Northern Weldarc is a family-owned company that specializes in various welding processes for structural steel design for construction and building purposes. In this article, we have explained the major types of structural steel and other metal welding processes that we provide.
Stud Welding
Stud Welding or Drawn Arc Stud welding is an electric process of welding a fastener on a metal base or substrate by heating both the components with an arc. The fastener or stud is usually joined to a flat metal plate by using the stud as one of the electrodes. The fastener or stud can be of different forms such as threaded, unthreaded, tapped, etc. Stud welding uses a type of flux called a ferrule. It is a ceramic ring which concentrates the heat generated, prevents oxidation, and retains the molten metal in the weld zone. The ferrule is broken off from the fastener after the welding is completed. Different types of stud welding processes are often used for construction, shipbuilding, making electrical panels and forming automobile bodies with the help of structural steel, stainless steel, or aluminum.
Flux Core
Flux core or metal core welding is an automatic or semi-automatic, portable and high-speed welding process for structural steel, stainless steel, nickel alloys, and some surfacing alloys. This welding process requires a continuously-fed consumable tubular electrode containing a flux and a constant voltage or constant current welding power supply. There are two types of flux core welding processes. One which requires an external supply of shielding gas to protect the weld pool. This type of welding is preferable for welding thicker and out-of-position metals. Another type of flux core welding doesn’t require any external supply of shielding gas. The flux core contains various ingredients, which when exposed to the high temperatures of welding generate a shielding gas for protecting the welding pool. Less skilled experts are required to carry out this welding process, and also, less precleaning of steel is required.
Stick Welding
Stick welding or shielded metal arc welding is a manual process that uses a consumable fixed length electrode covered with a flux and an electric power source to weld or join two metals together, generally steel. This electric power or current can either be an alternating current or direct current. As the welding is completed, the metal powder or mineral coating flux of the electrode disintegrates, releasing vapors that serve as a shielding gas. This gas protects the weld area from atmospheric contamination. Due to the simplicity of the process, its inexpensive equipment, and the versatility, stud welding is the most common and popular welding process that fabricators prefer.
Apart from these three primary welding processes for structural steel design, we also provide simple stainless steel welding. If you wish to know more about any of these welding processes or want to know which process is the best for your project, you can talk to our structural steel fabricators.
