Oct. 07, 2024
Welding has been around since ancient times. Read this article for a brief overview of welding history throughout the years.
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Welding can trace its historic development back to ancient times. The earliest examples of welding come from the Bronze Age. Small gold circular boxes were made by pressure welding lap joints together. It is estimated that these boxes were made more than 2,000 years ago. During the Iron Age the Egyptians and people in the eastern Mediterranean area learned to weld pieces of iron together. Many tools were found that were made in approximately B.C.
During the Middle Ages, the art of blacksmithing was developed and many items of iron were produced that were welded by hammering. It was not until the 19th century that welding as we know it today was invented.
Historians credit Edmund Davy of England with the discovery of acetylene in . Sir Humphry Davy produced an arc between two carbon electrodes using a battery in . In the mid-19th century, the electric generator was invented and arc lighting became popular. Gas welding and cutting developed during the late s. Arc welding with the carbon arc and metal arc was developed and resistance welding became a practical joining process.
Auguste De Meritens, working in the Cabot Laboratory in France, used the heat of an arc for joining lead plates for storage batteries in the year . It was his pupil, a Russian, Nikolai N. Benardos, working in the French laboratory, received a patent for welding. He, with a fellow Russian, Stanislaus Olszewski, secured a British patent in and an American patent in . The patents show an early electrode holder. This was the beginning of carbon arc welding. Benardos restricted his efforts to carbon arc welding, although he was able to weld iron as well as lead. Carbon arc welding became popular during the late s and early s.
In , C.L. Coffin of Detroit received the first U.S. patent for an arc welding process using a metal electrode. This was the first record of the metal melted from the electrode carried across the arc to deposit filler metal in the joint to make a weld. About the same time, N.G. Slavianoff, a Russian, presented the same idea of transferring metal across an arc, but to cast metal in a mold.
Approximately , Strohmenger introduced a coated metal electrode in Great Britain. There was a thin coating of clay or lime, but it provided a more stable arc. Oscar Kjellberg of Sweden invented a covered or coated electrode during the period of to . He produced stick electrodes by dipping short lengths of bare iron wire in thick mixtures of carbonates and silicates and allowing the coating to dry.
Meanwhile, resistance welding processes developed, including spot welding, seam welding, projection welding and flash butt welding. Elihu Thompson originated resistance welding. His patents dated -. In , a German named Goldschmidt invented thermite welding that was first used to weld railroad rails.
Gas welding and cutting were perfected during this period as well. The production of oxygen and later the liquefying of air, along with the introduction of a blow pipe or torch in , helped the development of both welding and cutting. Before , hydrogen and coal gas were used with oxygen. However, in about a torch suitable for use with low-pressure acetylene was developed.
World War I brought a tremendous demand for armament production, growing the need for welding. Many companies sprang up in America and in Europe to manufacture welding machines and electrodes to meet the requirements.
Immediately after the war in , 20 members of the Wartime Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, under the leadership of Comfort Avery Adams, founded the American Welding Society as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of welding and allied processes.
C.J. Holslag invented alternating current in ; however, it did not become popular until the s when the heavy-coated electrode found widespread use.
In , P.O. Nobel of the General Electric Company invented automatic welding. It utilized bare electrode wire operated on direct current and used arc voltage as the basis of regulating the feed rate. General Electric used automatic welding to build up worn motor shafts and worn crane wheels. The automobile industry also used it to produce rear axle housings.
During the s, various types of welding electrodes were developed. There was considerable controversy during the s about the advantage of the heavy-coated rods versus light-coated rods. In , Langstroth and Wunder of the A.O. Smith Company developed heavy-coated electrodes. Then in , Lincoln Electric Company produced extruded electrode rods and sold them to. the public. By , covered electrodes were widely used. Welding codes appeared that required higher-quality weld metal, which increased the use of covered electrodes.
During the s there was considerable research in shielding the arc and weld area by externally applied gases. The atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen in contact with the molten weld metal caused brittle and sometimes porous welds. Researchers tested welds utilizing gas shielding techniques. Alexander and Langmuir did work in chambers using hydrogen as a welding atmosphere. They utilized two electrodes, starting with carbon electrodes but later changing to tungsten electrodes. The hydrogen was changed to atomic hydrogen in the arc. It was then blown out of the arc forming an intensely hot flame of atomic hydrogen turning to the molecular form and liberating heat. This arc produced half again as much heat as an oxyacetylene flame. This became the atomic hydrogen welding process. Atomic hydrogen never became popular but was used during the s and s for special applications of welding and later on for welding of tool steels.
H.M. Hobart and P.K. Devers were doing similar work but using atmospheres of argon and helium. In their patents applied for in , arc welding utilizing gas supplied around the arc was a forerunner of the gas tungsten arc welding process. They also showed welding with a concentric nozzle and with the electrode being fed as a wire through the nozzle. This was the forerunner of the gas metal arc welding process.
Welders at the New York Navy Yard developed stud welding in , specifically for attaching wood decking over a metal surface. Stud welding became popular in the shipbuilding and construction industries.
The automatic process that became popular was the submerged arc welding process. The National Tube Company developed this under powder, or smothered arc, welding process for a pipe mill at McKeesport, Pennsylvania. the company designed the process to make the longitudinal seams in the pipe. Robinoff patented the process in and later sold it to Linde Air Products Company. Linde renamed it to Unionmelt welding. Shipyards and ordnance factories used submerged arc welding during the defense buildup in . It is one of the most productive welding processes and remains popular today.
Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) had its beginnings in welding history from an idea by C.L. Coffin to weld in a nonoxidizing gas atmosphere, which he patented in . H.M. Hobart and P.K. Devers further refined the concept in the late s using helium and argon for shielding, respectively. This process was ideal for welding magnesium and also for welding stainless and aluminum. It was perfected in , patented by Meredith, and named Heliarc welding. It was later licensed to Linde Air Products, where the water-cooled torch was developed. The gas tungsten arc welding process has become one of the most important.
A turning point in welding history came when the Battelle Memorial Institute &#; under the sponsorship of the Air Reduction Company &#; successfully developed the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process in . This development utilized the gas shielded arc similar to the gas tungsten arc but replaced the tungsten electrode with a continuously fed electrode wire. One of the basic changes that made the process more usable was the small-diameter electrode wires and the constant-voltage power source. H.E. Kennedy patented this principle earlier. The initial introduction of GMAW was for welding nonferrous metals. The high deposition rate led users to try the process on steel. The cost of inert gas was relatively high, and the cost savings were not immediately available.
In , Lyubavskii and Novoshilov announced the use of welding with consumable electrodes in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide gas. The CO2 welding process immediately gained favor since it utilized equipment developed for inert gas metal arc welding but could now be used for economically welding steels. The CO2 arc is a hot arc and the larger electrode wires required fairly high currents. The process became widely used with the introduction of smaller-diameter electrode wires and refined power supplies. This short-circuit arc variation was known as Micro-wire, short-arc and dip transfer welding, all of which appeared late in and early in . This variation allowed all-position welding on thin materials and soon became the most popular of the gas metal arc welding process variations.
Another variation was the use of inert gas with small amounts of oxygen that provided the spray-type arc transfer. It became popular in the early s. A recent variation is the use of pulsed current. The current switches from a high to a low value at a rate of once or twice the line frequency.
Soon after the introduction of CO2 welding, a variation utilizing a special electrode wire was developed. This wire, described as an inside-outside electrode, was tubular in cross section with the fluxing agents on the inside. The process was called Dualshield, which indicated that external shielding gas was utilized as well as the gas produced by the flux in the core of the wire for arc shielding. This process, invented by Bernard, was announced in , but was patented in , when the National Cylinder Gas Company reintroduced it.
In , an inside-outside electrode was produced that did not require external gas shielding. The absence of shielding gas gave the process popularity for noncritical work. This process was named Innershield®.
The Soviets announced the electroslag welding process at the Brussels World Fair in Belgium in . It had been used in the Soviet Union since but was based on work done in the United States by R.K. Hopkins, who was granted patents in . The Hopkins process was never used to a very great degree for joining. The Paton Institute Laboratory in Kiev, Ukraine, and the Welding Research Laboratory in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, perfected the process and developed the equipment. The Electromotive Division of General Motors Corporation in Chicago used the process in production for the first time in the U.S. They called it the Electro-molding process and used it for the fabrication of welded diesel engine blocks. Manufacturers use the process and its variation, using a consumable guide tube, for welding thicker materials.
The Arcos Corporation introduced another vertical welding method, called Electrogas, in . It utilized equipment developed for electroslag welding but employed a flux-cored electrode wire and an externally supplied gas shield. It is an open arc process since a slag bath is not involved. A newer development uses self-shielding electrode wires and a variation uses solid wire but with gas shielding. These methods allow the welding of thinner materials than allowed with the electroslag process.
Gage invented plasma arc welding in . This process uses a constricted arc or an arc through an orifice, which creates an arc plasma that has a higher temperature than the tungsten arc. It is also used for metal spraying, gouging and cutting.
Developed in France, the electron beam welding process uses a focused beam of electrons as a heat source in a vacuum chamber. J.A. Stohr of the French Atomic Energy Commission made the first public disclosure of the process on Nov. 23, . In the United States, the automotive and aircraft engine industries are the major users of electron beam welding.
Developed in the Soviet Union, friction welding uses rotational speed and upset pressure to provide friction heat. It is a specialized process and has applications only where a sufficient volume of similar parts is to be welded because of the initial expense for equipment and tooling. This process is called inertia welding.
Laser welding is one of the newest processes. The Bell Laboratories originally developed the laser as a communications device. Because of the tremendous concentration of energy in a small space, it proved to be a powerful heat source. Operations use lasers or cutting metals and nonmetals. Continuous pulse equipment is available. The laser is finding welding applications in automotive metalworking operations.
Welding history information courtesy of Hobart Institute of Welding Technology. This article was excerpted from Modern Welding Technology, 4th edition, , by Howard B. Cary. Published by Prentice-Hall.
The process of welding as we know it today uses a variety of sophisticated methods, tools and energy sources. Welding has a long history that can be traced back to the Bronze Age, with the use of rudimentary tools to join softer metals like copper and bronze. Blacksmiths in the Middle Ages mastered the process of forge welding, heating iron in a charcoal furnace and hammering overlapping metal ends to bond them.
The discovery of acetylene in paved the way for oxyfuel welding and cutting. The 20th century saw advancements in arc welding, including the development of shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The future of welding is expected to involve more environmentally friendly materials and the use of computer chips to indicate the lifecycle of welded materials.
What we&#;re capable of today is the result of a long history of scientific discovery and innovation. Let&#;s take a look at the use of welding throughout history and how the trade continues to evolve.
Welding as we know it today began in the 19th century. In , English chemist Edmund Davy discovered the chemical compound acetylene. This discovery made oxyfuel welding and cutting a possibility years later.
It&#;s common to wonder who invented welding. Nikolay Gavrilovich Slavyanov is considered the inventor of welding, as he introduced arc welding with metal electrodes. However, the basic concept of welding was around before his time.
When did welding start? Welding&#;s beginnings can be traced as far back as the Bronze Age. Softer metals like copper and bronze were joined using rudimentary tools. Some of the oldest artifacts known to man were constructed using welding, including small circular boxes with pressure-welded lap joints that date to sometime between and B.C.
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Iron tools and weapons from ancient cultures like Egypt have been dated to around B.C. The furnaces and hammers used to create these artifacts set the stage for blacksmithing.
Throughout the Middle Ages, blacksmiths started to master the process of forge welding. They would first heat the iron in a charcoal furnace and hammer out any imperfections. Then, increasing the heat, they would hammer overlapping metal ends until they bonded. Common items made by those blacksmiths included weapons, armor, chains and ornaments.
English chemist Edmund Davy discovered the chemical compound acetylene in . While acetylene wasn&#;t used in welding at the time, Davy&#;s discovery made oxyfuel welding and cutting a possibility years later.
Edmund&#;s cousin, Sir Humphry Davy, had discovered arc lighting at the beginning of the 19th century. Auguste De Meritens, a French electrical engineer, used that discovery to weld lead plates for storage batteries. Within the same year, both De Meritens and his student, Nikolai Bernardos, patented the process for carbon arc welding.
As the 20th century neared, the implementation of metal electrodes improved arc welding. Russian inventor Nikolay Gavrilovich Slavyanov is credited with the idea of transferring melted metal through an arc. But it was Charles L. Coffin, an American, who patented the process we know today as shielded metal arc welding, or SMAW.
At the turn of the century, a torch suitable for using acetylene was developed, vastly improving gas welding and cutting processes. At the same time, the concept of the coated metal electrode was being developed in both Great Britain and Sweden.
These electrodes consisted of iron wire dipped in mixtures of carbonates and silicates and then left to dry to create the coating. Additionally, this time saw the development of resistance welding.
Part of the reason the beginning of the 20th century saw so many improvements in welding practices was the demand created by World War I. Many companies began producing commercial welding machines and electrodes to improve the reliability of weapons, ships, planes and tanks.
Once the war ended, the American Welding Society, a nonprofit organization, was created to continue improving welding processes in America.
Several notable advancements were made during the s. For instance, the General Electric Company introduced automatic welding, which allowed for a continuous feed of bare electrodes. Electrodes themselves were improved as well.
In an effort to diminish porous and brittle welds, techniques using different gases were developed. Irving Langmuir used hydrogen as a welding atmosphere, whereas H.M. Hobart and P.K. Devers used argon and helium.
Throughout the s, welding grew more popular at construction sites and shipyards. This is largely due to the development of stud welding.
Similarly, submerged arc welding, which uses an electrode with a thick, granulated layer of flux made from calcium, magnesium, silicon and other compounds become popular for a number of reasons:
This welding method remains popular today for the same reasons!
Although Coffin, Hobart and Devers all contributed to the development of gas tungsten arc welding (or GTAW), it was Russell Meredith who perfected the process in by using a tungsten electrode arc and helium as a shielding gas.
In , the tungsten electrode was replaced with a continuously fed electrode wire. This innovation was developed at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, and is referred to as gas-shielded metal arc welding, or GMAW.
Like submerged arc welding, GMAW became popular because it was much more cost-effective than GTAW.
K.V. Lyubavskii and N.M. Novozhilov made steel welding even more economical by using carbon dioxide as the shielding gas.
Five years later, in , the size of the arc used in the GTAW process was diminished so welders could accomplish more refined work. Just a year later, an electrode that didn&#;t require external gas shielding, called the inside-outside electrode, was created.
The s were full of welding innovations. Other novel processes included:
Similar to the previous decade, the s witnessed a variety of innovations. Notables included:
Progress never stops, which means that there&#;s a good chance the process of welding will continue its dynamic history well into the future.
There is a trend where engineers are seeking to produce welding materials that require less energy in order to make them more environmentally friendly. And some are speculating that welded materials will be able to indicate where they are in their lifecycle by means of computer chips.
As the future of welding evolves, one thing is clear: It will get more and more complex. Getting a proper foundation by completing a formal welding course can help welders adapt to the changes more easily.
Does a welding career sound exciting to you? Welding is a specialized career that requires proper training. For those who are creative and detail-oriented, this can be an exciting, fulfilling career.
A high school diploma or GED is typically required to become a welder, as well as some form of training, whether it&#;s on the job or through a technical school.
Attending a formal training program, like UTI&#;s Welding Technology program, can equip you with the knowledge and skills you&#;ll need to pursue a career in the field.1 It can also help you to stand out to employers when applying for jobs.
Over the course of just 36 weeks, students in the program train to become combination welders by learning four different welding techniques:
Upon graduation, students will be well prepared to test for welding certifications. They can also take advantage of the resources offered by UTI&#;s Career Services team, which works with national dealerships, distributors and employers across the country to identify potential jobs for graduates.
Curious about the different jobs available in the welding industry? Check out this Welding Career Guide.
Forge welding is considered to be the oldest type of welding. Blacksmiths used this type of welding to make weapons, armor, chains and ornaments. To do so, they would heat the iron in a charcoal furnace and hammer out imperfections. From there, they would increase the heat and hammer overlapping metal ends until they bonded.
The four types of welding are gas metal arc (GMAW), shielded metal arc (SMAW), flux-cored arc (FCAW) and gas tungsten arc (GTAW).
Metal inert gas (MIG) welding was patented for welding aluminum in . In this type of welding, a continuous solid wire electrode travels through the welding gun (a shielding gas to shield the process from contaminants in the air) and into the weld pool. Today, it&#;s one of the most commonly used welding processes.
Read: How to Weld Aluminum: The Beginner&#;s Guide
Charles L. Coffin, H.M. Hobart and P.K. Devers all contributed to the development of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, but Russell Meredith perfected the process in by using a tungsten electrode arc and helium as a shielding gas. This transformed the welding industry, as welders were able to make products like airplanes and ships faster than ever.
Coffin patented the process we know today as stick welding, or shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), in .
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