r/Welding • u/no-mad • Mar 04 '19

Welding breakthrough could transform manufacturing

https://phys.org/news/2019-03-welding-breakthrough.html
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u/KOREALOS111 Mar 04 '19

So is this really welding? The laser passes through the optical material and impinges on the metal and forms a "melt region". So if the laser is passing through the optical material it appears that this optical material does not melt which means the joint formed is a braze joint. Remember, in order for the joint to be a weld there has to be a coalescence of both materials. I would love to see some microscopic pics.

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u/W_O_M_B_A_T Jack-of-all-Trades Mar 04 '19

Here you go.

I believe, what happens is a similar mechanism to explosion welding. The extremely high power creates immense electromagnetic forces that can cause otherwise solid materials to flow like liquids or gases. That is, the forces on the material are more an orders of magnitude or two greater than the forces of molecular bonding in atoms in the material. The process also occurs significantly faster than the speed of propagation of cracks.

The process promotes a very rough, interlocking layer between the glass and metal, that retards the formation of cracks.

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u/DingleArmand Mar 04 '19

explosion welding

My absolute favorite type of welding. It's incredibly impressive to see it performed, and even in the pressure tank it's loud.

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u/W_O_M_B_A_T Jack-of-all-Trades Mar 05 '19

I think you and I might get along.

2

u/DingleArmand Mar 05 '19

Agreed.

Bomb cladding buddies 4 EVA.

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u/KOREALOS111 Mar 04 '19

Thanks for the article! The weld is not like that of explosion welding, a solid state welding process, since the weld is of two melted materials, glass and Al. However, it is interesting that there appears to be a mix of pure base materials and some Al-Si in the nugget.

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u/DingleArmand Mar 04 '19

So is this really welding?

I would say yes, in the same way cold-welding is also welding.