
quickly into a joint, so that it can be rapidly made. This is important when
soldering connectors as often there is quite a large volume of metal to be
heated. A smaller iron would take a longer time to heat the joint to the correct
temperature, during which time there is a danger of the insulation becoming
damaged. A small iron that plugs into a standard 120v AC outlet and heats

Fig. 25.1 Soldering irons: (a) electrical solder, and (b) non-electric solder.

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up in order to melt solder around small electrical components. Fig. 25.1

illustrates the two common types of soldering irons.
The solders consist of a handle onto which is mounted the heating element.
At the end of most soldering irons is an interchangeable part known as a
soldering tip. There are many variations of this tip, and they come in a wide
variety of shapes and sizes. Each tip is used for a specific purpose and offers
a distinct advantage over another. The most common tips are: conical
tip, used in precision electronics soldering, and the chisel tip, is well-suited
to soldering wires or other larger components because of its broad flat tip.
Solder melts at around 1900C, and the bit reaches a temperature of over
2500C. This temperature is plenty hot enough to inflict a nasty burn, and care
should be taken. It is prudent, therefore, to use a specially designed soldering
iron stand and a sponge for keeping the bit clean.
Always use a good quality multicore solder. A standard 60-40 Sn-Pb solder
with cores of non-corrosive flux is found easiest to use. The flux contained
in the longitudinal cores of a multicore solder is a chemical designed to clean
the surfaces to be joined of deposited oxides, and to exclude air during the
soldering process, which would otherwise prevent these metals coming
together. The two common are:

• 18 swg, used for general work, and

• 22 swg, used for fine work on printed circuit boards.

A soldering station is a more advanced version of the basic standalone
soldering pen. The main benefit of a soldering station is the ability to
precisely adjust the temperature of the soldering iron, which is great for a
range of projects. These stations can also create a safer workspace as some

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include advanced temperature sensors, alert settings, and even password
protection for safety.
The considerations that apply to these methods of soldering are as follows:
(a) Clean all surfaces of oxides, dirt, grease, and other foreign
matter.
(b) Use the proper flux for a particular job.
Some work requires the use of corrosive fluxes, while other work requires
the use of non-corrosive fluxes. Remember, the melting point of the flux
must be below the melting point of the solder being used.
(c) Heat the surfaces just enough to melt the solder.
Solder does not stick to unheated surfaces; however, should be very careful
not to overheat the solder, the soldering coppers, or the surfaces to be joined.
Heating solder above the working temperature increases the rate of oxidation
and changes the proportions of tin and lead.
(d) After making a soldered joint, it should remove as much of the
corrosive flux as possible.
When solder is heated, there are fumes released that are harmful to the eyes
and lungs. So, it is recommended to use a fume extractor, which is a fan with
a charcoal filter that absorbs the harmful solder smokes. It is always a good
practice to wear protective eye wear, and do the soldering in a well-
ventilated area.

25.5 Cold solder and De-soldering

A cold joint is a joint in which the solder does not make good contact with
the component lead or printed circuit board pad. Cold joints occur when the
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component lead or solder pad moves before the solder is completely cooled.
So, a cold solder joint is an electrical soldering joint where the joining metal
or the solder has not been heated enough to form a proper joint. It often
results in cracks in the soldered joint over the period.
At some stages, there need to desolder a joint to remove or re-position a wire
or component. There are two ways to remove the solder:
1. with a desoldering pump (solder sucker)
2. with solder remover wick (copper braid)

25.6 Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages of soldering are:

• This can be operated at a low temperature.

• Base metal does not melt.
• Any metals, non-metals can be joined by this process.
• This operation required low power.
• Metals of dissimilar can be joined.
• Less time required to join.
• This can be easily operated.

Disadvantages of soldering include:

• The strength of the joint is less.

• This is not useful when joint works under high temperatures.
• It is not useful at long length welding.
• Heavy metals cannot be welded by this operation.
• There is a chance of toxic components at fluxes.

IPE 141 pg. 247

 Lecture 26 Joining Processes

Brazing

26.1 Introduction
Brazing is a metal-joining process in which two or more metal items are
joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, the filler
metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal. It differs from
other welding processes in that it does not involve melting the workpieces
and from soldering in using higher temperatures for a similar process, while
also requiring much more closely fitted parts than when soldering. The filler
metal flows into the gap between close-fitting parts by capillary action. The
filler metal is brought slightly above its melting (liquidus) temperature while
protected by a suitable atmosphere, usually a flux. It then flows over the base
metal (known as wetting) and is then cooled to join the workpieces together.
A major advantage of brazing is the ability to join the same or different
metals by using a third metal at a lower melting point with considerable
strength.

26.2 Description
Brazing is ideally suited for the joining of dissimilar metals and is performed
at relatively low temperatures. The melting point of the filler metal is above

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450°C, but always below the melting temperature of the parts to be joined
together. The filler metal, while heated slightly above the melting point, is
protected by a suitable atmosphere, which is often a flux. The molten filler
metal cools to join the workpieces together, offering a strong join between
similar or dissimilar metals. To achieve a sound brazed joint, the filler and
parent materials should be metallurgically compatible, and the joint position
needs a gap into which the molten braze filler can be drawn or distributed by
capillary action. The required joint gap is dependent on many factors,
including the brazing atmosphere and the composition of the base material
and the braze alloy. Brazing is a commercially accepted process used in a
wide range of industries due to its flexibility and the high integrity to which
joints may be produced. Brazing also produces joints that meet specifications
that meet mechanical performance, electrical conductivity, pressure
tightness, corrosion resistance, and service temperature.

26.3 Brazing Process

26.3.1 Materials
The brazing process produces strong, sealed, leak-proof joints. Many
different types of metals can be brazed. Copper, and copper-based materials
like brass and bronze, are typically brazed with copper phosphorus silver
alloys. Mild, high alloy and tool steels, stainless steels, precious metals, cast
iron, Inconel, Monel, nickel, carbide materials are commonly brazed with
silver brazing filler metals. Aluminum is another material that is commonly
brazed, but it requires different filler metals and fluxes than those listed
above. The base and filler materials previously mentioned are the most
common; however, there are other base materials like titanium, magnesium,
and ceramics that can certainly be brazed.

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26.3.2 Filler metals
A variety of alloys are used as filler metals for brazing, depending on the
intended use or application method. Braze alloy is generally available as rod,
ribbon, powder, paste, cream, wire, and some preformed shapes. For manual
brazing, wire and rod forms are generally used. Depending on the
application, brazing filler metal fall into eight groups, such as, (i) silver, (ii)
aluminium-silicon, (iii) copper, (iv) copper-phosphorus, (v) copper-zinc,
(vi) magnesium, (vii) gold, and (viii) nickel etc.
Filler metals for brazing should have:
(a) enough fluidity so that the metal can flow evenly by capillary action;
(b) good melting to form a sound metal bond.

26.3.3 Fluxes
Any form of oxide on the surface of metals prevents the uniform flow of
filler metals. For this reason, flux is required to remove the oxides. The
commercial fluxes are in paste, liquid, or powder form. Fluxes have the
ingredient like:

• Borate, boron-oxygen compounds are usually containing oxyanions.

Larger borates are composed of -BO3 or -BO4 structural units. Boron
most often occurs in nature as borates, such as borate minerals and
borosilicates.
• Fused borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or
disodium tetraborate, a salt of boric acid.
• Boric acid, also called hydrogen borate, boracic acid.
• Fluorides, include compounds that contain ionic fluoride.

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• Chlorides,
• Phosphides, etc.
There is no single flux that can be used for all brazing operations. It is
considered that all traces of flux residues must be removed after brazing to
prevent corrosion.

26.3.4 Different flames

Brazing processes are specified according to heating methods (sources) of
industrial significance. Whatever the process used, the filler metal has a
melting point above 450ºC (840ºF) but below the base metal and distributed
in the joint by capillary attraction.
The brazing processes are:
The following techniques are generally used for heating-
(a) Torch or flame heating
(b) Furnace heating, and
(c) Induction heating.
Flame brazing: Torch brazing is commonly used for smaller production
runs or one assembly. Flame brazing uses a gas flame to melt and flow the
filler metal. Common fuel/gas mixtures are acetylene, hydrogen, or propane,
mixed with oxygen or air. Flame brazing is performed in air, and usually
requires the use of a flux. It is a versatile process that can be applied to a
broad range of metal alloys and joint geometries.
The brazing filler metal is fed in the form of wire or rod, or it is pre-placed
on the basemetal. Care must be taken in the placement of filler metal to

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prevent premature melting. One way to prevent overheating is to use flux
with a melting temperature just below the filler metal, thereby giving a visual
indication of temperature.
For manual torch brazing, the torch may be equipped with a single tip, either
single or multiple flames. Manual torch brazing is particularly useful in
assemblies involving sections of unequal mass. Depending on the fuel type
and air/oxygen flow rates, the flame can be three types, and shown in Fig.
26.1:

• Carburizing flame,

• Neutral flame, or

• Reducing or oxidizing flame.

Fig. 26.1 Basic flames used in brazing process; (a) carburizing flame (top), (b)
Neutral flame (middle), and (c) Oxidizing flame.

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Manual flame brazing: This is the preferred method for repairs, one-of-a
kind brazing jobs, and short production runs. Uniform heating of the joint
can be accomplished by multiple-tipped torches or the use of more than one
torch. A manual brazing process and the tip is shown in Fig. 26.2.

Filler rod

Gas torch

Gas flame

Base metal

Fig. 26.2 A photographic illustration of a manual brazing process and torch tip.

Automated flame brazing: For large production quantities, part or all of the
flame brazing operation may be automated. The degree to which the process
can be automated depends on factors such as -
• component size and configuration
• joint accessibility
• desired production rate
• labor needed to handle the components
• filler to be used
The advantages of flame brazing are:
• Requires relatively low initial investment in equipment;

IPE 141 pg. 253

 • Less operator skill required for automated flame brazing;
• Manual flame brazing equipment is generally portable;
• The same equipment used in gas welding/cutting can be used for
most manual flame brazing operations;
• Joints with relatively poor fit-up can be brazed.
The disadvantages of flame brazing are:
• Flux residue must be removed after brazing, otherwise, there is a
potential risk of corrosion;
• Use of flux results in joints having a higher degree of porosity than
those made in a controlled atmosphere;
• Reactive metals and ceramics cannot be flame brazed.

Furnace brazing: The popularity of furnace brazing stems from the clean
atmosphere used, which mostly eliminates the use of fluxes and also
eliminates post-braze cleaning. Various types of furnaces are used for
brazing, mostly employing either a gaseous atmosphere or vacuum. The
overall furnace construction is based on either batch type or continuous
operation. Batch operation includes retort type furnaces used for hydrogen
brazing and vacuum chambers for vacuum brazing. Hydrogen provides the
active ingredient to clean the braze components and eliminates the need to
use flux.
To speed up brazing cycles, these furnaces would typically use a nitrogen
purge at the end of the cycle to accelerate cooling rates. Although care needs
to be taken with potentially explosive mixtures of hydrogen and air,
equipment is designed and safeguarded to prevent this. Alternatively, lower

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percentages of hydrogen are used by using mixed gases based on hydrogen

with nitrogen, argon, or helium.
Vacuum furnaces are widely used, and often companies will utilize them for
heat treatment as well as brazing, dependent on capacity. Furnaces today are
based on cold wall construction, with internal heating elements, usually
carbon or molybdenum. The cold wall refers to the water-cooled doubled
skin construction is to keep external temperatures down to room temperature
(or less). Either horizontal furnaces with side loading are used or vertical
furnaces loaded from the top or bottom. Furnace temperatures up to 1650°C
are readily available.
Most materials can be furnace brazed, although high vapor pressure elements
should be avoided in vacuum brazing (zinc, cadmium, lead, etc). All
materials need to be cleaned prior to insertion in the furnace to remove
surface scale, grease, and other contaminants (high quality in, high quality
out). The most widely used fillers for furnace brazing are silver, copper,
nickel, and gold.
Furnace brazing is more applicable to value-added components because of
the high capital outlay and less productive duty cycles compared with other
lower-cost brazing alternatives. However, applications still include:
o high volume components for the electrical and electronic sectors;
o aero-engine components,
o power generation components (for nuclear and gas turbine);
o various marine and other engineering applications.
o aluminium heat exchangers because of clean processing.
Furnace brazing has the key advantages of a controlled heating cycle, and
that clean parts may be processed with no need for post-braze cleaning.

IPE 141 pg. 255

Induction heating: High-frequency induction heating for brazing involves
the use of induction coils to induce localized heat in the materials being
brazed. Heating occurs primarily as a result of the resistance to the flow of
current induced in conductive materials when placed in a magnetic field
produced by a rapidly alternating current. The alternating current in the parts
to be brazed is generated by the induction coils, the geometry of which
dictates the electromagnetic field.
Equipment used for brazing is typically in the frequency range 5-500kHz,
with powers of 1kW to 100s of kW. The higher the frequency, the greater
the skin effect (i.e., preferential heating of the surface). By using lower
frequencies and slowing the heating rate, uniform heating through the
thickness is possible via conduction within the material.
Induction brazing is suitable for many metallic materials, with magnetic
materials being heated more readily. Where ceramic materials are involved,
heating most likely occurs by conduction from surrounding metallic parts or
the use of a susceptor. Silver-based brazing alloys are used extensively, but
copper is also widely used.
The applications are varied, demonstrating the versatility of the technique.
They range from:
o heavy mining equipment (attaching hard facing surfaces);
o to tools, to plumbing, to many electrical consumer, and electronic
components;
o for high volume production and for multi-work stations.
The main benefits for this process over other brazing methods are:
o the selective and rapid heating;

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o precise heat control and suitability for large volume production;

o can be mechanized,
o may have multi-brazing stations for one power source;
The difficulties of the process include:
o there is no easy theory behind coil design to deliver the best heating
profile to the workpiece;
o except for the welding simple geometries (e.g., tube butt or scarf
joints), specialized assistance is necessary to design coils;
o required high experience in this area of complex geometries.

26.3.5 Preparation for brazing

The preparation of brazing work is shown in Fig. 26.3. This describes:

Fig.26.3 A diagrammatic representation of the brazing operation.

1. Assemble all of the materials needed to make the braze. This includes
parts, oxy-acetylene torch, flux, solder, fixturing, handling tools, and
safety equipment. The parts are arranged with a gap between them
so that the joint clearance is correct at brazing temperature.
IPE 141 pg. 257
 2. Clean the parts to remove any oil, rust, or other contaminants. Use a
wire brush if needed to remove any rust.
3. Coat all surfaces of the parts being brazed with flux. This helps the
solder make a good joint, and also protects the areas of the parts not
being brazed by protecting them against oxidation from the flame.
4. Assemble and fixture the parts in place. Ceramic bricks, vise grips,
pliers, and clamps are available in a file cabinet. Heat the faying
surfaces with the flame.
5. Apply the filler material in the gap between the two base metals. If
large surface areas are being bonded together, hammer a small piece
of solder into a very thin sheet and place it between the faces being
brazed. This ensures that the solder reaches all of the surface areas.
6. Cool the surface and remove the extra materials if needed.

26.4 Different Flames Used in Brazing

The oxygen and acetylene are mixed into weld for different proportion and
its result in different types of flames, each the flames are based on advantage
and application. The correct composition of gas mixture and gas welding
flames both are important for the gas welding process. As stated earlier, there
are three types of flames used in brazing: Neutral flame, oxidizing flame and
carburizing flame, are illustrated in Fig. 26.4.
Neutral gas welding flames: This type of gas welding flame is provided an
equal amount of oxygen and acetylene and mixed, and allowed to burn at
above 3200⁰C. It has two zones. The neutral frame is consisting of a sharp
cone extended from the tip of the torch and surrounded by an envelope. This
configuration creates the blue color by means of inner cone, and its heat for

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melting. The cone envelope provides the combination of oxygen and a small
volume of acetylene from the inner cone.

(a) Neutral flame: inner cone 3000-33000C temp. Outer envelope 1200-21000C

(b) Oxidizing flame: inner cone 3400-35000C temp. Outer envelope 1200-21000C

(c) Carburizing flame: inner cone 3000-33000C temp. Outer envelope 550-15000C
Fig. 26.4 Different types of gas flames used in brazing and gas welding operation.
IPE 141 pg. 259
Oxidizing flame: In this flame is an excess amount of oxygen supplied to
the welding process. The ratio of oxygen and acetylene is 1.5:1. The flame
has two zones. It will be hotter than the neutral frame because of the excess
amount of oxygen combination to acetylene. So, it provides much amount
of heat at a temperature of 3482⁰C. The temperature is higher, and therefore
it is used to easily heat the metal but excess amount of oxygen combines to
base metal, and form a metal oxide. The oxide will reduce weld joint
strength. For this reason, this flame is only possible for the metals to be
welded such as zinc-based alloy, cast iron, copper-based alloy (brass),
manganese steels, etc.

Carburizing flame: This carburizing flame reduces the volume of oxygen,

and excess the acetylene volume. It contains three zones. They are: sharply
defined inner cone, bluish outer envelope, and an intermediate whitish
acetylene feather. The outer envelope is longer than the neutral flame. The
intermediate cone is an excess amount of acetylene volume in the flame. It
makes a temperature of 3038⁰C. In this flame, having not completely burnt
in the excess acetylene. The unborn carbon is left on the molten metal. This
kind of flame is used for welding materials that do not absorb carbon. It has
only limited applications, and possible applications include the joining of
low alloy steel rods. A carburizing flame is also known as a reducing flame.
For most brazing jobs using oxygen-acetylene gases, a carburizing or neutral
flame should be used. Brazing avoids an oxidizing flame. Excess acetylene
removes surface oxides from the copper. The copper will appear bright rather
than having a dull or blackened surface due to an improper oxidizing flame.

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26.5 Advantages of Brazing

The advantages of brazing include:
1. easy to learn.
2. can join virtually any dissimilar metals.
3. the bond line is very neat in appearance.
4. joint strength is strong enough for most nonheavy-duty use
applications.

26.6 Disadvantages of Brazing

The disadvantages of brazing include:
1. A badly brazed joint looks similar to a good joint and can have
very low strength.
2. The metal used to bond the two parts may be different in color
than the parts being bonded. This may or may not be a problem.
3. Long-term effects of dissimilar metals in constant contact may
need to be examined for special applications.
4. Since the filler material (typically bronze) melts at a relatively
low temperature, brazed parts may not be put in an environment
that exceeds the melting point of the filler metal.

IPE 141 pg. 261

I believe, the duties of a university teacher are teaching, research
and service. As a first part of my job, the cardinal aim of my
teaching is to carry out lectures on different subjects through the
effective utilizations of different teaching aids in the classroom
environment so that the students can understand subject matters
easily. Beyond striving to ensure, students learn the fundamental
content of the courses and in this way they get to facilitate the
acquisition of lifelong learning skills, to help students develop
evidence-based clinical problem-solving strategies, and to prepare
students to function as highly skilled and competent manpower
across the scope of practical field.

Industrial & Production Engineering

Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet