Metal Welding

Steel is the most common metal used in welding. It has many properties that are proper for welding processes. It has high tensile strength that can undertake a mass stress. There are stainless steel, carbon steel and low carbon steel for choice in welding depending on the product. Mild steel is especially easy to weld as it has an outstanding ductility. Besides, the price of steel is cheap which is one of the reasons it is so popular in welding.

Widely used on vehicles, aluminum has a strong corrosion resistance like stainless steel.  Although its melting points is lower than steel, it requires more heat for welding. TIG welding is one of the best choices when welding aluminum.

Copper has good electrical conductivity, heat conductivity and corrosion resistance. It does not need to be preheated before welding because of its high heat conductivity. Sometimes it is treated with manual arc welding for lower cost. However, that may lead to unreliable quality. Therefore, most companies use TIG or gas metal arc welding to weld copper.

Many other materials can also be found in welding process(e.g. brass, titanium, cast iron, magnesium alloys). Some of these materials require specific methods. Magnesium alloys as an example, should be welded by AC-TIG welding. Equipment and welders need to be more qualified to manage that.