Introduction to Mechanical Engineering BESCK104D

Module-4
Engineering Materials: Types and applications of Ferrous & Nonferrous Metals, silica, ceramics,
glass, graphite, diamond and polymer. Shape Memory Alloys.
Joining Processes: Soldering, Brazing and Welding, Definitions, classification of welding process, Arc
welding, Gas welding and types of flames.

Engineering Materials:
Engineering materials are defined as solid substances which are manufactured and used for various
engineering applications. There are various materials available and the choice of a particular
material for a specific application depends on the set of properties possessed by the materials.

Classification of Engineering Materials

Metals and Their Alloys

 A metal is a material, an element, compound or alloy that is typically hard
when in solidstate, opaque and shiny
 Metals are generally malleable and ductile
Classification of Metals

Metals are classified as

i) Ferrous Metals
ii) Non ferrous Metals

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Ferrous Metals

 The term ―ferrous‖ is derived from the Latin word meaning containing ―containing iron‖
 Examples are cast iron, mild steel, medium carbon steel, highcarbon steel,
stainless steel,and high speed steel

Non-ferrous metals
 Non-ferrous metals do not contain iron. Some common non-ferrous metals are
aluminum,copper, zinc, tin, brass (copper + zinc), and bronze (copper + tin).
Classification of Ferrous Metals
Pig Iron

It is the first stage of iron directly extracted from the ore through blast furnace. It
Contain highpercentage of carbon and other impurities.

Properties: High hardness and Vey brittle

Applications: It is used in making wrought iron, cast iron and steel

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Wrought iron

Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content

Properties: Low carbon content, Soft, Highly Ductile in nature, High toughness, Good
machinability, Corrosion resistance, High elasticity

Applications: Due to corrosion resistance it is used in making steam and water pipes.
Decorative applications like fences, gates and railings, balconies, bars, engine bolts,
rivets, railway couplings, chain links and crane hooks.

Cast Iron

Is a ferrous material that is produced when pig iron is remelted in a cupola furnace
and pouredinto mould in order to make castings

Properties: Very strong but brittle, Low melting point, Good fluidity, Castability,
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Goodmachinability, wear resistance

Applications: Manufacture of machine frames, columns, beds and plates, housing,

flywheels, manhole covers, engine block, cylinder head, gearbox case, machine parts
etc,

Grey Cast Iron

It is produced when the molten pig iron in the mould is allowed to cool and solidify
slowly. Carbon here is mainly in the form of graphite

Properties: Good castabality, High fluidity, easy Machinability, high strength and
ductility under compressive loads. It is named as Grey cast iron because of its freshly
fractured surfacehas a grey appearance

Applications: Base structures of machinery, Automotive engine blocks, gears,

flywheels, brake discs and drums and machine bases.

White Cast Iron

It is manufactured by casting grey cast iron in a mould and rapidly cooling it. By rapid
cooling, there is no free graphite or free carbon and instead there is cementite which
gives the cast iron itswhite colour.
Applications: Used in parts that require high abrasion resistance such as rollers of
rolling mills, wear plates, rim of a car wheel, railway wheels brake blocks, hammer
mills.

Malleable Cast Iron

It is produced by annealing: a heat treatment of white cast iron.In annealing process
white cast iron is heated slowly to a temp about 870oC, and kept for about 25 to 60
hours and then cooled slowly

Properties: It is malleable and can easily machined. Good castability, moderate

strength,toughness, corrosion resistant and shock resistant

Applications: Used for automobile parts, motorcycle frames, farm implements

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Steel

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with carbon content being less than 2% . In addition
various alloying elements like sulphur, phosphorous, manganese, nickel, chromium,
copper etc., in smallproportions.

Steel is classified as

i) Carbon steels
ii) Alloy Steels
iii) Tool Steels

Carbon Steel

Is a kind of steel in which the main alloying constituent is carbon in the range of 0.12-2%.

This tiny amount of carbon produces a material that exhibits great strength, hardness.
Other elements present in small proportions are sulphur, phosphorous, manganese and
magnesium

It is classified as

 Low Carbon Steel

 Medium Carbon Steel
 High Carbon Steel

Low Carbon Steel

It is also called as Mild steel and the most common type of carbon steel. It contain
0.03-0.25%off carbon and rest is iron

It is soft, ductile and it has good machinability, good weldability, good toughness,
good impactresistance.

Applications: It finds applications in nails, rivets, bolts, nuts, beams, boiler plates,
shafts, gearsand axles.
Medium Carbon Steel

It has 0.25-0.59% of carbon and rest is iron.

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It has properties like good toughness, high hardness, high tensile strength, good
bendingstrength, wear resistance and good machinability.

Applications: It is used in transmission shafts, axles, gears, connecting rods,

couplings and inspring manufacturing

High Carbon Steel

It has 0.6 – 1.5% of carbon and rest iron.

It has good strength and wear resistance, very ductile, low impact strength.

Applications: It is used in hammers, Chisels, Screws, Punches, Hacksaw blades,

Drills, Leafspring, ball bearings, milling s-cutters

Tool Steel

 These are special steels with carbon content ranging from 0.8 – 1.2%.
 They are very hard, good strength, corrosion resistance and wear resistance.
They arehighly stable at high loads and elevated temperatures.
 HSS (High Speed Steel) is the most commonly used tool steel

Applications: Used to manufacture tools like lathe tools, drill bit, milling cutters

Alloy Steel
An alloy can be defined as a homogeneous mixture of two or more metals. Alloy steel include iron
and carbon. These steels are produced by adding other than carbon incalculated amounts in order to
provide specific properties.

 Principle alloying elements are chromium, nickel, manganese.

 Alloying elements are added for properties such as
 Improved machinability, weldability and castability Improved strength
andductility Improved fatigue and corrosion resistance
 Common types of alloy steels are
 Chromium steel
 Nickel steel
 Manganese Steels
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Stainless Steel

• It is an iron-carbon alloy with chromium content of 11.5%-25%depending

upon theproperties
• Chromium helps to resist corrosion in steels.
• They get the name because they do not corrode or stain easily.

Applications: Manufacturing of kitchen utensils, sinks, food processing equipment,

chemicalplant and equipment, knife blades, surgical instruments etc.,

Chromium Steel

 In this type of steel chromium is the alloying element

 It improves toughness, resistance to heat, corrosion

Applications: It finds application in balls, rollers, cutting tools

Nickel Steel

In this type of steel Nickel is the alloying element. It contains 3 % nickel, 0.2-0.35% of carbon

Applications:

 It is used in measuring instruments, clock pendulum where coefficient of

expansion isvery less1
 used in axles, piston rods, components subjected to shocks and fatigue
Manganese Steel

 In this type of steel manganese is the alloying element. It contains 1.5%

manganese, 0.4-0.55% of carbon

Application: Its application includes shafts, gears, axles

Non-Ferrous Metals

These are metals without iron content. These materials are preferred due to

 Good strength to weight ratio

 Good resistance to corrosion
 Light weight
 High electrical and thermal conductivity
 Ease fabrication
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Classification

Non-Ferrous Metals

Metals Alloys

• Aluminium
• Copper • Bronze
• Lead • Brass
• Tin • Duralumin
• Zinc • Solder

Aluminium

 It is one of the widely used metal in recent years, which has replaced iron and
steel because its special properties like light weight, non-corrosiveit is sivery
white, soft, ductile material
 It is extracted from Bauxite
 The mechanical properties can be improved by mixing aluminium with
silica, copper,zinc

Properties:

 Light weight, high ductility, good electrical and thermal conductivity, good
resistance tocorrosion

Application:

 Used in making aircraft parts

 Used in automobile for making cylinder block, piston and other engine componenets
 Used in domestic application for making cooking utensils
 Electrical industry- cables, induction motor, conductors rotors

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Alloys of Aluminium

Duralumin

 It has 92% Aluminium, 3.5-4.5 Copper, 0.4-0.7 % Magnesium, 0.4-7% Manganese

 It is strong as steel but weight only 1/3rd of weight of steel
 Low resistance to corrosion and hence it is coated with pure aluminium to
improvecorrosion resistance

Application: Used in making connecting rods in automobiles and used in aircraft structures

Magnalumin

 It has 95% Aluminium, 5% Magnesium

 Good damping properties, light weight, high thermal conductivity, nontoxic
 Application:Automobile and aircrafts parts
Y-Alloy

 93% of aluminium, 4% copper, 2% nickel and 1% magnesium

 Good conductor of heat
 Applications: used to make pistons, cylinder head of IC engine

Copper

 Reddish brown colour, extracted from PYRITE

 It is soft, malleable, ductile, light weight, high thermal conductivity, good
corrosionresistance, good electrical and thermal conductivity

Applications:

 Used to make door knobs

 Used in electrical wires, cable, conductors
 Used to make alloy of brass and bronze
 In the form of tubes used in refrigerator, air conditioner and radiator due to
high thermalconductivity
Alloys of Copper
Brass
 Is an alloy of Copper and Zinc

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 51-81% of copper, 19-49% of Zinc

 Zinc is added to copper to improve machinability, strength, hardness
 It has good strength, ductility, machinability, good electrical and thermal
conductivity,good wear and corrosion resistance

Applications:

 Used in the manufacture of pump parts, marine fittings, valves, condense

tubes, fuses,nuts, bolts
 Making ornaments
 Electrical fittings
 Gears, pinions and other moving parts of a clock
 As brazing solder
 Radiator core
 Used in musical instruments such as horn, trumpets
 Bearing material

Bronze
 It is an alloy of Copper and Tin
 Copper 88%, Tin 11% and other alloying elements like phosphorous, lead
 Good strength compare to brass
 Good hardness, easy machinability, good fatigue strength, good corrosion resistance
 Popular type of bronze include Gunmetal and Bell Metal

Gun Metal

 88% of Copper, 10% Tin, 2% Zinc

 Applications in marine fittings, pumps, valves, bearings, bushes

Bell Metal

 75-80% Copper and remaining Tin

 Good ringing and low damping quality and it is used to make bells

Lead
 Is a soft and malleable metal obtained from its ore GALENA
 It has poor tensile strength, high coefficient of thermal expansion, it is toxic in nature
 It is soft, ductile and mellable

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Applications

 Solder since it has low melting point

 Grid/plate in lead acid batteries
 Pain industry as a colouring pigments
 Water pipes due to its corrosion resistance

Alloys of Lead
 Solder: Lead and tin used for joining less fusible metals
Lead foil: is made sandwich of lead between two sheets of tin,. Lead foils are used inradiation
shielding

 Lead-antimony alloy: are used in storage batteries grid

Zinc

 Is heavy bluish white metal which can be extracted from Zinc Sulphide or Zinc blend
 It is fair conductor f electricity
 It has low melting point and boiling point
 It is resistance to corrosion and good castability

Application

 Galvanizing: To protect iron and steel form corrosion, they are immersed in
a bath ofliquid zinc or electroplated with zinc, this is called galvanizing
 Galvanised steels is used in produce automobile parts

Alloy of Zinc
 Cadmium zinc alloy
 Magnesium zinc alloy
 Copper zinc alloy
 Lead zinc alloy
 Iron zinc alloy

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Tin

 It is a silvery white metal obtained from Tin stone

 It is soft, malleable and ductile, low melting point

Applications

 Tin is coated on steel containers for storing food/ water

 Used a n alloying element in soft solder

Ceramics
 Ceramics are inorganic solid materials containing compounds of metallic and
non- metallicelements most frequently oxides, nitrides and carbides
 Ceramics are good for high temperature applications mainly because of their
uniquemechanical, chemical, structural and functional properties
 Example: Clay, Bricks, Tiles, Glass, Cement

Classification of Ceramics

Traditional or Conventional Ceramics

 Made from naturally occurring raw materials( minerals) like clay, silica, dolomite
 Applications: Building materials (bricks, clay pipe, glass), household goods,
abrassives,electrical devices

Advanced Ceramics

 Made from synthetically produced raw materials like oxides, carbides, nitrides
 These materials posses high purity

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 Exhibit high degree of industrial efficiency

 These ceramics often have simple chemical composition but they are difficult
tomanufacture
 These are classified based on chemical composition
 Nitride Ceramics: Silicon nitride, aluminium nitride
 Silicate ceramics: Porcelain, magnesium silicate
• Carbide ceramics: Silicon carbide, boran carbide, tungsten carbide
 Oxide Ceramics: Aluminium oxide, aluminium tutanate, magnesium oxide

Properties

 They have very high melting point

 They posses high hardness and strength
 They are more durable
 Low electrical and thermal conductivity
 Low Toughness
 High wear resistance
 High corrosion resistance
 Brittle
 Low density

Applications

 Used in electronic packaging

 Manufacturing sanitary ware
 Manufacturing lab equipments
 Cutting tools made from silicon carbide
 Carbon ceramic in disc brakes
 Used to manufacture of insulators/semiconductos

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Silica

 Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14.
 It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster and is a tetravalent metalloid
and semiconductor.
 It is relatively unreactive. Its oxides form a family of anions known as silicates.
 Its melting and boiling points of 1414 °C and 3265 °C, respectively, are the second highest
among all the metalloids and nonmetals, being surpassed only by boron.
 Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs as
the pure element in the Earth's crust.
 More than 90% of the Earth's crust is composed of silicate minerals, making silicon the second
most abundant element in the Earth's crust (about 28% by mass), after oxygen.
Types of Silica
1. Amorphous Silica
a) Natural
b) By-products- Fused Silica, Silica Fume
c) Synthetic Amorphous Silica- Silica gel, colloidal silica, fumed silica
2. Crystalline Silica
a) Cristobalite b) Quartz c) Tridymite

Figure: Types of Silica

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Applications of Silica

 Most silicon is used commercially without being separated, often with very little processing of
the natural minerals.

 Silica is used in industrial construction with clays, silica sand, and stone.

 Silicates are used in Portland cement for mortar and mixed with silica sand and gravel to
make concrete for walkways, foundations, and roads.

 Used in whiteware ceramics such as porcelain, and in traditional silicate-based soda-lime

glass and many other specialty glasses.

 Silicon compounds such as silicon carbide are used as abrasives and components of high-
strength ceramics.

 Silicon is the basis of the widely used synthetic polymers called silicones.

Glass

 Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical,
technological, and decorative use.

 Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of the molten form; some glasses such
as volcanic glass are naturally occurring.

 The most familiar, and historically the oldest, types of manufactured glass are "silicate glasses"
based on the chemical compound silica (silicon dioxide, or quartz), the primary constituent
of sand. Soda–lime glass, containing around 70% silica, accounts for around 90% of
manufactured glass.

 The term glass, in popular usage, is often used to refer only to this type of material, although
silica-free glasses often have desirable properties for applications in modern communications
technology.

 Despite being brittle, buried silicate glass will survive for very long periods if not disturbed, and
many examples of glass fragments exist from early glassmaking cultures.

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Types of Glass

The following are the types of glasses,

(1) Soda-lime glass or commercial glass
(2) Potash-lime glass
(3) Potash-lead glass
(4) Common glass
(5) Borosilicate glass.

Application of Glass
 Window panes, tableware, and optics.
 In insulation, sound deadening, as fillers in plastics, and as reinforcement in plastic laminates
and structural shapes.
 Glasses can be used to transmit or shield radiation.
 Photosensitive glasses for fluidic devices are used in machine controls.
 Glasses are widely used in the food industry because their chemical resistance and many foods
are processed in glass-lined tanks.
 Glass has been used in building construction since ancient time.

Graphite

 Graphite is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene.
 Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions.
 Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large scale for uses in pencils, lubricants, and
electrodes.
 Under high pressures and temperatures, it converts to diamond. It is a weak conductor of heat
and electricity.
Classifications of Graphite
Graphite can be divided into two main types—natural and synthetic.
Natural Graphite
 Natural graphite is a mineral composed of graphitic carbon. It varies considerably in
crystallinity.
 Most of the commercial (natural) graphites are mined, and typically contain other minerals.
After graphite is mined, it usually requires a considerable amount of mineral processing like
froth flotation to concentrate the graphite.

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 Natural graphite is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, stable over a broad range of
temperatures, and a highly refractory material with a high melting point of 3650 °C.
 There are three types of natural graphite:

a) High crystalline
b) Amorphous
c) Flake
Crystalline Graphite
 It is said that crystalline vein graphite came from crude oil deposits that have transformed into
graphite through time, temperature, and pressure.
 Vein graphite fissures typically measure between 1 cm and 1 m in thickness and usually have a
purity of more than 90%.

Amorphous Graphite
 Amorphous graphite is the least graphitic among the natural graphites.
 Amorphous graphite can be found as minute particles in beds of mesomorphic rocks such as
coal, slate, or shale deposits.
 The graphite content varies from 25% to 85% according to the geological environment.
 Conventional mining techniques are used to extract amorphous graphite, which occurs mainly in
Mexico, North Korea, South Korea, and Austria.
Synthetic Graphite
 Synthetic graphite can be produced from coke and pitch.
 Although this graphite is not as crystalline as natural graphite, it is likely to have higher purity.
 There are basically two types of synthetic graphite.
 One is electrographite, pure carbon produced from coal tar pitch and calcined petroleum coke in
an electric furnace.
 The second is synthetic graphite, produced by heating calcined petroleum pitch to 2800 °C.
 Synthetic graphite has higher electrical resistance and porosity, and lower density. Its enhanced
porosity makes it unsuitable for refractory applications.
 Synthetic graphite contains mainly graphitic carbon that has been attained by graphitization,
heat treatment of non-graphitic carbon, or chemical vapor deposition from hydrocarbons at
temperatures over 2100 K.

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Applications of Graphite

Refractory Materials

Chemical Industry

Nuclear Industry

Electrical Applications

Other Applications
Amorphous graphite is used in:

 Metallurgy
 Coatings
 Lubricants
 Refractories
 Paint production
 Pencil production

Areas where crystalline graphite can be used include:

 Lubricants
 Powder metallurgy
 Grinding wheels
 Batteries

Diamond

 Diamond offers many advantages over other wide-bandgap materials and thus is a very
important material in engineering applications.
 It can be used in high-speed electronics and response systems as well as high-power laser
windows, protective coatings, electrochemical sensors, and more.
 Diamond is an allotrope of carbon in which the carbon atoms are arranged in a diamond cubic
crystal lattice.
 Of all naturally occurring materials, diamond boasts the highest thermal conductivity and
hardness.

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 These properties of diamond make it a very useful component of industrial cutting and polishing
tools.
 Diamond is the allotrope of carbon in which the carbon atoms are arranged in the specific type
of cubic lattice called diamond cubic.
 It is a crystal that is transparent to opaque and which is generally isotropic (no or very
weak birefringence).
 Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material known. Due to important structural
brittleness, bulk diamond's toughness is only fair to good.

Uses of Diamond
Diamond has a wide range of applications in several industries.

 Uses of Diamond in Jewellery

They are used in jewellery (such as earrings, nose rings, engagement rings, pendants, etc.) due to their
shiny lustre and their durability. They are used in making jewellery because of their durability and
lustre property

 Uses of Diamond in Industry

Diamonds are used for industrial purpose. Its property of hardness is useful to drill, grind or cut
materials. Hence, some blades used for cutting and drills in the industry used diamonds. They are
present on the edges and tips in small sizes.

Applications of Diamond

The applications of diamonds have grown enormously, exploiting the unique combination of properties
and the increased availability of the material as synthesis methods developed.

The following applications are covered in more detail below:

 Cutting Tools and Wear Components

 The properties exploited by these applications are hardness, strength, low thermal expansion
coefficient, low friction coefficient and chemical resistivity.

 Some of the products in this area include oil drilling bits, rock drill cutters, wire drawing dies,
extrusion dies, cutting tool inserts, optical grinding tools, coatings for computer hard discs and
coatings for ball bearings.

 Thermal Management in Substrates, Heat Spreaders and Heat Sinks

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Diamond provides the unique combination of high thermal conductivity with electrical insulation.

Semiconductor Devices
The electronic structure of diamond has a wide band gap giving it the potential for use as a
semiconductor

Optical Components
Diamond is starting to be used in optical components, particularly as a protective coating for infrared
optics in harsh environments.

High-Performance Applications of Diamond

The excellent properties of diamond have the potential to improve performance in many
applications. The main barriers are cost and scale of production. For example, metal wires and fibres
can be CVD coated with diamond increasing the modulus close to that of diamond and opening the
possibility of stronger and stiffer composites, ceramic armour and projectiles.

Shape-memory alloy
 Shape-memory alloy (SMA) is an alloy that can be deformed when cold but returns to its pre-
deformed ("remembered") shape when heated.

 It may also be called memory metal, memory alloy, smart metal, smart alloy, or muscle wire.

 Parts made of shape-memory alloys can be lightweight, solid-state alternatives to

conventional actuators such as hydraulic, pneumatic, and motor-based systems.

 They can also be used to make hermetic joints in metal tubing.

Types of Shape-memory alloy

 The two most prevalent shape-memory alloys are copper-aluminium-nickel and nickel-
titanium (NiTi), but SMAs can also be created by alloying zinc, copper, gold and iron.

 Although iron-based and copper-based SMAs, such as Fe-Mn-Si, Cu-Zn-Al and Cu-Al-Ni, are
commercially available and cheaper than NiTi, NiTi-based SMAs are preferable for most
applications due to their stability and practicability as well as their superior thermo-mechanic
performance.

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 SMAs can exist in two different phases, with three different crystal structures (i.e. twinned
martensite, detwinned martensite, and austenite) and six possible transformations

Applications of Shape-memory alloy

 Recent research of SMA has been applied in the field of Aerospace, Automotive, Biomedical,
and Robotics.

 This memory effect is due to the presence of austenite and martensite crystalline structures.
These alloys are bio-compatible, lightweight, and also possess a high force-to-weight ratio.

Typical applications of this kind include electric switches and actuators.

 Shape memory alloys have found application in the field of robotics.

 In medical applications- Nickel-titanium shape memory alloys have also been employed in
artificial joints such as in artificial hip joints. These alloys have also been used for bone plates,
for marrow pins for healing bone fractures, and for connecting broken bones.

 These are a group of metallic materials that can return to some previously defined shape or size
when subjected to the appropriate thermal procedure.
 Shape memory alloys (SMA) can be plastically deformed at some relatively low temperature
and, upon exposure to some higher temperature, will return to their original shape.
 Materials that exhibit shape memory only upon heating are said to have one-way shape
memory, whereas those that also undergo a change in shape upon recooling have a two-way
memory.
 Typical materials that exhibit the shape memory effect include a number of copper alloy
systems and the alloys of gold-cadmium, nickel-aluminum, and iron-platinum.

Polymers
 These are the organic materials with carbon as a element in their formation
 Ploymers are composed of large number of small molecules called manomers
 Examples: Polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, Nylon, Polypropylene, Polythene

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Properties

 They have low density

 They exhibit good corrosion resistance
 They process good mouldability
 They have low coefficient of friction
 They give excellent surface finish
 Low mechanical properties

Industrial Applications

 Used in the manufacture of pipes, tanks, packaging materials, insulation work

 They find use in the manufacture of automobile parts
 Used to manufacture of clothes and garbage disposable bags
 Used in manufacturing protective helmets

Thermoplastics

 These are plastics that can be soften and get transformed by the application of
heat and when cooled takes up the shape of the form. In case heat is applied
again, they will softenagain.

 Thermoplastic materials can be cooled and heated several times without any
change in their chemistry or mechanical properties
 Example: Polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride

Properties

 Low melting point

 Good wear resistance
 Good resistance to chemicals
 They are highly plastic and can be easily shaped
 They can be heated and cooled any number of times

Applications: Used for making Toys, Photographic films, insulating tapes

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Thermosetting

 These are plastic that soften by the application of heat and upon cooling gets
molded into the mould shape, but in case heat is again applied, softening doesnot
happen and gets permanently molded in the mould shape
 Example: Epoxy resin, polyester resin, vinyl ester

Properties

 Stronger than thermoplastics

 Well suited for high temperature applications
 High strength and hardness compare to thermoplastic
 They cannot be resoftened once they have set and hardened

Application

 Telephone Receivers, Electric plug, Radio and TV cabinets, Automobile parts,

Switch panels, Camera body

Difference between Thermoplastics and Thermosetting

Thermoplastics Thermosetting

1 These are the plastics that can be deformed These are the plastics that cannot be softened
easily on heating and can bend also by heating once they are moulded

2 Can be recycled Cannot be recycled

3 Suitable for low temperature Suitable for low and high temperature
4 Soften and less strong Hard and strong
5 Short cure cycle Long cure cycle
6 High Molecular weight High Molecular weight
7 Resin cost is high Resin cost is low
8 Used for making Toys, Photographic films, Used for Telephone Receivers, Electric plug,
insulating tapes Radio and TV cabinets, Automobile parts,
Switch panels, Camera body

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Joining Processes
Soldering
 Soldering is a method of joining similar or dissimilar metals by the
application of heatand using a filler metal or alloy called solder, whose liquidus
temperature is below 4500 C.
 The molten filler metal is made to flow between the two closely placed adjacent
surfacesby the capillary action.
 Though soldering obtains a good joint between the two plates, the strength of
the joint islimited by the strength of the filler metal used.
 Soldering is used for obtaining a leak proof joint or a low resistance electrical joint.
 The soldered joints are not suitable for high temperature applications because of
the low melting temperatures of the filler metals used.
 The purpose of using the flux is to prevent the formation of oxides on the metal
surface when the same is heated. The fluxes are available in the form of powder,
paste, liquid or in the form of core in the solder metal. It is necessary that the
flux should remain in the liquid form at the soldering temperature and be
reactive to be of proper use.
 The commonly used fluxes are zinc chloride, dilute hydrochloric acid and alcoholic resin.
 The filler metals used are essentially alloys of lead and tin.
 The composition of solder used for different purposes are as
given belowSoft solder - lead 37% - tin 63%
Medium solder - lead 50% -
tin 50% Plumber’s solder -
lead 70% - tin 30%
Electrician’s solder - lead 58% - tin 42%

Classification of Soldering
Classified into soft soldering and hard soldering.
Soft soldering: Is used extensively in sheet metal work for joining parts that are not exposed to the
action of high temperatures and are not subjected to excessive loads and forces or vibrations. Soft
soldering is also employed for joining wires and small parts. The solder is mostly composedof lead and
tin. In soft soldering, Zinc chloride and ammonium chloride are the most common soldering fluxes

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used which are quick acting and produce efficient joints. But because of their corrosive nature the
joint should thoroughly cleaned of the entire flux residue from the joint. These are to be used only for
non-electrical soldering work. Rosin and rosin plus alcohol based fluxes are least active type and are
generally used for electrical soldering work.
Hard soldering: Employs solder which melts at higher temperatures (3500 C to 9000 C) is stronger
than used in soft soldering. Hard solder is an alloy of copper and zinc to which silver is added some
times. German silver, used as a hard solder for steel is an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel

Sequence of operations: The following operations are required to be performed sequentially for
making soldered joints.

 Shaping and fitting of metal parts together: The two parts to be joined are shaped to fit closely so that
the space between them is extremely small and filled completely with solder by capillary action. If a
large gap is present, capillary action will not take place andthe joint will not be strong.

 Cleaning of surfaces: In order to obtain a sound joint, the surfaces to be soldered are cleaned to remove
dirt grease or any other foreign material.

 Application of flux: The flux is applied when the parts are ready for joining.
 Application of heat and solder: The parts are held in a vice or with special work holding devices so that
parts do not move while soldering.

Advantages:
 Simple and economical process.
 Relatively low temperature process, there is no metallurgical damage to base metal.
 The soft soldered joints can easily be dismantled by simple heating.
Disadvantage:
 The strength of joint relatively low.
 Flux must be thoroughly cleaned off after soldering, as it is often corrosive.
Brazing
 Brazing is a process of making joints where in coalescence is produced by heating to suitable
temperatures above 5000 C and by using a non-ferrous filler metal having a melting point (up to 9000
C) below that of the base metal, the filler metal being distributed between the closely fitted surfaces of
the joint by capillary action.

 Brazing gives a much stronger joint than soldering.

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 The principal difference is the use of a harder filler material commercially

known as spelter. Filler metals used in this process may be divided into copper
base alloys and silver base alloys. The spelter is usually an alloy of copper, zinc
and tin. Both similar and dissimilar metals can be joined.
 The flux along with spelter (filler metal) is applied to remove oxides from the
surfaces. Borax is the most widely used flux. It will dissolve the oxides of most
of the common metals. Other fluxes used are mixtures of borax, boric acid,
fluorides and chlorides.

Advantages:
 Dissimilar metals, such as stainless steel to cast iron can be joined by brazing.
Almost all metals can be joined by brazing except aluminium and magnesium
which cannot easilybe joined by brazing.
 Because of the lower temperatures used there is less problems due to heat.
 The joint can be quickly finished without much skill.
 Because of the simplicity of the process it is often an economical joining method
with reasonable joint strength.
 The brazed joints are reasonably stronger, depending on the strength of the filler
metal used.
Disadvantages:
 Flux material required to prevent the corrosion.
 Large section cannot be joined.
 Fluxes and filler materials may toxic.

Filler materials are expensive

Applications of Brazing:

 Brazing has been used to manufacture a wide variety of products such as Honey
comb sandwich panels for aircraft missiles, motor cycle frames, air plane
propellers, Hydraulic fitting, refrigerator evaporators, manufacture of cutting
tools etc.,
 The use of pressure-vacuum brazing has found wide spread acceptance in the

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general application of brazing joint in nuclear, aerospace engineering.

Welding
Welding is a process of metallurgically joining two pieces of metals by the application of heat with or
without the application of pressure and addition of filler metal. The joint formed is a permanent joint.
Modern methods of welding may be classified under two broad headings.
a. Plastic welding process

b. Fusion welding process

Plastic welding: In plastic welding process the pieces of metal to be joined are heated to aplastic
state and then forced together by external pressure. This procedure is used in forge welding, resistance
welding, spot welding in which pressure is required.
Fusion welding: In the fusion welding, the material at the joint is heated to a molten state and allowed
to solidify. This includes gas welding arc welding and Thermit welding. The surfaces of the metal
which are to be joined by any of the welding processes must be sufficiently clean to permit clean
metallic surfaces to come in to contact. In some operations, materials known as fluxes are applied to the
parts being welded to dissolve the oxides or to prevent the formation of oxides. Fluxes are different for
different metals. For ferrous materials borax, sodium carbonate etc, have been found to give excellent
results.
Types of Joints:

The welding joints are classified as Butt, Lap, Tee, Corner joints and edge joints. The choice of the type
of joint is governed by the kind of metal to be welded, its thickness and technique of welding. Figure
shows the different types of joints used in welding.

Figure: Different Types of Joints

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Arc Welding:

Figure: Arc Welding Process

Figure: Arc Welding Setup

Arc welding is a method of joining metals with heat produced by an electrical arc. In this process the
heat necessary to melt the edges of the metal to be joined is obtained from an electric are struck
between the electrode (filler rod) and the work, producing a temperature of 40000C, in the welding
zone. The heat of the arc melts the base metal or edges of the parts fusing them together. Filler metal,
usually added melts and mixes with molten base metal to form the weld metal. The weld metal cools
and solidifies to form the weld. In most cases, the composition of the filler material, known as welding
rod, needed to provide extra metal to the weld, is same as that of the material being welded.

A typical arc welding setup is shown in Figure.

1. An arc welding circuit consists of a power supply to furnish electric power.

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2. An electrode to conduct the electricity to the arc.

3. Cables which connect the power supply to the electrode and workpiece to
complete thewelding circuit.

4. The arc itself provides the heat for welding.

5. The work piece to weld is kept on a metallic table

The arc must be shielded because; as it hardens the molten metal combines with oxygen and nitrogen to
form impurities that weaken the weld. Shielding can be obtained by adding a paste, powder or fibrous
flux to the arc. The electrodes are usually coated with a flux. This coating
forms a gaseous cloud that shields the molten metal from the atmosphere. The coating also forms a
protective slag. The slag floats on the molten pool and hardens as the weld cools. This keeps impurities
out of the weld. The process is shown in Figure.
Advantages:
1. As a manual process it is applicable to an infinite variety of work and can be executed in any
position.
2. There is less buckling and warping of the work.
3. It produces strong sound and ductile welds.
4. Satisfactory welds can be produced in heavy as well as in light sections.
5. Low cost process.
6. Excellent joint properties can be obtained in mild, low alloy and stainless steels, nickel andcopper-
base alloys.
7. Low accuracy in setting up required.

Disadvantages:
1. Basically a manual process requiring adequate operator skill for good results.
2. Electrodes require frequent changing.
3. Multi run welds necessary on thick plate-slag chipping necessary after each run.
4. The principal disadvantage has been the high heat of the metal arc which makes it unsuitable foruse on
materials less than 1.55 mm thick.
5. High initial cost of welding equipment.
Gas Welding

Gas welding is a fusion welding process, in which a flame produced by the combustion of gases is
employed to melt the metal. The molten metal is allowed to flow together thus forming a solid
continuous joint upon cooling. By burning pure oxygen in combination with other gases, in special
torches, a flame upto 33000 C can be attained. The gas is purchased in cylinder and connected through

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resulting valves and pressure gauges into flexible hoses attached to thenozzle. A typical arrangement is
shown in Figure.
The oxy-acetylene flame is used to pre heat the parts to be welded around the joint and also to melt the
filler metal. A jet of oxy acetylene flame issuing from the nozzle of a burner is playedon the junction
of the two pieces to be welded. At the same time a filler rod is held in the zone of jet and its melt is
deposited on the fused junction. A weld is obtained after the molten metal solidifies. The coating on the
filler rod acts as a flux to keep the joint clean. The filler metal or filler rod used must combine with the
parts being joined. The melting point of the filler metal must be the same or lower than the melting
point of the metal being joined

Neutral Flame:
The correct adjustment of the flame is very important for reliable works. When oxygen and acetylene are
supplied to the torch in nearly equal volumes, a neutral flame is produced having a maximum temperature
of 32000C. This neutral flame is desired for most welding operations. Neutral flame has little effect on the
base metal and sound welds are produced when compared to other flames. Figure shows neutral flame.

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Carbonizing Flame:
In a carbonizing flame or reducing flame excess of acetylene is present. The
temperature of thisflame is low. The excess unburnt carbon is absorbed in ferrous metals,
making the weld hard and brittle. In between the outer blue flame and inner white cone, an
intermediate flame feather exists, which is reddish in colour. The length of the flame feather
is an indication of the excess acetylene present. Figure shows a carbonizing flame.
Carbonizing flame is used for welding high carbon steels and cast iron, alloy steel and for
hard facing.

Oxidizing Flame:
In an oxidizing flame excess of oxygen is present. The flame is similar to the neutral flame
with the exception that the inner white cone is somewhat small, giving rise to higher tip
temperatures. Excess of oxygen in the oxidizing flame causes the metal to burn or
oxidize quickly. Oxidizing flame is

useful for welding some nonferrous alloys such as copper and zinc base alloys. The
Figure showsthe oxidizing flame

Advantages:
1. The equipment is in expensive in complicated and it is easily portable.

2. Useful for welding light metals such as automobile bodies and repair works.

3. A large variety of material can be welded.

4. Welds can be produced at reasonable cost.

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5. Compared to electric arc welding this provides greater flexibility with respect to heat
impact and cooling rates.

Disadvantages:
1. Gas welding equipment must always be handled carefully as in certain
circumstances acetylene is explosive (when a flame is applied under pressure) as
oxygen when used in an oily atmosphere (such as an olds dirty garage floor pit).

2. A high temperature flame from a hand held torch is dangerous when handled carelessly.

3. It is much slower than electric arc welding and does not concentrate the heat close to
the weld.Thus, the heat treated area is larger, which causes more distortion.

4. Highly skilled operators are required to produce a good weld.

5. If electric arc welding is available gas welding is seldom used for work over 3.2mm thick.

The process is not satisfactory for heavy section

Comparison between Welding, Soldering and Brazing

Welding Soldering Brazing

It is a high temperature Low temperature process, base The base metals are not
process where in the base metals are not melted melted but broadly heated to a
metals are heated above their suitable temperature
melting temperature
Filler metals is same as that of Filler metals is not the same as Filler metals is not the same as
base metals that of base metals that of the base metals
Joint is formed by the Joints is formed by means of Joint is formed by means of
solidification of the molten diffusion of the filler metal diffusion of the filler metal
filler metal with the molten into the base metal into the base metal associated
base metal with surface alloying
Strength of weld is much Strength is low Lies between welded and
stronger soldered joint

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Due to high temperature the There is no Heat affected zone Although base metals are
metal adjacent to the weld as the process is carried out at heated, the heat affected zone
portion called heat affected low temperature is not too much when
zone is affected to a larger compared to welding
extent
Welded joint requires Finishing operation is not Little finishing is required
finishing operations required
Temperature >3000oC Temperature <450oC Temperature >450oC and less
than melting point of base
metal

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