More info
Full Description
Hot Wire welding and surfacing techniques are the result of the combination of a heat source with a separately added resistance heated (I
2R) and melted wire. The welding or surfacing heat may be provided by any one of the welding or surfacing arc processes, as well as flames, induction heating, radiant heating, etc. The I?R heating power source is completely independent of the welding heat source, and may provide either direct current (dc) or alternating current (ac) power for melting the wire filler. The I
2R melted wire is added to the welding or cladding zone by conventional wire feeding equipment. Correlation of the Hot Wire feed rate and melting current is required to avoid intermittent arcing or sparking of the wire due to a local "fuse action." When practiced in the preferred way the Hot Wire is deposited in a completely arc less manner. The Hot Wire addition process has at times been referred to as an arc less deposition process.Several versions of the Hot Wire process are used commercially and have been described in the literature. These include:1. Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) plus Hot Wire
2. Plasma Arc plus Hot Wire
3. Submerged Arc plus Hot WireOther heat source combinations have been used but are not sold commercially.Each of the Hot Wire processes has its own particular area of best application. These areas are usually determined by the user's prior experience with the same welding or cladding processes using traditional cold wire addition techniques.This Welding Research Council Interpretive Report discusses the technology of, and science relating to, the Hot Wire phenomena. It does not describe any of the particular commercially available versions of the processes, or their specific characteristics except in a very general way. All of the versions of the Hot Wire processes have several characteristics in common. This report describes the common operating principles and characteristics of those Hot Wire processes.