Types and usage methods of welding tools

Do you know what types of welding tools are available and how to use them? Let’s learn together!
Firstly, let’s talk about the most common welding tool – welding electrodes. Welding electrodes are composed of alloy flux, welding wire, and end caps. Before use, we need to sharpen the tail of the welding rod to ensure consistency with the polarity of the power supply. Next, insert the welding wire into the flux, align the welding electrode with the area to be welded, and use the positive pole of the power supply to ignite the arc on the welding wire. At the same time, use the reverse pole handle to press down on the welding electrode to fully fuse it with the metal surface.
In addition to welding electrodes, we also have a very common welding tool – electrode holder. Electrode holder is a tool for clamping and fixing welding rods, usually made of aluminum alloy, with a surface treated with hard chrome plating to extend its service life. When using, it is necessary to first open the pliers, then place the welding rod into them, and clamp the metal part to be welded, and then proceed with the welding operation.
In addition, there are many types of welding tools, such as gas shielded welding guns, electric slag welding guns, etc., which are specialized tools for metal welding using electric arcs as heat sources. When in use, adjustments need to be made according to different welding methods, welding materials, and metal types to achieve the expected welding effect.
After understanding the types and uses of various welding tools, what we need to learn next is how to use these tools correctly. Firstly, when using welding electrodes, it is necessary to maintain good contact between the electrode and the workpiece, and apply appropriate force to avoid defects such as porosity and slag inclusion. At the same time, appropriate arc length and current size should be selected according to different metal materials and welding scenarios to ensure welding quality.
In addition, we also need to pay attention to insulation issues during the welding process. When welding high alloy steel, in order to prevent hot cracking, it is necessary to maintain an appropriate temperature to improve the welding quality. Therefore, it is very important to use appropriate welding power sources and auxiliary equipment such as welding stations.
In short, welding tools are indispensable helpers in our industrial manufacturing. Mastering the types, usage methods, and precautions of various welding tools makes us stronger in practice.