For many small companies, outsourcing welding jobs is a cost-effective way to fabricate parts that offers many advantages over screwing, bolting, or riveting them together. Working with a small local machine shop that specializes in welding, you can have a stronger product, cut production costs, and ensure a supply of parts that are ready to go without increasing your payroll. Why Welding is a Good Fabrication Process There are at least three good reasons why welding is the ideal fabrication process for parts used in many industries: • Welding, which joins materials by melting work pieces and forming a joint by adding a filler material, is a permanent method of attachment. When done correctly, a part that is welded must be forcibly pulled apart or destroyed to break the weld. In contrast, when parts have been bolted or screwed together, they can be disassembled by removing the fastener. • Most types of welding creates a continuous joint that does not concentrate stress in a particular area. With mechanical fasteners, the point of fastening always is a stress point where the part is weak. • Welding creates a smooth part surface, whereas using bolts or screws either leaves raised areas or, for fasteners that are countersunk, leaves small depressions on the head where the fastening occurred. How is Welding Done? Welding uses several different energy sources to create a bond that leads to the names assigned to certain types of welding. Some of the most frequently used techniques are: • Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or TIG (tungsten, inert gas.) TIG uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode, while protecting the weld area from atmospheric contamination with inert shielding gases, such as Argon or Helium. • Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) or MIG (metal, inert gas.) The most common type of welding, MIG feeds a consumable wire through a welding gun at an adjustable speed as it sprays inert gas over the welding area to protect it from the atmosphere. • Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) or stick welding. Stick welding uses an electrode (the stick) that slowly melts away as current is applied to create an electric arc. As this occurs, the materials are joined together. Flux coating on the electrode releases a gas vapor that shields the weld area from contamination • Spot welding, also called resistive spot welding or RSW. Spot welding clamps two sheets of a work piece in certain spots. The process only heats the area that needs attachment, without heating a larger section of the work piece. A good machine shop will select the best welding process for your job. Outsourcing your Welding Jobs to a Machine shop These processes are very useful if you make parts such as bike/snowboard/ski racks, office furniture, food service carts, playground equipment, or trucking accessories. While you might be tempted to take on this operation in-house, the process is a specialized one that can be extremely dangerous. It is best left to shops with the equipment, the trained personnel, and the safety procedures in place to manage it. The right outside machine shop can manage any size job you have, and have the parts available when you need them. For many small businesses whose work is seasonal, the best way to ensure you obtain the parts that you need without increasing your payroll is to outsource welding jobs to a qualified machine shop.
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