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Chapter 12

Joining and Fastening Processes

Questions
(a) ofte n cost lier;

12.1 Explain t he reason s t hat so man y different

weld ing p rocesses have been developed.
A wide variety of welding pr ocesses have bee n

deve lope d for several reas ons . There a re many

ty pes of met al s an d a lloys with a wide range of
mechani cal , physica l, and metallur gical prop
erties a nd characterist ics .
Also, there are
numerous applicat ions involving a wide va

riety of compo nent shapes an d thicknesses.

For example, small or t hin pa rts that cannot
be arc weld ed ca n be resistan ce weld ed, and
for aerosp ace a pp lications, where st re ngt h-to
weight ratio is a major cons iderat ion, laser
beam weld ing and d iffusio n bo nding are a tt rac

t ive pro cesses. Fu rthermore, t he wor kp iece may

no t be suitable for in- pla nt welding, an d t he
weldi ng process may have to be brought to th e
sit e, such as pipe lines and large struc t ures. (See
also Sect ion 12.1. )

(b) requi res asse mbly;

(c) weaker in shear; a nd
(d) more likely to loosen (bo lted con nec t ions) .

12.3 What are the simil a riti es a nd d iffere nces be

tween consumable and non consu mabl e elec

1-

12.2 List th e advantages and disadvantages of me

chanica l fastening as com pa red with ad hes ive
bo nd ing .
By t he stude nt . Advantages of mech ani cal fas
te ning over adhesive bonding:

(a) disassem bly is easier (b olted co nnectio ns);

(b) stronger in te nsio n;
(c) pr eloading is pos sible; a nd

3<o...J b~l-e.sh ..... I...J:~ bcoJ

trodes?

By the student. Revi ew Secti on s 12.3 a nd 12.4.

Comment, for example, on factors s uch as t he
role of the electrodes, th e circ uitry involved, the
electrode material s, an d the manner in which
they are used.

12.4 What de ter mi nes whether a certain welding

process can be used for wor kp ieces in horizo n
tal , vert ical , or ups ide-down position s, or for a ll
typ es of pos it ions'? E xpl ain , giving a ppro priate
exam ples.
By th e student. No te, for exam ple, t hat some
welding operation s (see Table 12.2 on p. 734)
ca nnot take place under a ny co ndi tions ex
cept ho rizontal, s uch as s ubmerged arc weld
ing, where a granula r flux m ust be placed on

t he workp iece. If a pro cess requires a shieldi ng

gas , it can be used in verti cal or upside-down

positions. Oxyacetylene welding wou ld be dif

ficult upside-down because t he flux may drip

away from the surface instead of pen etrat ing

the joint.

(d ) no need for lar ge areas of co ntact .

12.5 Comment
Fig 12.5.

Limitations:
189

on

your

observations

rega rdi ng

y-~

~... ... w~'S

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By the st udent. The students are encouraged 12.10 Expl ain why th e elect roslag welding process is
to deve lop their answe rs cons ideri ng th e signif
suit able for thi ck plates a nd heav y st ruct ural
ica nce of t he layered weld bead s and th e qual
sections.
ity of t heir interfaces. For exa m ple, there may
Electroslag weldin g (see Fi g. 12.8) ca n be pe r
be concerns regarding t he weld st re ngt h since
formed
with lar ge pla tes becau se th e t em per a
t he interfaces between adj acent beads may have
tures
a
t
taina ble through elect ric a rcs a re ve ry
some slag or sur face contamina nts th at have not
high.
A
co ntinuous a nd stab le arc can be
been remov ed . The hea t-affect ed zo ne and fa
achieved
a
nd
held long enough to melt thick
tigu e impli ca tion s of such weld s a re a lso a sig
plates.
nifican t concern .
12.11 What are t he similarit ies and di fferen ces be
tween consumable and nonconsumable elec
trode arc welding processes?

12.6 Discuss t he need for an d role of fix t ures in hold

ing work pieces in the welding op erat ions de
scribe d in t his chapter.
By the st ude nt . The reasons for using fix t ures
are basically t o ass ure prope r align ment of the
comp onen ts to be joined, red uce warpage, and
help develop good join t str ength. The fixtures
can also be a par t of th e electr ica l circuit in arc
welding, wher e a high cla mping force reduces
t he cont act. resist an ce. See also Sect.ion 14.111.

By the student. Similarities: both require a n

electric power source, arcing for hea ting, and an
electrically-conductive workpiece . Di fferences:
the electrode is the source of the weld me tal in
consumable-arc welding, whereas a weld metal
must be provided in nonconsumable-arc weld
ing processes.

12.12 In Table 12.2, there is a column on the dis tor

tion of welded components, ranging from lowest
to highest. Explain why the degree of disto rt ion
Th e reason why elect ron-bea m weld beads are
varies among different welding processes.
narrower t ha n tho se obtained by arc welding is
By the student. Refer to Table 12.2 on p. 734.
t hat th e energy source in the former is much
The distortion of parts is ma inly du e to t her
mo re intense, confined , a nd cont rolla ble, allow
mal warping because of te mperat ure grad ients
ing t he heat ing a nd t he weld bead to be more
developed with in t he compon ent. Note th at
local ized . Ot her factor s t hat influence the size
t he lowest dis tor tions a re in electron beam a nd
of t he weld bead are workp iece t hickness, mate
laser beam processes, where th e heat is highl y
rial prope rties , such as me lt ing poi nt a nd t her
concen trated in narrow regions a nd with deep er
mal con du ctivity. See also pp . 749-751.
penetration. This is unlike most other processes
12.8 Why is t he qu ali ty of welds prod uced by sub
where th e weld zo nes are lar ge and distortion
mer ged arc weld ing ve ry good?
ca n be extensiv e.
12.7 Descri be th e factors th at influence the size of
t he two weld bead s in F ig. 1213.

Submerged a rc weld ing (see Fig. 12.6) has 12.13 Explain why the gra ins in Fi g. 12.16 g row in
ve ry goo d qu ali ty becau se oxygen in t he atmo
the particular directions shown .
sphere ca nnot pen etrate t he weld zo ne where
The g ra ins grow in th e directions shown in
th e shield ing flux protects th e weld met al. Also ,
Fig. 12.16 because of t he sa me reas ons grains
t here a re no spa rks , spa tter, or fumes as in
g
row away from t he wall in cas ti ng process so
shielded met al a rc and so me other weld ing pro
lidification,
descr ibed in Secti on 5.2. Heat flux
cess .
it; in t he opposite dir ect.ion as grain growt h,
12.9 Expl ain the fac tors in vol ved in elect rode selec
meani ng a tem pe rat ure gra dient ex ists in t hat
tion in a rc: weld ing processes .
direction, so only grains orie nted in t he d irec
tion perpendicular from t he solid -metal sub
By the st udent. Re fer to Sect ion 12.3.8. Elec
strate will grow.
tr ode selection is guided by many facto rs, in
cluding t he process used a nd th e metals to be 12.14 Prepare a table listing the processes described
welded .
in this chapter and providing, for each process, .
190

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T he basic ste ps in so ldering the con nect ions

such a boa rd are as follows:

011

(a) Apply sold er paste to one side.

12.24 Inspect th e edge s of a U.S. qu a rter, a nd com

ment on your obser va tion s. Is the cross-sect ion,
i.e., t he thickness of individual layers , symmet
rica]? Ex pla in.

(b) Place the surface-mount packages onto

t he boa rd ; a lso , insert in-line packages
t hrough t he pr imary side of the boa rd .
. (c) ReAow the solder (see bo t tom of p. 777).
(d) Apply adhesive to the secon dar y side of
t he board .
(e) Attach the sur face mo unt devices on t he
seco nda ry side, using th e ad hesive .

By t he stu de nt . T his is an inte resting assign

men t to demons tr a te t he significance of cold
welding. T he side view of a U.S . quarte r is
sho wn be low. The center of the coin is a copper
a lloy a nd the outer layer s are a nickel-based a l
loy. (No te that pennies an d nickels are typi cally
made of one mater ial. ) T he following observa
tions may be mad e a bo ut the co ins:

(f) Cure the adh esive.

T he core is used to obtain th e proper

weight and feel, as well as sound .

(g) Perform a wave-soldering ope ra t ion

(p. 778) on t he secondary side to pro
duc e elect rical at tachment of th e surface
mo unts a nd t he in-line circuits to t he
board .

The strength of roll-bonded join ts is very

high, as con firmed by t he fact t ha t one
never encou nt ers coins t ha t hav e peeled
apart (a lt hough during their developmen t
such separ a t ion d id occ ur).

12.22 Discuss the factors th at influen ce the st rengt h

of (a) a diffusion bonded component and (b) a
cold welded component.
Diffusion bonded stren gt h (Section 12.12) is in
fluenced by tempera ture (t he higher t he te m
perat ure , the mo re the d iffusion), pressure,
t ime, and th e mater ials being join ed . The
clea nliness of th e surfac es is also im port ant to
ma ke sur e no lubr ica nts, oxide s, or other con
ta minants interfere with the diffusion process.
For t his reason , th ese joint s a re com mo nly pre
par ed by solvent clea ning a nd/o r pickling to re
move oxides. Cold welded com pone nts (Sect ion
12.7 ) involve sim ila r considera t ions except t hat
tem perature is not a relevant paramet er.

The outer layers . which are mad e of the

more expen sive a lloy, are thin for cost re
du ction.
The thick nesses of the two outer layer s is
not the sam e. Th is is du e to the smearing
action th a t occurs around the per iphe ry
during bla nking of the coins, as can be re
ca lled from Sect ion 7.3.

12.23 Describe the difficu lti es you might encou nt er in

a p plying ex plosion weld ing in a factory environ
ment .
12.25
By t he student. Explosives are very da ngerous; --..I
a fter a ll, they ar e generally used for destru ctive If'
purposes . T her e a re sa fety conc ern s su ch as
hearing loss , damage result ing from explo sions,
a nd fires. "T he admi nist rative burden is hig h
because th ere are ma ny federa l, sta te, a nd mu
nicipal regulations regarding the handling a nd
use of ex plosives a nd t he registration involve d
in usin g explosives.
192

W ha t adva nt ages do resistance weldin g pro

cesses have over oth ers described in thi s chap
ter ?
By th e st udent. Recall th at resistan ce weld ing
is a clean er process for which elect rodes, flux, or
shiel din g enviro nme nt ar e not needed; the met
als to be welded provi de a ll of these inh erentl y.
Th e pro cess is easily autom ated and prod uct ion
rate is high .

.41wx G.

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equipment and appliances found in homes, of

fices, and factories will give ample opportunity
for students to res pond comprehensively to thi s
question.
12.33 Could the proj ection welded part s shown in
Fig. 12.36 be made by any of the processes de
scribed in other parts of this text'? Explain.

(if too long, the part may buckle instead of be

ing upset), thermal conductivity (the lower the
conductivi ty, the sm aller t he upset length), and
the rate at which the force is applied (the higher
the rate, the grea ter the force required for up
se-tting, due to strain-rate sensitivity of the ma
terial at elevated temperatures) .

12.36 Explain how you would fabricat e the structures

By the student. The projection-welded parts
shown in Fig. 12.41b with methods other than
shown could possibly be made through resis
diffusion bonding and superplastic forming .
tance spot welding (alt hough it would require
By the student. These structures can be made
several strokes] and resistance projection weld
through a combination of sheet-metal forming
ing. Various other processes may be able to pro
processes (C ha p te r 7) an d resistance welding,
d uce the p arts shown, but t he join t strength de
brazing, mechanical joining, or adhesive bond
veloped or the economics of the processes may
ing. Note, however, that such complex parts
not be as favorable. The shape can also be
and interfaces may not allow easy implementa
achi eved through arc or gas welding processes
tion of these various operations without exten
(followed by finishing su ch as grinding, if neces
sive tooling.
sary), as well as brazing or soldering (see Sec
tio n 12.13). With a modified interface, mechan
12.37 Make a survey of metal containers used for
ical fastening and adhesive bonding also could
household products and foods and beverages.
be suitable processes.
Iden tify those that have utilized any of the pro
cesses described in this chapter. Describe your
12.34 Describe the factors that influ ence flattening of
observations.
the interface after resistance projection welding
takes place .
Review Fig. 12.36 and note that:

(a) The projections provide localized areas of

heating, 00 the material in the projection
soft en an d undergo dillusion.
(b) The normal force b etween the parts flat
tens these soft ened p rojections by plastic
defo rmation.

By the student. This is an interesting project

for students. It will be noted that some food
and beverage containers are three-p iece cans,
with a welded seam along the length of the can;
others may be soldered or seamed (see, for ex
ample, Fig. 12.53) . These cont ainers are typ
ically used for shaving cream, laundry starch
sprays, and various !:,pray cans for paints and
ot her p roducts .

(c) Important factors are the nature of the 12.38 Which process uses a solder paste? What are
the advantages to this process '!
mating surfaces, the mate rials involved,
the shape of the projections, the tempera
Solder paste is used in reflow soldering, de
tures developed, the magnitude of the nor
scribed in Sect ion 12.13.3, which is also used for
mal force , and length of time.
soldering integrated circuits onto printed circuit
boards (Sect ion 13.13).
12.35 What factors influ ence the shape of th e upset
joint in flas h welding, as sh own in Fig. 12.37b? 12.39 E xp lain why some joints may have to be pre
't heated prior to welding.
The important factors are the amount of heat
generated (if too lit tl e heat, the material will
Some joints may have to be preheated pr ior to
not deform to the required extent) , the nature
welding in order to :
of the contracting surfaces (oxid e layers, con
tamin ants, etc.) , the force a pp lied (t he higher
(a) control and reduce the cooling rate, espe
th e force , the greater the upset volume) , the ex
cially for metals with high thermal con
posed length between the pieces and the clamps
ductivity, suchas aluminum and copper,
194

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(b) control and reduce residual stresses devel

oped in the joint , and
"

(c) for more effective wave soldering (p . 778) .

12.40 What are the similarities and differences be

tween casting of metals (Chapte r 5) and fusion
welding'!

the joint. The filler metal is typi call y an al

loy of the same met al , due to t he fact t hat the
workpiece and the filler should melt at reason
ably close temperatures. To visualize why this
is the case, consider a copper filler used with a
material with a much higher melting tempera
ture, such as steel. When the copper melts , the
st eel workpiece is st ill in a solid state, and the
interface will be one of adhesion , with no sig
nificant diffusion between the copper and the
steel. (See also bottom of p. 743 an d p . 773.)

By the st udent. Cas ting and fusion weldin g

processes are similar in that they both involve
molten metals that are allowed to recrystallize,
cool, and solidify. The mechanisms are simil ar
in that solidificat ion begins with the formation 12.44 Describe the factors that contribute to the dif
fer ence in prope rties across a welded joint.
of columnar grains (Sect ion 5,3). The cooled
structure is essentially iden tical to a cast st ruc
By the student. An appropriate response will
ture with coarse grains. However , the weld joint
require the students to carefully review Sec
(Fig. 12.15) is different in that selec tion of fillers
tion12.6.
and heat trea t ment (after welding) influence the
joint's properties.
12.45 How does the weldability of steel change as the
steel's carbon content increases'! Why'!
12.41 Explain the role of the excessive rest raint (stiff
ness) of various components to be welded on
By the student. Review Section 12.6.2. As the
weld defects.
carbo n cont ent increases, weldability decreases
because of martensite formation, which is hard
Refer to Section 12.6.1. The effect of stiffness
and brittle (see p. 238).
on weld defects is primarily through the stresses
developed du ring heating and coolin g of th e 12.46 Are there common fact o rs among the weldabil
ity, solderability, castability, formability, and
weld joint. Note, for example, that not allowing
m achinabilit y of metals? Explain, with app ro
for contraction (such as due to a very stiff sys
priate examples.
tem) will cause cracks in the joint du e to high
thermal stresses (see Fig. 12.22).
By the student. This is an interesting, but very
challenging, assignment and appropriate for a
12.42 Discuss the weldability of several metals, and
st ude nt paper. As to be expect ed, the rela
explain why some me tals are easier to weld th an
tionships are complex, as can also be seen by
others.
re viewing Ta ble 3.8 on p . 117. Note that for
By the student. This is a challenging assign
som e alum inum alloys, for example, machin
ment and will req uire considerable effort. Re
ability and weldability are opposite (i.e., D-C
view Sect ion 12.62 and note that, as expected,
vs. A rat ings). The students should an alyz e the
weldability depends on many factors. See also
contents of t he following: Weldability - Section
Table 3.8 and the Bibliography at the end of
12.6.2 ; solderability - p. 777; castability - Sec
this chapter.
tions 5.4.2 and 5.6; formab ility - Sections 6.2.6
an d 7.7; machinability - Section 8.5.
12.43 Must the filler metal be of the same composi
tion as t at of he base metal to be weld '! 12.47 Assume that you are as ked to inspec t a weld
for a critical appli cation. Descr ibe the pro ce
Explain.
dure you would follow. If you find a flaw during
It is not necessary for the filler met al, rod , or
your inspection, how would you go about deter
wire to be the sam e as t he base metal to be
mining whe ther or not this flaw is im portant for
welded. Filler metals are generally chosen for
the particular application'!
the favorable alloying proper ties that they im
part to the weld zone . The only fun ct ion the
By the student , This is a challenging task, re
filler metal must fulfill is to fill in the gaps in
quiring a ca reful review of Section 12.6.1. Note,
195

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reproduction. storage in a retrieval system. or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or

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By the student. Mechanical joining methods,

described in Section 12.15, date back to 3000
2000 B.C., as shown in Table LI on p. 3. These
methods hav e been developed mainly because
they im part design flexibility to products, t hey
greatly ease assembly (especially disass embly,
thus simplifying repair and part replacement),
and have econ omic advant ages.
12.53 Explain why hole preparation may be impor
tant in mechanical joining.

numerous joints shown in the figures in Section

12.17.
By the student. The stude nts may respond to
this question in different ways. For example,
they can compare and con t rast adhesive bonded
joints with those of welded and mechanicall y
assembled joints. Note also the projected area
of the joints, the type of materials used , their
geometric features, and the locations and direc
tions of the forces applied.

By t he student . See Sect ion 12.15.1. Note, 12.57 How different is adhesive bonding from other
for example, that if a hole has larg-e burrs
joining methods'! What limitations does it
(see Fig . 7.5) it can adversely a ffect joint qual
have'!
ity, and also possibly causing crevice corrosion
By the student. Revi ew Section 12.14. Adhe
(p . 109). If the hole is significantly larger than
sive bond ing is significan t ly different from other
the rivet , no compress ive st ress will be devel
joining methods in that the workp iece materi
oped on its cylindrical surface when the rivet is
als are of various types, there is no penetration
upset,
of t he work piece surfaces, and bonding is done
at room temperature. Its main limitations are
12.54 What precautions should be taken in mechani
the necessity for clean sur faces, tight clearances,
cal joining of dissimilar metals'!
and the longer times req uired .
By the student. In joining dissimilar metals, 12.58 Soldering is generally a.pplied to thinner com
one must be careful about their possible chemi
ponents. W hy?
cal interact ion. O ften , two dissimilar met als re
act in a cathodic process, causing galvanic cor
Solders have much lower strength than braze
rosion and corrosive wear (see Section 3.9.7).
fillers or weld beads. Therefore, in joining mem
This is especially a concern in marine applica
bers to be subjected to significan t loads, which
tions, where sea salt can cause major degrada.
is typical of members with large thickness , one
tion, as well as in chemical industries.
would nor mally consider brazing or welding,
bu t not soldering. A benefit of solde ring when
12.55 What difficulties are involved in joining plas
joining thin components is that it takes place at
tics'! What about in joining ceramics? Why?
much lower temperatures than br azing or weld
ing, so that one does not have to be concerned
By the student. See Section 12.16. Plastics can
about the workpiece melting due to localized
be difficult to join. The thermal cond uctivity is
heating, or signi fica nt warping in the joint area.
so low that, if me lted, plast ics will flow before
they resolidify; thermosets will not melt , but 12.59 Explain why adhesively bonded joints tend to
will degrade as temperature is incr eased. Ther
be weak in peeling.
moplastics ar e generally soft and thus cannot
Adhesives are weak in peeling because there is
be compressed very much in threaded connec
a concentrated, high tensile stress at the tip of
tions, so the bonds with these processes will not
the joint when being peeled (see Fig. 12.50);
be very strong. T herm oplas tics are usu ally as
consequently,
their low tensile strength reduces
sembled with snap fasteners when st rengt h is
the
peeling
forces
. (Recall that this situation
not a key concern, or with adhesives. Ceramics
is
somewhat
analogous
to crack initiation and
can be joined by ad hesive bonding, and also by
propagation in metals under tensile stresses; see
mechanical means in which the brittleness and
Fig. 3.30.) Note, however, that tougher adhe
notch sensitivity of these materials ar e impor
sives can require considerable force and energy
tant concerns.
to peel, as can be appreciated when trying to
12.56 Comment on your observations concerning the
peel off some adhesive tapes.
197