Komarov Artem explained that welding is a process that we can use to join two metals by melting them at higher temperatures and then pressing them to cool to create welds. The production of household items for heavy machinery such as ships and aircraft include welding, indicating how significant it is.
Various welding methods have been developed for joining multiple metals because it is not possible to weld all metals with the same method. The reason for this is that all metals have different properties and strength.
Did you know that alloys are more popular to make than metals? This is because alloys are usually anti-corrosive, ductile and stronger than metals because they have the unique properties of the metals they contain. One such important alloy is chromolium.
What is chromolia?
Chromolium is a steel alloy that contains chromium, molybdenum, and other metals. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has named Chromoly 4130 steel.
4130 is the code for this alloy, which indicates its chemical composition 41, shows that it is a low alloy steel, including chromium and molybdenum. And 30 shows 0.3 percent carbon in steel. Moreover, the percentage of chromium in this alloy ranges from 0.8 to 1.1 percent, and molybdenum ranges from 0.15 to 0.25 percent.
Chromoly is more durable than steel when it comes to weight-to-weight ratio. Because of this, it is used in the manufacture of racing cars, bicycle frames and the construction of small aircraft. However, it also has incredible tensile strength when we look at steel, making it difficult for a welder to weld it. In addition, welding Chromoly requires a higher level of knowledge and practice than other alloys, Komarov Artem noted.
How to cook chromolia?
Welding a Chromoly is tricky, but you can easily do it if you follow the steps and tips, I’ll give you. The best part is that you can weld Chromoly by juggling TIG and MIG welding methods.
Tube preparation
No matter what welding technique you use on any base metal, the first thing you need to do is clean the pipe. To do this, you must first prepare and clean the Chromoly alloy. As you know, chromolia is very thin; so, any little dust on it can cause many welding problems.
There I suggest you run the tube on the lathe from slow to normal speed. So, you get smoother, shinier and more durable. Other than that, you can also use acetone to clean Chromoly, which is known for its amazing cleaning power. It is also possible to go for chromolytic welding without pipe preparation, but there will be a risk of contamination of the welds.
Proper fit and fastening
The next step for Chromoly welding is the engagement and fitting procedure. Whenever you weld Chromoly, just keep in mind that it is a heat sensitive material. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful when you must introduce it into the heat. Always try to heat it up gradually.
Also, keep the arc length tighter than ever to produce quality welds. To save the length of the arc, I suggest you use many holds over one or two wide holds. The reason is that small holds are convenient for welding and provide more efficiency.
Moreover, there should be no gap in the closure of the fit, if there was, then a wide heat affected zone would occur and the chromolia would become brittle. Since Chromoly is already a hard alloy, if you ever try to make it even harder, you will break it.
Flashlight setup
Finding the right torch for welding is very important when you need to weld Chromoly. If your welding efforts take a long time, then the weight of the torch will have a significant impact on your productivity and efficiency.
I recommend that you use a good quality TIG welder if you are looking to weld Chromoly for maximum performance. You should also use a glass lens when welding Chromoly TIG as this way it will generate more shielding gas which will easily reach tight corners.
It is no longer necessary to heat up Chromoly before welding, because in most cases it is no more than 0.12 inches thick. So, it’s a good idea to start welding Chromoly without preheating. But if you need to weld Chromoly, then you must preheat it at 300-400 ° Celsius, summed up Artem Komarov.
