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Welding aluminum isn't difficult, it's just different. Different from welding steel that is. In fact, the unique combination of light weight and relatively high strength makes aluminum the second most popular metal welded today.

What makes welding aluminum a bit different from steel includes:

• Aluminum's oxide surface coating
• High thermal conductivity & heat capacity
• Low melting temperature

The majority of aluminum alloys can be welded using conventional methods. One of the major benefits of using aluminum extrusions is that they can be more easily designed to reduce the need for welding.

Following is a quick survey of welding methods and issues product designers should consider when designing with extrusions:

FUSION WELDING

Many welding methods work well with aluminum extrusions including gas welding, metal arc welding, spot and seam welding, flash welding, cold and hot pressure welding, even high frequency laser, ultrasonic and electron beam welding. But by far the most common fusion welding methods for aluminum are gas tungsten arc welding (TIG) and gas metal arc welding (MIG).

TIG welding

The TIG method does not require flux, which makes it highly suitable for aluminum. TIG is ideal for materials from 0.028" to .040" thick and where shorter joints are required. TIG welding can be used on almost all aluminum alloys and, if correctly applied, gives the most faultfree welding of the conventional methods. TIG welding uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode and, generally, a hand feed filler wire.

MIG welding

MIG welding evolved in an effort to speed up the welding process. MIG uses a consumable welding electrode. A filler is introduced automatically as a wire in the electric arc. This method can be used for all types of joints and welding positions and gives good results. The main advantages of MIG welding are its high welding speed and good penetration.

Other methods such as explosion, high frequency, laser, ultrasonic and electron beam welding are used under special circumstances.