Did you know that welding has existed for centuries? What about welding machines? Since the Bronze Age and Iron Age, welding has become a part of our existence that it is said that more than half of the products made by man requires welding.
This means that the planes, trains, autos, and bridges, as well as computers, going through a welding process when being constructed. Isn’t that interesting?
However, medium AM welding didn’t come to being until 1881 of the 19th century. After years has gone by, welding has developed to be an exciting profession that is allowing welders to not only make a living but to earn six-figure incomes.
But…before you get too excited civil engineering job, you’ll need to learn how to learn the art of being a welder by knowing:
- Basic welding,
- Types of welding process,
- And different types of welding machines.
But, before I lose sight today we won’t be looking at the art of welding in number and number 2 above but instead 4 of the popular types of welding machines found in today’s welding market 4 being some of the most popular welding machines.
Different Types of Welding Machines
Welding machines come in various shapes and sizes. The sizes of welding machines are either large (mostly found in a factory) or small (made of light weight for domestic use).
The good news is, we will take a look at the various types of welding machines on the market that make welding easy.
MIG Welding Machines
MIG welding machines are one of the best machines to use in various areas such as homes, workshops, and a large-scale use in the industry.
MIG (Gas Metal Arc Welding machines) can weld aluminum, nickel alloys, mild steels, magnesium, and stainless steels, contributing to the broad purpose of MIG welding machines.
MIG welding is most commonly used in the automotive industry for welding repair work on cars and motorbikes or sport utility vehicles (SUV’s) and vans although the machines do have uses in construction industries where steel is used for construction, such as the production of homes, office buildings, bridges, and other structures or items.
The machines currently have many uses in High Production Manufacturing to create parts for automobiles, computer parts, ship parts and many other items.
However, there are a few types of MIG welding machines and has many variations too. Here are a few worth mentioning:
- Gas-less MIG welding machines: Gas-less welders are usually found on job sides as well as in homes especially by people who are working outside or in windy conditions have the beauty of not having to worry about whether the wind will blow the shielding gas away while welding.
- Wire welding machines: or flux core welders, the Wire Machines, almost always have the welder use a stitch welds on thin or thick plate.
TIG Welding Machines
The Tiger Inert Gas (TIG) welding machine is great for welding all sorts of metals. These metals can include gold, copper, brass, aluminum, nickel alloys, magnesium, titanium, and stainless steel.
It is good for fabricating various things but is also best for repairing damaged parts at home or at a facility or indoor business rather than some outdoor job or site.
In other words, when you are welding in the TIG Machine, the amount of heat formed will depend on arc polarity, arc voltage, and amperage. The process of polarity outlines the direction of the flow of current for DC welding.
Machines that can use foot-operated variable amperage have many other controls. One important control to refer to if you are welding aluminum is the balance to control cleaning versus penetration of aluminum.
In addition to the foot paddle, the parts on a TIG Machine include an electric torch and fillers metal rod, among others.
The TIG Machines can be used in power installations, machinery, petrochemical industry, ship construction facilities, and also indoor decorative metalworks and decorative outdoor structures, just to name a few.
Again, there are many different types of TIG Welding Machines used for welding metals including;
- AC. TIG Welding Machine: The smallest and lightest. An AC TIG Welder is used to weld aluminum in large part because it is protected by an oxide layer. An A.C. TIG welding machine can break up and destroy the oxide for the aluminum to melt down.
- DC. TIG Welding Machine: A D.C. welding machine can weld all metals and is suitable for use in all types of work.
Plastic Welding Machines
Plastic welding machines basically do what the name says – their job is to weld different types of plastic fabrications together.
Depending on the industry you will find plastic parts in automotive, medical, and electronic applications, you may find plastic welding machines used to manufacture toys, household utensils and heart valves.
While there are two types of plastic, thermosets and thermoplastics, only thermoplastics are capable of being welded.
In simple terms, thermoplastics are melted together by heating the surfaces, the weld setup is then pressed together by a plastic welding machine. It should be noted that there are various types of plastic welding machines which include:
- Hot Air Plastic Welding Machines – These types of machines can weld most comparable chemistry types of plastics. The classic use is to produce large chemical tanks, heat exchangers and plumber fixtures.
- Laser Plastic Welding Machines – Uses a beam of concentrated light against a specific location so that the area under the beam absorbs the light and becomes highly excited.
- Ultrasonic Plastic Welding Machines – They can also be used for metals, Ultrasonic machines converts an electric impulse to mechanical vibrations to allow molecular bonding of plastics and metals.
- Spin Plastic Welding Machines – Spin Plastic Welders are designed to apply force during rotation of one component of plastic against its unmoving mate. Spin welders are being used in all industries that use a pressure weld, that is based on thermoplastic material, including automotive and domestic appliances. Some of the products that they are surely using a Spin plastic welder to manufacture include aerosol bottles, polyethylene floats, PVC pipes and fittings, and transmission shafts.
Spot Welding Machines
Though the Spot Welding Machine, which is usually used to join parts that have a maximum thickness of 3 mm, is used in many industries, those are mainly automotive, electronics, construction, aerospace, metal furniture, medical buildings, rail etc.
The Spot Welding Machines are often used to weld multiple metal sheets together.
There is also Bronze, Phosphor, Brass, Titanium among other metals, with the exception of steel that can also be utilized with the Spot Welding Machines.
There are many types of Spot Welding Machines for different purposes, which can be both permanent and transportable machines.
- Seam Spot Welding Machines: They are generally used to make gas-fluid tight joints in different sheet metal fabrications. Examples: Steel fuel tanks for motor vehicles, steel drums, tin cans, and domestic radiators.
- Press Spot Welding Machines: It is mostly used throughout the metalworking industries, the Press Spot Welding Machines can be used as fasteners and studs and can be used in confined tight spot spaces.
- Bench Spot Welding Machines: The Bench Spot Welding Machines can be used to join wire ends and they are generally used in the automotive industry, construction, engineering etc.
Conclusion
I am very sure you will agree with me that welding is a fascinating career. But you don’t have to be a welder to buy a welding machine. As we have indicated above, if you are looking for the right welding machine for home use, you have now possibilities.
All you need is to know which metals or plastic you will be using, select the necessary features, know how much a machine will cost you, and then you can decide.
But before we leave you, are you familiar with above types of welding machines, and what do you think is are best for you?