Metal Fabrication Processes and Tools Description
We use metals to construct all kinds of structures, from bridges to skyscrapers to elevators. The strength as well as durability of materials that are crafted out of metal make the materials ideal not only for construction but also for many other applications.
Before a metal piece or metal alloy can be used in any given application, whether it is a construction project or anything else, it might be necessary to cut the material to the right shape and size. One may need to cut metal into pieces of different sizes and shapes according to the end use.
However, metals can be quite hard to cut or shape into a desirable piece, requiring application of extreme forces. Depending on the project,
…show more content…
Plasma Cutting
Plasma cutting is a method of cutting through metals by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma, using a plasma torch. It is a process that is extremely essential for the shaping of metals through cutting away unwanted parts.
How Does Plasma Cutting Work?
Plasma can be defined as a substance similar to a gas with almost zero electric charge.
When a gas is heated to immensely high temperatures, its atoms and molecules split. Electrons break away from their nuclei and flow freely. As these particles collide, they release great amounts of energy. It’s this energy that makes plasma cutting work.
Plasma cutting technology is today used in a broad range of industries including, manufacturing, construction and so on. Even lock technicians use this technology to open locks as well as safes which can’t be opened any other way.
What’s even more amazing is that there are now new technologies in plasma cutting that allow for quicker and more precise cuts.
2. Oxy Acetylene Torch Cutting
The oxyacetylene torch is one of the most reliable types of oxy-fuel torches out there. These torches use a combination of oxygen as well as fuel gas (acetylene), to cut and weld metals. Acetylene makes a very hot and steady flame, which can be effectively used to precisely cut or melt
"Welding Processes, Welding Faults, Defects & Discontinuities For NDT Technicians Part 3." Hera.org. Hera, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. .
Die-forming of sheet metal has been around for thousands of years. Originally the metal was manipulated by hand and hammered into the depression, by utilizing crude grooves carved into wood or stone. This technique was used to make spouts, handles, and other forms. Since then, however; they have undergone a remarkable technological evolution. Mate-female conforming dies to create hollow forms by using hydraulic pressure or drop hammer pressure, changed die-forming forever (Paisin, 2013).
It is thus a thermal erosion process. The sparks are created in a dielectric liquid, generally water or oil, between the work piece and an electrode, which can be considered as the cutting tool. There is no mechanical contact between the electrodes during the whole process. Since erosion produced by electrical discharges, both electrode and work piece have to be electrically conductive. Thus, the machining process consists in successively removing small volumes of work piece material, molten or vaporized during a discharge. The volume removed by a single spark is small, in the range of 10-6-10-4 mm3 but this basic process is repeated typically 10,000 times per
Pounding metal and fabricating metal in thin sheets and sections that humans need or want has a long history. The discovery of how to make and control fire made extracting metals form or more efficient instead of having to find almost pure nuggets of metal. In many civilizations copper was the metal they used but that was succeeded by bronze eventually it is made of copper and tin.
Laser is reported to have high flexibility to be focused and to heat up an extremely restricted area. However, the heat generated by the laser irradiation could give different impact to the machining performance, depends on the laser beam characteristics. Heated workpiece surface behaves differently during the machining process due to softening effect. Furthermore, the workpiece made from metals has a tendency to acts as plastic at micro level than macro level. In this situation, tool design and size exhibit significant effect to the machining
When oxy cutting, you must switch tips before starting. This from of cutting happens when you use the torch to heat the metal to its extreme temperature. stream of oxygen is then pushed upon the metal, burning it into a metal oxide to cut through the metal. The torches used do not mix oxygen and fuel together they instead go through two different hoses to then come out through the tip. Combined syetems of single tanks are not oxy fuel torches, when can be recognized because oxy torches have two tanks others like just acetylene torches used in brazing and soldering is a single tank, which is suitable and works well for that type of work but not for welding. The uses for oxy- gas torches would be welding metals, cutting metals, stone working in jewellery production for “water welding”, auto mechanic repairs to remove seized bolts
"Pulsed MIG Welding Improves Quality and Saves Money | Lincoln Electric." Lincolnelectric. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM) is the removal of material from a work piece by the application of a high speed stream of abrasive particles carried in gas medium from a nozzle. The AJM process is different from conventional sand blasting by the way that the abrasive is much finer and the process parameters and cutting action are both carefully regulated. The process is used chiefly to cut intricate shapes in hard and brittle materials which are sensitive to heat and have a tendency to chip easily. The process is also used for drilling, de-burring and cleaning operations. AJM is fundamentally free from chatter and vibration problems due to absence of physical tool. The cutting action is cool because the carrier gas itself serves as a coolant and takes away the heat.
Welding has been around since the 1800’s with basic processes, like the use of the oxy-acetylene torch. Then the process of arc welding came into play in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, when electrical welding became widely popular. Now there are many different kinds of arc welding with materials such as different electrodes, fluxes, and gases.
Cutting: A laser is also great for cutting objects. It can get to those hard to reach places by the use of mirrors to bend the beam of light. It also is strong enough to cut through solid steel. A laser never damages the surface of the object because it never touches it. Lasers have been
The basic and main objective of this term paper is to have a better, deeper and more elaborate knowledge about arc welding, the concept behind welding, it’s procedure, types of arc welding, it’s uses and it’s importance.
This process, shown in Fig. 1 is also known for machining hard and brittle conductive metallic materials as it can melt any electrically conductive material regardless of hardness at about 8000-12000 °C [2-3, 5]. The workpiece machined by EDM depends on thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, and melting points of the materials. The tool and the workpiece both are adequately immersed in a dielectric medium such as kerosene, deionized water, etc [3,
Metals are utilized in a majority of different ways, for example: gold is used to create jewelry, iron is used to create strong sturdy structures like bridges and steel is used to make long lasting items such as pots and pans.
There is many different types of welding, whether it’s welding steel or any different type of material. Depending on the type of material depends on the process of welding and the welding materials that you use. Welding is a form of fabrication that joins the metal together by using heat and electricity to bond the two. The most popular types of welding are shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux-cored arch welding (FCAW), submerged arc welding (SAW).
Metallurgy is the field of materials science and material engineering that studies the physical and chemical behaviour of metallic elements, their microstructure compounds and their mixtures, which are mostly known as alloy. Metallurgy can be refers as the technology of metals where science is applied to the production of metals, and the engineering of metal components for the uses of products for consumers and manufacturers.