Weld pool diagram
In
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order 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 e ...
, 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 of matter, state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase (matter), phase exist in Thermodynamic equilib ...
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, bio ...
by
Fouché & Picard in 1903, after the discovery of
acetylene
Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a 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 u ...
by
Edmund Davy
Edmund Davy Fellow of the Royal Society, 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 chemi ...
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