Welding Systems | Automated Welding Machines

Popular Types of Welding Processes

May 3, 2022
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When considering an investment in custom welding systems, it’s important that your whole team understand the basics of the welding process. Knowledge of these processes, along with guidance from our engineering team, will help you determine which system will best help boost your business’s bottom line. To that end, we’ve put together this collection of information about the popular types of welding processes.

What is Welding?

Welding is the joining together of two pieces of metal. It is done by heating those metals to a temperature high enough to cause softening or melting. This can be done with or without the use of pressure.

Welding can also include the use of a third material called filler metal. That metal is also heated to a melting point during the welding process and allowed to flow into the new joint formed by the two original pieces of metal. Filler metals help a weld meet certain types of industrial standards such as corrosion resistance or weight capacity.

Popular Categories of Welding Processes

Welding processes are grouped into categories based upon each process’s method of energy transfer. Each category has recommended applications that help the user know when to use which category. It’s also important to note that each one varies in the difficulty of weld procedure, cost, materials involved, and final quality of the weld.

Arc Welding

This category merges two metals into one by heating them with an arc. That arc is made of electricity that reaches the average heat of 6500 degrees. These processes can be accomplished with or without the use of pressure as well as with or without filler metal.

Oxyfuel Welding

This category heats the two metals with an oxyfuel gas flame to merge them into one. Just as with arc welding, these processes can be accomplished with or without the use of pressure as well as with or without filler metal.

Resistance Welding

Resistance welding joins two surfaces with the heat that emerges from resistance. Specifically, the resistance that occurs between the work pieces and the flow of the welding current. This all happens with a combination of applied pressure and the power of the circuit that the work pieces are a part of.

Solid State Welding

Solid State welding allows two metals to attach by the application of pressure without melting any of the joint components. This occurs when the right type and amount of pressure causes a transfer of atoms which then changes the chemical makeup of the surfaces.

Custom Welding Systems

Bancroft engineers use years of first-hand knowledge to help in the decision-making process. We understand that many times customers need to approve samples to ensure the process is going to be successful. Different prototypes can be created upon request to test the different designs and materials. Contact us today to learn more!

3 Ways to Control Costs Related to Over Welding

April 5, 2022
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When making decisions that control welding costs, understanding the information and the economics behind the quality and productivity can be critical. Over welding itself is costly due to the extra labor, filler metal deposition and shielding gas consumption. And we haven’t even begun to get into the energy it takes to produce the weld. Today the welding systems specialists at Bancroft Engineering are going to walk you through 3 ways to control these and other costs related to over welding. Read on to learn more.

#1. Design Engineering

Does your welding team have a welding design engineer? According to American Welding Society, the welding design engineer is considered a duly designated individual who acts for, and on behalf of, the owner on all matters within the scope of the selected welding code. He or she will be able to help control costs by ensuring that complete information regarding base metal specification designation is clearly shown on the contract plans and specifications for all the following for all welds:

Location
Type
Size
Extent
Electrode size
Gas selection
Position

Automated welding options will help ensure quality control and ease of supervision for your design engineer. Visit our website to explore some of our most popular automated welding systems which will be able to help you better control costs related to many aspects of your welding production.

#2. Welding Operator

A second option for controlling over weld cost is to assess the work of individual welding operators. It’s common for welders to go through some type of testing as part of their qualification process. Not only does the inspector check for the quality of the weld but the weld size is a critical check as well.

Some organizations will require weld sizes to be within a specified range. Undersized welds are not accepted beyond a certain allowable tolerance whereas oversized welds are sometimes not as much of a concern. (This is unless of course, it is cost-specific, or the weld is concerning a major structural defect.) Most welders over time can get a good feel for the weld size, but there should also be some sort of self-inspection process in place to ensure it is correct.

#3. Parts Fitup

The third possible cause of over welding is fitup. Parts not fitting correctly before welding can be a major cause due to extra root openings. As an example, if there is a 1/16 root opening on a T-Joint for a fillet weld when the joint should be tight. The welding operator now must add extra filler metal to be able to reach the correct size of weld specified by the engineer. The same goes for a groove weld.

Example: Sizes

A 3/16-in. fillet weld volume per inch length is .0175in.³. At the same time a1/4-in. fillet weld volume per inch of length is .031in.³.

.031in.³ – .0175in.³ = .0135in.³ of weld metal deposited savings.

.0135in.³/.0175in.³ = 23% volume savings

This 23% savings occurs when the weld size is kept to the required 3/16in. Instead of over welding to 1/4in.

Example: Arc-On Time

Arc-Time is defined as the actual time spent depositing the weld. For instance, a welder is required to make a 3/16in. fillet weld 1ft. Long would require 36 seconds.

If the same required 3/16in. fillet weld is made to 5/16in. Using the same parameters would require 1 minute 39 seconds to complete.

Arc-Time is greatly impacted by the size of the weld being made. Add all these possible variables and scenarios together and a company could be losing a lot of valuable consumables and time.

Automated Welding

Each one of the three or a combination of more than one may need to be applied to help control costs to your organization’s bottom line. There are many sub-causes within each over welding situation and being able to find the correct root cause can be challenging.

Bancroft Engineering’s team would be more than happy to guide you through developing a monitoring plan to help reduce the cost of your over welding concerns. Get in touch today to learn more about how we can help.

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Welding Trends for 2022

March 4, 2022
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According to the most recent Global Industry Research Report, the welding market size value will increase nearly $17 billion by the year 2026. What can we expect to see in the welding world this year that matches this kind of explosive growth? Today our automated welding specialists will address this and other related questions as we share some of the welding trends of 2022.

Welding Automation for Bridging the Skill Gap

One of the areas that drew a lot of attention in 2021 and continues into 2022 is the topic of bridging the skill gap. The skill gap refers to the increasing number of new welders entering the workforce who don’t have the experience needed to take on the complex welding projects the industry demands. This gap in abilities is emphasized by the growing number of experienced welders who are at or near retirement age and will no longer be available for mentoring.

One of the top trending solutions to this challenge is an increase in welding automation. Not only is automated welding able to provide a consistent, high-quality weld but it also dramatically improves the safety of a welder’s work environment. In addition to both those benefits, it also offers increased efficiency towards deadlines and production. To learn more about this valuable trend, visit our blog about the top three ways welding automation can bridge the skill gap.

AR Welding Training

A second rising trend in 2022 that also relates to the skill gap is an increasingly popular method of welding training. This method uses augmented reality or augmented training to give welding students more hands-on experience without the challenges associated with the more traditional training methods. Traditional training methods involve:

Exposure to gas emissions
Small training stations
Increased chance of burns
Expensive materials used up in repetitive exercises

Welding simulators can offer an extremely life-like form of training without any of the burn risk or exposure to unhealthy gas emissions. It will also save on the time and cost of acquiring raw materials for students to practice on since the simulators’ practice is all virtual.

Increased Focus on Safety

Whether it be in training or on job sites [and everything in between], safety is being stressed more and more in the welding industry. Improved technology such as robotic welding and automated welding systems are transforming circumstances by leaps and bounds, giving welders and their employers an advantage over dangerous work conditions and costly mistakes. “Safety matters” isn’t just a meaningless slogan in 2022.

Custom Welding Systems

If you are looking for a partner to help you keep up with the welding trends of today, look no further than Bancroft Engineering. We offer custom welding system solutions for even the most complex industrial applications. To learn more about how we can help you bridge the skill gap, increase efficiency, improve employee safety and more, contact us today!

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Weld Cladding & Overlays – What to Know

February 7, 2022
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Industries that work with harsh materials and/or environments require a quality weld that will withstand those challenges. In these cases, weld cladding and overlays are an excellent solutions. Read on to learn more about weld cladding and how custom welding systems can help with creating those heavy-duty fabrications and repairs.

What is Weld Cladding

Weld cladding, also known as weld overlay (WOL), is a welding process that joins one or more types of metals together. This is done by creating a layer out of the metal(s) which is welded to the surface of the base metal. Weld cladding is also commonly referred to as corrosion resistance alloy (CRA) weld overlay or hardfacing. These terms differentiate the new properties which are transmitted in the process.

The weld cladding process is extremely valuable for several reasons. In addition to creating a more resilient weld, weld cladding also helps with the preservation of more limited and costly materials by only requiring a small amount which welds to a more common base. Typical cladding materials include the following:

A duplex stainless steel
An austenitic stainless steel
A copper-base alloy
A nickel-base alloy

Common Applications

Weld cladding is one of the top surface overlay techniques for applications that require corrosion-resistant materials. It can also provide weld quality enhancement in hardness, wear characteristics, conductivity, prolong service life, or serve as a repair. There are many industrial applications for this technique.

Marine
Offshore
Paper/pulp
Oil/gas
Chemical processing
Food processing
Agriculture
Construction

Cladding and Overlay Machines

Bancroft Engineering offers weld automation equipment for weld cladding and overlay processes such as flux-cored, sub-arc and GTAW for steel, stainless, and other alloys. Typically lathes, travel carriages, or positioners with manipulators are used to apply arc welded overlays. We offer top integrated controls to coordinate the manipulation of parts with the welding process, which will help produce high quality results no matter your industry. Seam tracking can also be included as an advantage to your operation.

Custom Welding Systems

Bancroft offers both welding design & build services under one roof. We provide everything from standalone machinery to large fully automated welding systems. Plus, we back it up with quality installation, field service, spare parts, & support.

Get in touch today to learn more or request a quote!

Tactile Seam Tracking Systems

January 8, 2022
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How to Determine if Tactile Seam Tracking is Right for You

Since the 1960’s, seam tracking systems have been used in many types of welding applications from GMAW, FCAW and SAW. This technology has advanced greatly in the past few decades to align with modern welding applications and equipment. These systems are commonly used with seam Welding, cladding (surfacing), long welds or for parts that may not have the best fit up. Tactile seam tracking systems are also flexible, making them an appealing way to improve welding processes across all sorts of part sizes and geometries.

Interested in learning more about selecting seam tracking solutions? Check out this blog post.

How to Choose a Tactile Seam Tracking System

There are two main types of tactile seam tracking systems—basic and advanced. In order to make the appropriate selection, it’s important to understand the specifics of your seam welding application with the following:

#1: Establish the Payload Requirement

You’ll want to pick a system that has a higher rating that what you require. This will allow for a longer life of the system and less maintenance.

#2: Determine the Travel Stroke Length needed for the Cross Slide

You’ll find that selecting a seam tracking system is much easier once you measure the needed travel stroke length of each axis. It is critical to know which type of cross slide you will need.

#3: Select the Automation Type

Determine whether you’ll be using a fully automated system or semi-automated welding equipment. Fully automated, or robotic systems, will require an advanced seam tracking system, whereas you can get away with more basic models with semi-automatic welding machines.

# 4: Decide on a Sensor Tip

Select a sensor tip that matches with the seam type and the material thickness of your application.

How to Know if Tactile Seam Tracking is Right for You

Seam tracking systems are ideal for repetitive applications—this is where you’ll reap most of the system’s benefits! If you’re still unsure if your projects are good contenders for tactical seam tracking, here is a quick guide to help. If any of the below statements sound like your situation, adding a seam tracking system could offer significant value to your current welding process:

My parts have the same basic shape with similar seam configurations.
My parts are similar and only vary in size.
My welding applications are repetitive in nature
For circumferential welding projects, my operators manually weld both end-caps
For beam fabrication, my operators manually position and weld throughout the length of the part.
The seam configuration of my parts are lap joint, v-groove or fillet (single or multi-pass).

There is an array of options when it comes to selecting features for your seam tracking system that you may want to think about for your welding process:

Manual & Automatic modes
Joystick Control
Right or Left Sidetracking
Overlap Timers
Tack Cut off
Z-Search
Retract timers
Cut-off modes
Crater fill delays
Welding timers

Always keep in mind that the seam tracking probes will eventually reach the end or the start of your weld if on a cylinder and that the probe will detect that before the weld gets to that point. Some of these features and options may help with this, like using a timer to turn off the probe for the last few inches of your weld so it can finish the cycle.

Seam Welding Professionals

The team at Bancroft Engineering can help you select the right seam tracking system to precisely control the torch-to-part relationship during the welding process! We aim to simplify your welding operation to ensure the weld head is constantly positioned for optimal arc performance. Have questions about your applications? Get in touch!

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Pulsed Welding for Thick Materials

December 20, 2021
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If you or your welding team work frequently with heavy industry and equipment manufacturing, you’re probably all too familiar with difficult welding situations that come with high costs. I’m talking about welding thick metals with large joints in a variety of challenging angles and curved surfaces.

Pulsed welding is one of the top methods that experienced welders use to make those projects easier to successfully manage. Today our robotic welding experts will be talking a little bit about what it is and why it’s a great choice for many applications.

What is Pulsed Welding?

Pulsed welding is a variation of the spray-arc process. Where the spray-arc process can be an excellent choice for a flat or horizontal position, pulsed welding can be used in any number of angles and directions.

Pulsed welding forms a single droplet at a time by using a fluctuating wave form of the power source. The higher peak current is used to form the molten metal droplet. It is then followed immediately by the lower peak current which causes it to detach and pushes the droplet into the weld puddle.

Benefits of Pulsed Welding for Thick Materials

Pulsed welding is a superior choice for high-deposition joining of thick materials. It’s simple and quick to set up and offers a method that doesn’t require the talent of a veteran welder. In addition to those benefits, other pros include:

Cost-effective
Lower total average current than with conventional spray arc
Proper penetration without as much heat input
Low-spatter

With having less spatter and more control of the heat input with pulse, it will drastically reduce the amount of post-weld clean up along with less re-work.

When Not to Use Pulsed Welding

There are some cases when an alternate method to pulsed welding is preferred. It’s important to identify these conditions and use the best possible techniques and tools every time. The top two times when we recommend not using pulsed welding are with solid steel wires greater than 5/64 inch and applications that require a flux-core wire.

Automatic Welding System

Bancroft’s expertise & technology will improve your welding operations. From simple, stand-alone machines to full robotic welding automation systems. We are a welding equipment builder uniquely qualified to furnish reliable, cost-effective solutions. Plus, we back it up with quality installation, field service, spare parts, & support.

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Welding Machine Support – We’re Here to Help

November 7, 2021
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We know how stressful it can be when welding systems don’t perform like they’re supposed to. We also understand the negative impact it can have on your business when tech support can’t be there to help when you need it most. At Bancroft Engineering, not only do we craft high-quality robotic welding machines, but we also offer incredible welding machine support.

Help When You Need It

When you partner with Bancroft Engineering for your automatic welding system needs, we are dedicated to preserving this partnership for the long haul. That means that we offer services to help you protect your investment.

Complete Documentation Packages
Remote Diagnostic Access
Phone Analyst Support
On-site training, troubleshooting and repairs

Our response time during these situations is second to none. Using the combination of our welding system maintenance staff and our large in-house spare parts inventory, we will have your equipment running as soon as possible.

Qualified Welding Technicians

Our experienced field engineers are qualified welding technicians who specialize in getting your machine back in action as quickly as possible. In fact, we’re so committed to the safety and effectiveness of your machines that we also offer preventative maintenance welding programs. This allows you to stop a problem before it even becomes one.

We only hire the very best to care for your machines; each of our welding technicians have programming, electrical and mechanical skills. They can perform (or supervise) on-site machine help with tasks such as repairs, upgrades and evaluations. Rest assured that our team of specialists will have you back up and running in no time at all.

Extend the Life of Your Welding System

We also offer upgrades and rebuilds for welding systems that may have become outdated or worn. Bancroft can provide retrofit packages and upgrades to modernize and extend the life of just about any welding system. Our retrofits and upgrades offer you several benefits, including:

Cost-effective solutions
Increased productivity
Improved equipment reliability
Decreased future maintenance costs

With our help, you can be sure that your equipment will continue to offer high-performance welding solutions for many years. To learn more about retrofitting, upgrades and more, visit our page specially dedicated to welding machine support.

Robotic Welding

Whether you are just beginning to consider entering the world of robotic welding or you are looking to upgrade your current equipment (or anywhere in between), we are here for you. Bancroft Engineering is committed to providing you with high-quality automatic welding machinery and excellent customer service. Give us a call today to learn more about how we can help you!

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Seam Welding, An Overview

September 29, 2021
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One of the most widely used welding techniques for creating an airtight and watertight seal is seam welding. The seam welding process can be done using GMAW, GTAW or Resistance Welding. Today we’re going to be sharing some basic information about this high-quality welding option as well as insights about how automation can improve your team’s seam welding process—let’s dive into it!

What is Seam Welding?

The process of joining workpieces made of similar or dissimilar materials along a continuous seam is known as seam welding. One of the biggest benefits to seam welding is that the materials can be similar or dissimilar. Seam welding comes in three forms:

Traditional Seam Welding: Overlapping weld nuggets using GTAW or GMAW process.
Friction Seam Welding: A continuous weld is completed with heat generated by creating friction rather than with electrodes.
Resistance Seam Welding: Resistance seam welding is a technique in which the welding electrodes are motor-driven wheels.

Applications for Seam Welding

Within the world of welding, seam welding is one of the most preferred ways of using a continuous weld to join two different pieces of metal. Seam welding offers minimal distortion of heat and results in airtight and watertight seals with no gas formation. Because of these benefits (and more), seam welding has many common applications:

Barrel and exhaust systems
Pressure vessels
Steel drums
Radiators
Vehicle fuel tanks
Refrigerators
Oil transformers
Much more!

As if that weren’t already enough, there are even more production benefits to an automated seam welding process. An arc seam welding machine can be used for the mainstream manufacturing process, as it can produce high-quality welded seams with 100 percent penetration.

Benefits of Automated Seam Welding

If you are looking for a consistent, high-quality seam weld that can increase your production speed without adding to your workforce, you will want to consider linear seam welders. The design of these automatic welder machines allows the weld seam to be clamped firmly between copper fingers and a copper backing bar. Some benefits you can expect from automating your seam welding include:

More efficient loading and unloading of seam welded parts
Ideal for a single pass, full penetration weld in cylinders, cones, boxes, and flat sheets
Simplifies the switch between seam welding different size parts
Our Seam welders can be equipped with TIG, Plasma, Submerged Arc, or MIG welding processes
All clamping fingers are equipped with reversible copper tips for maximum life.

At Bancroft Engineering, not only do we offer state of the art seam welding technology but also seam tracking systems. Seam tracking systems will allow you to optimize your welding to an even greater degree by aiding in extracting weld seam position. To learn more, visit our blog dedicated specifically to selecting the right seam tracking systems or contact us to speak with one of our welding specialists.

Seam Welding Machine

Looking to optimize your welding process with improved efficiency and a stronger end-product? Whether it’s with a seam welding machine or welding fixture and tooling, we’ve got you covered. Our team of engineers have experience designing completely customized automated welding systems or semi-automated solutions to fit your needs.

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Top 3 Ways Welding Automation Can Bridge the Skill Gap

August 31, 2021
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Back in 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the American Welding Society (AWS) were already projecting a shortage of greater than 291,000 skilled welders for the year 2020-2022. Yet we find ourselves here in that future and it’s just as competitive as ever. Why? Because there will always be a demand for skilled welders. Today we’re going to discuss three ways welding automation can help your company meet that demand in creative and effective ways.

What is the Welding Skill Gap?

A skill gap can occur in any industry. It happens when the demand for a specialized skill set, and the supply of experienced professionals do not match up. In welding, it means that the younger, inexperienced welders who are new to the trade simply don’t have the quality of work that their retiring, veteran welder counterparts have [yet].

We are seeing this gap grow in the fabrication industry for several reasons:

Lack of experienced master welders because many are near (or at) retirement age
Emphasis on 4-year degrees versus trade school causing students to reconsider entering the trades
Skilled tradespeople retiring before mentoring less experienced welders
New welders lacking hands-on experience

The frustration is felt by both the employers and the welders. That’s where welding automation comes in. Robotic and semi-automated welding solutions offer a practical, smart solution to bridge the gap between what your fabrication quality demands and what your team needs without waiting for new welders to reach a specific skill level.

1. ) Welding Automation Improves Safety

In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 6,030 total cases of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work among welding, soldering, and brazing workers. Many of these injuries may have been avoided with more training and better equipment.

Welding automation provides an extra measure of safety to your team in several ways:

Machines have built-in safety equipment to protect humans such as guarding, fences and sensors.
The process of automating reduces the possibility of spontaneous injuries through simple, streamlined programming.
Just a simple welding positioner can offer lightweight, easy-to-handle solutions to meet even the most demanding, repetitive welding jobs.

With automated welding, even the most inexperienced member on your team will advance his/her skill level. Automation programming protects them from making simple mistakes that often result in injury.

automated welding machine — Custom Welding Machinery

2.) Welding Automation Increases Efficiency

Welding automation takes human error out of the equation, which helps improve safety as well as increase efficiency and quality. When programmed by a skilled welder, these machines can effectively multiply that skilled welder’s work. It’s essentially like cloning your best welder’s skill set and applying that ability to any team member. Imagine the effect this would have on your productivity!

3.) Welding Automation Ensures Quality

Part of the process of building high-quality welding systems includes rigorous testing at many phases of the design process. Bancroft’s full-service staff will provide installation, training, preventive maintenance, and production process improvements to make sure your robotic welding system solution is a success. This will ensure a high-quality weld no matter the welder’s skill level.

Automated Welding

Bancroft’s expertise & technology can help you bridge the welding skill gap and improve your operations. Our options range from simple, stand-alone machines to full robotic welding automation systems. We specialize in semi-automated welding machines for rotary welding, TIG/MIG welding, spot welding, resistance welding, laser welding and much more!

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Limiting Weld Cracks with Custom Welding Systems

July 25, 2021
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Welding cracks are one of the more severe defects. If you have a weld cracking problem, there are two questions to ask yourself to address the root of the problem:

Did the crack occur during the weld, after cooling or during a secondary/finishing operation?
Is the crack located within the weld or next to it?

Our custom automatic welding machines help limit weld cracks and achieve high-quality results. Let’s walk through a few common types of weld cracks and what you can do to limit them in the future!

Centerline Cracks

Commonly referred to as longitudinal cracks, centerline cracks typically extend the entire length of a weld. This happens when one or more of the following occur: there is an improper width-to-depth ratio, you’re using a base material with a low melting point or when the welding surface is concave in shape.

How to Limit Centerline Cracks

Run a lower current to decrease penetration
Decrease voltage
Slow down travel speeds
Aim for a width-depth ratio between 1:1 – 1:3:1

centerline weld crack — Example of a Centerline Crack

Crater Cracks

When the weld pool doesn’t have enough volume after the cooling process, crater cracks occur. This is most common when welding aluminum as it’s susceptible to both heat and stress cracking during the welding process. Stainless and carbon steels are much less susceptible to crater cracks, but caution must still be taken!

How to Limit Crater Cracks

Ensure your using enough filler material
Check that your parts have the proper fit up
At the end of your weld, weld back over the bead for 0.5-1 inch (overlay technique)

Root Cracks (Underbead or Toe Cracks)

This type of crack is located at the weld toe—or a heat affected zone. Underbead cracks occur at lower temperatures and sometimes are not discovered until 72 hours after the weld cools. This occurs when welding a sensitive material with excessive Hydrogen—which results in shrinkage, stresses, and cracks!

How to Limit Underbead Cracks

Reduce Hydrogen by rethinking your filler metal and check the storage environment of your filler metal
Apply thinner weld layers
Increase time between passes
Maintain proper pre-heat and post-heat protocol

Welding Root Cracks — Example of a Root Crack

Transverse Cracks

Similar to underbead cracks, transverse weld cracks also commonly are not noticed until after the weld cools. They share the same causes as underbead cracks—too much Hydrogen and shrinkage stress. Transverse cracks most often occur on high strength steels that don’t require pre-heat.

How to Limit Transverse Cracks

Reduce Hydrogen by rethinking your filler metal or check the storage of your filler metal
Maintain proper pre-heat and post-heat protocol
Use lower strength consumables

Custom Welding Systems that Prevent Cracks

Our biggest piece of advice is to make sure you have everything in order before welding, as it’s much easier than trying to fix problems later down the road. Always follow basic guidelines for cleaning and storing your base and filler material and carefully select the right welding equipment! Need more help? Reach out, we’re here for you!

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