Definition and Nature of the Work

Welding is the process of heating and melting metal parts to join them together permanently. It is used to construct and repair parts of cars, airplanes, ships, and sheet-metal products. Welding is also used to join beams when constructing bridges and buildings. Some welders work at steel mills, railroad shops, and highway departments. Other welders are cutters, using their tools to cut metal into pieces, as required by a blueprint or design, or to cut structures into pieces so they can be discarded.

Welders are classified as either skilled or unskilled, depending on their training and the kind of welding they do. Skilled welders work from blueprints and written specifications. They know the welding properties of various kinds of metal. Some welders use computers and robots to join metal pieces. With additional training, they can learn to program the computers. Unskilled and semiskilled welders work on projects in home construction, industry, shipbuilding, and other fields. They often work on assembly lines and do repetitive work that requires no special knowledge of welding properties.

There are more than a hundred methods of welding, which use electricity or various gasses to create the high temperatures that bond metals. Arc welding, which can be done either by hand or by machine, is the most common form. In this method, an arc, or electric current, is run through the pieces to be joined as well as a thin welding rod. When the rod touches the metal pieces, a powerful electrical circuit is formed. The high-temperature heat that this produces melts the edges of the metal and the welding rod together. Then the melted metal solidifies to make a strong connection. The type of welding rod used depends on the properties of the metals to be joined and the strength needed for the weld.

Another common form of welding uses gas. Many types of gas can be used, but a common example is an acetylene and oxygen torch. The welder uses a hot flame from the torch to join metal edges. When the edges are melted, the welder melts a rod into the joint. The rod supplies the extra metal needed to make the weld. The size of the flame and type of welding rod can be adjusted according to the particular job.