Posted on November-11-2019
The applications of welding are limitless from the aeronautic industry, to automotive to residential needs. Depending on the type of job a welder is carrying out, different types of weld are required. Welding cannot always be done in our most desirable welding position, it all depends on the type of weld required and any joints needed. Sometimes that can be on the ceiling, in a corner, or on the floor.
In a previous blog, we explored the four main welding positions: flat weld, horizontal weld, vertical weld and overhead weld. Today, we will be discussing five different types of welding joints: butt joint, lap joint, corner joint, edge joint and tee joint. These different types of welding joints are made to stand up to and withstand different needs and forces, depending on the forces of each individual application.
This is the process of two pieces of metal or plastic joining together at a point or edge. Depending on the shape of the metals, and according to very particular geometry, a weld is then formed to join them. There are five different types of welding joints that can be carried out: butt, lap, corner, edge and tee.
Let’s start with a butt joint weld (also known as the square-groove), as this is the most universally used method of joining two metals, pipes, flanges, valves, fittings or other equipment together in the same place, often placed side-by-side, or butted together. It consists of two flat pieces that are side-by-side parallel.
Out of the five welding joints listed here, this is fairly easy to master with the right amount of practice. There are many welding styles used to create butt joints, these include: bevel-groove butt weld, square-groove butt weld, V-groove butt weld, U-groove butt weld, J-groove butt weld, Flare-bevel-groove butt weld, and Flare-V-groove butt weld.
This is most commonly used when there are two metals of differing thickness that need joining together. The weld can be made on one or both sides, and this joint weld is also considered to be a fillet weld. The lap joint is formed when two pieces of metal are overlap each other. The different welding styles used to create lap joints include: slot weld, plug weld, bevel-groove weld, spot weld, flare-bevel-groove weld, and J-groove weld.
This is one of the most popular welds in the sheet metal industry. A corner welding joint is used on the outer edge of the metals, coming together at right angles. The two metal parts being welded form an ‘L’ shape. This is most common in the construction of boxes and box frames. The welding styles used to create corner joints include: spot weld, fillet weld, V-groove weld, square-groove weld or butt weld, U-groove weld, bevel-groove weld, flare-V-groove weld, J-groove weld, corner-flange weld, and edge weld.
This welding joint is often applied to sheet metal parts that have flanging edges. The weld is placed at a location on the edge of the metal and made to attach the adjacent pieces. Often, they are set side-by-side and welded on the same edge. The welding styles used to create edge joints include: bevel-groove weld, square-groove weld or butt weld, J-groove weld, V-groove weld, edge-flange weld, U-groove weld, and corner-flange weld.
This joint weld is formed when two metals cross at a 90° angle, forming a ‘T’ shape – the edges come together in the centre of a plate or component. A tee joint is considered a type of fillet weld – also made when a pipe or tube is welded onto a base plate. The different welding styles used to create T-Joints include: plug weld, fillet weld, bevel-groove weld, slot weld, flare-bevel-groove weld, J-groove weld, and melt-through weld.
If you’d like to hear more about what we can do for you here at Arc Welding Services, please get in touch with our team. You can give us a call us on 0121 327 2249, or fill out our online contact form and someone will be in touch.
