Chapter 9: Gas- & Self-Shielded Flux-Cored Arc Welding (FCAW-G & FCAW-S)
Overview
When was the last time you were in a large steel-framed building, like a skyscraper or crossed over a steel bridge? When did you last pass by a crane or excavator on a construction site or see a large steel ship sailing in the ocean? These things are very different, but they share one thing in common: they were all likely welded using the flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) process.
FCAW is a widely employed process used in a variety of heavy industries, including the steel frames of buildings and bridges, shipbuilding, and heavy equipment manufacturing. This chapter will introduce readers to the development of the process and its equipment, industrial applications, and fundamental techniques.
Objectives
After completing this chapter, students will be able to:
- List the uses of FCAW-G & FCAW-S in industry
- Describe the advantages and limitations of FCAW
- Identify equipment associated with FCAW
- Classify electrodes and shielding gasses used for FCAW
- Explain the fundamentals of FCAW welding techniques
Key Terms
- Automation
- Constant voltage (CV)
- Deoxidizing and denitrifying
- Electrical stickout
- Electrode
- FCAW-G
- FCAW-S
- Ferrous
- Flux
- Mechanization
- Non-ferrous
- Semiautomatic
- Shielding gas
- Volt-amp curve
Attributions
- Chapter opening image: High-rise buildings of Manhattan during sunset by Ben o’bro is released under CC0
