Weld pool diagram
In
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...
, weld pool commonly refers to the dime-sized workable portion of a
weld where the base metal has reached its
melting point
The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...
and is ready to be infused with filler material. The weld pool is central to the success of the welding process. It was first observed in
oxy-fuel welding
Principle of burn cutting
Oxy-fuel welding (commonly called oxyacetylene welding, oxy welding, or gas welding in the United States) and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases (or liquid fuels such as gasoline or petrol, diesel, ...
by
Fouché & Picard in 1903, after the discovery of
acetylene
Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure ...
by
Edmund Davy
Edmund Davy FRS (1785 – 5 November 1857)Christopher F. Lindsey, 'Davy, Edmund (1785–1857)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200 accessed 6 April 2008/ref> was a professor of chemistry at the Royal Cork Inst ...
in 1836.
The weld pool must be carried along the joint in a consistent width and depth, and the motion used to carry the weld pool has a direct effect on the quality of the weld bead. A weld made by starting and carrying a weld pool, without the addition of a filler material, is called an autogenous weld.
References
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Welding
