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What is stick welding? Things to know about the stick welding technique
Jul
Stick welding is one of the popular welding techniques applied by many welders today. So what is a soldering iron? What are the advantages of stick welding, and how is the welding technique performed? Let’s follow the article below to TheTech to get all these questions answered!
What is stick welding?
Stick welding is also known as manual arc welding. This is a molten electric welding process using an electrode in the form of a coated welding rod. At this time, an electric arc will be formed at the tip of the welding rod when an electric current flows through the air gap between the electrode and the surface of the object. weld. This process is grounded in the safety of the welder. The purpose of stick welding is to create bonds, join, or repair metal parts to be welded.
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Advantages of stick welding
The stick welding technique brings many advantages, as follows:
- Can be applied to many metals with different thicknesses.
- Versatile, flexible welding positions can be welded on less-clean surfaces.
- During the welding process, the sheath of the welding rod will have the function of creating a protective environment by itself, thus minimizing the impact of the wind. People often use this welding technique when welding outside of school.
- Equipment used for stick welding has low cost and high mobility, so it saves a lot of welding costs.
Welding rods: structure of welding rods used in welding rods
Concept
In the welding technique, it is definitely indispensable for welding rod materials. A welding rod is actually a metal rod (usually made of copper) that, when an electric current flows through it, will melt and add metal to the weld.
When the molten solder is cut, it will be cut into straight segments with a length of 250–450 mm. These segments are called solder cores. Covering the outside of the core with a layer of a mixture of minerals is called a coated welding rod. If only the core is not, it is called a bare welding rod. When performing welding with bare welding rods, the quality of the weld will be poorer. Therefore, today, few people use bare welding rods.
Structure
Because bare electrodes are rarely used, in the section below, we only mention the structure of solder with a protective coating. This type of rod has two parts: the core of the welding rod and the sheath.
- Welding rod core part
Welding rod cores are straight metal pieces with common lengths of 250mm to 500mm and diameters ranging from 1.6mm to 6mm.
In the core of the soldering iron, there will be two uncoated parts: the tail and the head. The tail is about 3–5 cm long without any coating to clamp on the soldering pliers. The first part will leave 1mm uncoated with the effect of arc priming for ease.
- Cover part
The core of the welding rod will be surrounded by a layer of a mixture of minerals, chemicals, and ferroalloys. This is called the sheath of the soldering iron. In the sheath, there will be extra adhesive to keep the sheath firmly attached to the core of the soldering iron. The thickness of the sheath is usually in the range of 1-3 mm, depending on the type of welding rod.
The main use of the coating is as an igniter to help the welding rod ignite more easily and to add metal to the weld to help increase the weld’s strength. Besides, the cover also helps to protect the weld against oxidizing agents to keep the weld beautiful, shiny, and rust-free.
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Classification
Welding rods have various types, typically classified based on the following criteria:
- Classification by size includes 6 common types of welding rods:
– 2mm welding rod, length 250 – 350mm
– 2.5mm welding rod, length 300 – 350mm
– 2.6mm welding rod, length 300 – 350mm
– 3.2mm welding rod, length 350 – 400mm
– 4mm welding rod, length 400 – 450mm
– 5mm welding rod, length 400 – 450mm.
- Classification by function comprises 4 types of welding rods:
– Manual metal arc welding rod
– Cutting welding rod
– Underwater welding rod
– High-performance welding rod.
- Classification by coating composition also includes 4 types of welding rods as follows:
– Welding rod with acidic coating (designated as A)
– Welding rod with basic coating (designated as B)
– Welding rod with rutile coating (designated as R)
– Welding rod with organic coating (designated as O or C).
Basic stick welding technique
Basic stick welding techniques are performed step by step as follows:
Step 1: Clean the surface to be welded.
The surface of the solder must be cleaned prior to welding. Compared with other welding techniques, stick welding does not require strict cleaning operations.
Step 2: Arc bait
Arcing is the process of creating an electric current between the electrode and the workpiece. This current must generate enough heat to melt the metal. The parameter of the welding current must be set correctly before welding.
The worker conducts arc priming by moving the welding rod in the direction of the arc, taking care that the arc length does not exceed the diameter of the welding rod. If the arc length is too short, the arc will be unstable, which will easily cause the solder puddle to harden quickly and create solder flakes. If the arc length is too long, it will cause splashing, causing the welding puddle to harden slowly and causing air bubbles to appear, affecting the welding process.
Step 3: Adjust welding speed
Welding speed greatly determines the success of the rod welding technique. The welding speed should be adjusted so that the arc reaches ⅓ of the length of the welding puddle. If the welding speed is too slow, it will create a convex weld, and penetration is not guaranteed. Welding too fast will also reduce the penetration of the weld because the solder scales do not cover the weld evenly and do not fill the weld puddle.
Step 4: Check and clean the weld
When the welding is complete, the worker cleans the weld by using a hammer to remove the slag from the surface of the weld. After that, we will check and correct errors in the welding process.
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Above is our answer to the question of what rod welding is and what you need to know about the stick welding technique. Hopefully, through the article, you have understood more about this welding technique. If you need any further advice, please contact a reputable distributor of soldering materials, Thetech, for the fastest support!
