While many automobile owners, buyers and drivers as well lament the increased use of plastic components and plastics in our new vehicles for weight and gas savings, much of our modern day vehicles remain good old fashioned steel. True aluminum is coming online more and more in automobile construction but steel remains the foundation of auto designs and engineering. Hence welding as an art of auto-body repair and repairs remains a necessary and mandatory skill for “body guys”.
Definition of Welding:
Welding can be described as a metal working process in which metals are joined by simply heating them to the melting point, and then allowing the molten portions to fuse and flow together.
Types of Welding:
The most common types of welding are: Gas Welding, Arc Welding, Gas Arc Welding and lastly Resistance Welding. There are additionally more specialized and niche type welding techniques and procedures. These include Atomic-hydrogen Welding, Thermit Welding, Cold Welding, Ultrasonic Welding, Electron Beam Welding, Friction Welding, Laser Welding and lastly Plasma Welding.
Most Popular Types of “Cutting “Methods:
When it comes to cutting rather than simply “welding “ alone the most popular types of cutting used overall include two types . These are Gas Cutting and Arc Cutting procedural methods and equipment.
Gas Flames in Popular Welding Formats – Oxygen Supplied By Air, Oxygen Tank or a Mixture of Air & Tank Oxygen:
It can be simply stated that one of the most popular welding methods is to use a simple gas flame as the source of heat used to weld and join. This flame is produced by simply burning a fuel gas in the presence of oxygen gas from the air, or alternatively from a pure oxygen source (usually held and released from an oxygen tank storage canister). In some setups a combination of ambient air and oxygen released from the oxygen tank are utilized. Which is the best setup? It all depends on equipment and demands for quality of the final join. If oxygen in air is used is at the lowest temperature overall and is the least clean of the three. In the case of a mixture of tank oxygen and that drawn from the nearby air the flame is warmer and cleaner and can produce a better and more solid weld. Lastly a flame fed by tank driven oxygen will no doubt be the “cleanest”, have the highest temperature flame and weld. Overall the higher the heat the better and cleaner the weld – all given by pure Oxygen to the welding flame from the oxygen tank setup itself.
Even with Increased Plastics & Aluminum Components in Cars Trucks & Automobiles Welding are Still Essential & Required Skills Necessary in Auto body & Collision Repair Trades & Training:
While younger and novice car & truck repair technicians and staff may think that with all the plastic materials in automobiles in 2012 that mastering proper welding techniques is a passé subject and skill this is not the case. Both newer vehicles and older heavier as well as heavy duty trucks and vehicles require as a matter of collision repairs and routines to have a good & solid set of welding skills mastered.
Attached Images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
Rod McGillivray
McGillivray is a “car & truck body guy” from way back – even before he got his first Province of Manitoba driver’s license way back in the 1970?s. Still you can spot McGillivray’s distinctive voice speaking with authority expounding his views on car regarding the Manitoba provincial government’s auto insurance monopoly M.P.I.C. a.k.a “Autopac”. No doubt if you attend any of the south Winnipeg area donut shops and are looking for a collision repair shop in the Waverly auto mall you will overhear McGillivray loudly expounding his views on auto body and repair standards. You may agree or disagree but then everyone is entitled to their experience and views when it comes to personal choice on vehicle preferences and purchases. The ongoing debate is always which is better – public car insurance monopoly or private auto insurance coverage.