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,
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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
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.
Parts, when in service and while forming, are subjected to forces. It is necessary to know the characteristics of the material to design and form the component so that any resulting deformation will not result in failure of the component in service and while forming.
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,
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
Laser Drilling is a process of making holes using short pulses of laser at high density, which results in melting and vaporizing of material. [2]
Steel blades are not the only form that a scalpel takes. Scalpels are now in the form of lasers. The use of lasers began with a laser knife. The CO2 laser was used to remove cancerous tissue. Later the Nd:Yag laser was used.
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).
By applying 13.56 MHz RF power to the inner electrode at a voltage between 100–250 V, the gas discharge is ignited. The ionized gas from the plasma jet exits through a nozzle, where it is directed onto a substrate a few millimeters downstream. Under typical operating conditions, the gas velocity is about 12 m/s with the effluent temperature near 150 C. So far, this source has been used to etch polyimide, tungsten, tantalum, and silicon dioxide [26], as well as to deposit silicon dioxide films by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD)
Advantages of Submerged Arc Welding 1. Molten flux provides very suitable conditions for high current to flow. Great intensities of heat c...
During the middle ages welding was very common. Early Egyptians learned the art of welding. Several of their tools were made by welding. A set of specialized workmen called blacksmiths created tools by melting the metal, then hammering them together. This method did not change much until the dawn of the 19th century which held major breakthroughs in welding. An open flame (acetylene) was very important to the history of welding. It allowed manufactures to make metal tools and equipment. In 1836 a man named Edmund Davy discovered acetylene which was soon utilized in the welding industries. Coated metal electrodes were first introduced in the 1900s. A coating of lime covered the electrode and made the weld much more stable. A number of other welding processes were also invented, such as seam welding, spot welding, flash butt welding, and projection welding. Stick welding also became popular around this time too. In the 1920s automatic welding was first introduced by P.O. Nobel. Automatic welding integrated the use of arc voltage and bare wire. It was mainly used for fixing old, molding metals. Several types of electrodes were also developed during this decade. A new type of welding was developed in the 1940s by Meredith. This became known as Heliarc Welding. Gas shielded arc welding or GTAW was another significant milestone in the welding history. Several advancements in the welding field were made in the 1960s. Dual shield, inner shield, and electro slag were some of the more important kinds developed. Plasma arc was also invented and was mainly used for metal spraying. Even now more techniques are being made. For example, laser welding was developed by the Russians and is being used more and more every day (“Welcome to
WEDM process can be applied to all electrically conducting metals and alloys irrespective of their melting points, hardness, toughness or brittleness.
"Pulsed MIG Welding Improves Quality and Saves Money | Lincoln Electric." Lincolnelectric. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Understanding and manipulating correctly cutting parameters, tool geometries, tool materials, and other factors enable machinists to achieve a productive and cost-effective metal cutting process. Mechanical
Yet before any factory starts to create aluminum castings, the conceptualized product should be examined. Will it meet the standard standards identified by the aluminum industry? Will it be generated using available technology? What tools and machines are necessary to result in the conceptualized product?