Designing Weldment's

The designer or engineer faces many questions when designing

welded structures, at one time the approach was to design from past
experience, it's easy or so it might seem. Using a design that already
exists has great merit, much of the work may be done leaving you to
modify or tweak the design, but invariably you will also inherit all of
the designs flaws, an old design may be out dated, overbuilt,
expensive.
Today these methods are largely discarded, replaced by a more
systematic approach to design. Most modern designs rely on
calculations and mathematical equations to factor in the forces at
work in order to come up with an efficient plan.
For the bulk of our study we will use steel as our material in question,
although there is wide array of other materials steel remains the most
common and cost effective, commercial availability is great and its
mechanical properties make it a good choice. When beginning a
design you must select an approach to your plan, much of this is
done without thinking too much, the choice may be assigned to you
or your gut feeling and investigations may lead you along. The
biggest decision may be to choose a redesign of an entire product or
possibly" a tune up cleaning up a section or adding a new feature for
example.
Below I've compiled a list of guidelines to assist you in the efficient
use of Steel, these 15 or so elements are a systematic approach to
designing by either section or complete assembly.

Recognize the problem (why are we doing this? To improve or

invent

Analyze a present design (how did it perform? Warranty, customer

feedback, sales people & market demand)

Determine Load criteria(whats its purpose)

Major design considerations(Aesthetics, Weight, Material, Cost)
Layout of fabricated components
Plate and stock considerations and preparation
Special sections and Forming options
Weld joint design

 The size and amount of weld filler material

Use of Sub-Assemblies Assembly Considerations Control &
correction of distortion

Cleaning and Inspection

We will investigate and discuss each of these topics in order to get a
basic understanding of what the designer must do in order to fulfill
his or her obligation.

Recognizing the reason:

As we begin to plan our design we must ask what the goal is for the
project, ether there is a product in place already that served its
purpose well and needs a facelift such as a diet, new look, or
perhaps beefing up to increase rigidity or load carrying capability. It
may be that weve been asked to build a completely new product
from the ground up, although considerably more work, this has
advantages in that there are no predisposed notions, it's a clean slate
for the designer to use his or her imagination.

The Existing Design:

If we are asked to modify or improve a design already in production
how should we approach this in a logical manner? Investigate all we
can about its past performance! In the original incarnation was the
product larger, heavier or more ridged than its service life really
required. Could we check service records for warranty claims,
failures, customer feedback, sales and marketing data for clues as to
what is really necessary for effective redesign? Ask what features
must be retained and what features must be added?
The Load Factors

Every designed part has necessity, but what is its job? What work
will it be asked to perform, and in what type of conditions.
Understanding the service environment is crucial in design of
weldment's, Loads are perhaps the principal factor in design,
terms like static and dynamic or impact give clues to the physical
stress the parts must withstand without failure. Five types of
stress must be considered when designing welded structure,
Torsional, Tensile, Compressive, Bending &Shear stress as well as
variables such as safety factors, vibration, temperature and

overloads. When searching for a place to start look to loads for

ideas, an engines speed can determine torque on a shaft, weight
on a structure, wind shear on a building, if the factors aren't clear
use an assumed load and test as you go.

Major Design Factors:

In order to achieve a goal of producing a part at the lowest overall
cost it's necessary to evaluate the design to make certain optimum
use is made of metallurgical and physical properties of the materials.
Factors include: material and labor
Safety factor's should be sufficient but too large a margin again
adds cost

Appearance should be pleasing but in hidden areas consider

cheaper grades of steel( hot rolled metal is just as strong as cold
rolled for a fraction of the cost)

Analyze the use of stiffeners to replace material thickness, this

reduces weight and cost

Using the most cost effective material, remember higher carbon

content steels or addition of alloying makes forming harder and
preheating necessary

Use as much stock steel sizes as possible, specialty materials slow

down delivery and increase cost.
Always keep in mind accessibility for welders and mechanics for
part replacement or service.

Layout of parts:
Whenever possible make your designs as easy to handle with
standard tooling, use as few individual parts as possible to
reduce welding and machine time When producing parts for
weldmts try and nest parts in a series in order to take
advantage of every inch of the raw material as possible, as little
scrap as possible. Keep section shapes round ,rectangular, this
makes it easier to program for machining and robotic welding.

Plate Preparation:
Plate preparation is the basis for all fabrication with steel; many
methods are available with economy being determined by
several factors, material selection, quantity, equipment
available, but cost is normally the deciding factor. We should
decide on the best method of producing the blank parts.

Flame cutting, Shearing, Punching, Laser, Plasma, Water Jet

and machining will prepare edges but we must consider fit up
which ones can produce beveled edges where necessary and
cost of each.

Forming and Sections:

The second major consideration in fabricating is generally
forming; forming parts can greatly reduce the cost of a
fabrication when welds are replaced by bends at direction
changes.
When designing consider:
Break press capacity
Roll forming
Making rings from tube
Use breaks to bend stiffeners in large surfaces
Castings where complex shapes are present

Weld joint design;

As discussed weld joint is selected primarily on load
requirements, however variables in your design may result in
startling cost overrun.
Consider joint requiring the least amount of filler metal , use
minimum root opening and bevel angle to accomplish this goal.
On thick plate sections use double V instead of single V bevels
to increase penetration and improve access for welders, specify
proper reinforcement on fillet welds.
The actual joints we choose fall into two distinctive groups
classified as grooved welds and fillet welds, each group
incorporates several variations for service requirements.
Groove Welded Butt Joints:
The single V butt joint used on plate 3/8 or lighter, requires
full fusion. Strong in static tension, not well suited for bending
concentrated at the root and shouldnt be subjected to fatigue,
impact loads or low temperature.
A very low cost to produce.

The double V butt joint is the best for all loading conditions,
specified for heavy plate, penetration must be complete and
alternate welding must be done in order to keep the joint
symmetrical. Cost is higher than a single V but less filler is
ultimately required.
Single U butt joint readily meets ordinary load requirements;
used for work with high precision fit up, used on plate -
thick
Double U butt joint for plate over or heavier must
have access from both sides, costly to machine but uses less
filler than the single U meets all load requirements.

Square T joint Fillet welds

Can be made on one side or two and light to reasonably thick
materials where load subjects the weld to longitudinal shear.
Care must be taken to specifying this joint where severe impact
or transverse loads are encountered.
The Single bevel tee joint withstands severe loads compared
to square tee joints, confined to or greater, or less where
one side welding can only be done.
Double bevel Tee joint used where transverse and
longitudinal shear are present, welded on both sides

Single J tee joint used in very heavy plate where welding one
side is only possible, for severe loads
Double J tee joint weld both sides, 11/2 and thicker,
unusually severe loads

Double fillet lap joint withstands more severe loads than

single fillet lap joints, widely used joint.

Flush corner Joint primarily used on 12 gauge and lighter

supports only moderate loads.
Half open corner joint used more on materials 12 gauge and
up, more penetration than flush corner
Full open corner joint general use joint where welding can be
done from both sides, used on all thickness, capable of carrying
heavy loads, good for fatigue and impact
Edge joint suitable for plate or less sustains light loads