Carbon steel is a family of alloys containing carbon and other elements. Welding is a popular method of joining these materials, with low carbon steel being easy to weld using arc and gas shielded processes. High carbon steel requires pre-heating and post-weld cooling. Different welding methods are used for low carbon steel, including arc and gas metal arc welding, while high carbon steel requires controlled preheating and cooling.
Carbon steel is a large family of steel alloys that feature a common alloying element carbon along with various other elements depending on the intended end use of the steel. There are several manufacturing methods used to join these materials, with welding being one of the most popular examples. Low carbon steel is fairly easy and straightforward to weld using a number of different methods including arc and gas shielded processes. Welding high carbon steel is a little more complicated and requires thorough pre-heating and post-weld cooling of the metal.
The term carbon steel is a fairly general description of a large family of alloy steel products. These materials can have a number of different alloying elements depending on their intended use, but all contain carbon to varying degrees. One of the most common methods of building and manufacturing structures and parts using these materials is the welding of carbon steel. Welding involves joining two pieces of metal together to form a tight union with little or no gap between them. A permanent joint between the two is then formed by fusing the pieces together in a tight, focused line along the joint with localized high temperatures.
The carbon content of any carbon steel product not only determines its working characteristics, but also affects the welding of materials. For this reason, the welding of carbon steel of the high- and low-carbon varieties differs from each other to an extent determined by the total carbon content of the metal. Low carbon steel, or mild steel as it is commonly known, is the easiest range to weld and accounts for the majority of carbon steel welding in manufacturing and construction. Mild steel can be welded using conventional arc welding, oxyacetylene welding, or one of the gas shielded arc welding processes.
Arc, or stick, welding is one of the two most common methods of welding low carbon steels. Arc welders produce a high electric current which passes through a pair of wires connected to the phase and ground terminals on the machine. The live wire has a spring loaded clamp at its end into which a flux coated electrode is attached. The ground wire is attached to the metal pieces with another clamp. As the electrode is brought close to the metal, the current arcs over the metal, producing a sharply focused and localized area of intense heat.
This heat melts the metal work pieces at the weld point along with the electrode and flux, the molten flux pool preventing oxidation contamination of the weld. The other common method of welding low carbon steel is gas metal arc welding, or MIG. This process works similar to arc welding, only the electrode is a continuous wire fed from the welder to the spot weld. A constant flow of argon gas or an argon/helium mixture is directed at the weld point, protecting the weld puddle from contamination. Gas tungsten arc welding, or TIG, and oxy-acetylene welding are less commonly used methods of welding low carbon steel.
High carbon steel is useful because of its hardness, which makes it more difficult to weld than mild steel because heating the metal tends to soften it. Although the same carbon steel welding methods are used to weld high carbon steel, the preparation and post-weld treatments differ. To prevent softening of the steel during welding, parts are typically preheated and cooled in a controlled manner after welding. The extent of this preheating and cooling process is dictated by the overall carbon content of the steel.
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