| Sheet metal assembly is the process of joining two | | | | welders could work. All of these methods are just to |
| or more separate components into a finished product. | | | | name a few. |
| These components can be made of any variety of | | | | Resistance welding is a method that uses the |
| metal including steel, copper, plated materials, | | | | material's resistance to the electrical current to create |
| aluminum, or whatever metal best suits the project | | | | the heat needed to bond the materials. Spot welding |
| at hand. | | | | and seam welding are both forms of resistance |
| There are numerous methods for assembling sheet | | | | welding as well as flash welding, projection welding, |
| metal, and what method is preferred depends on the | | | | and upset welding. |
| materials being assembled, the function of the | | | | Oxy-fuel welding, or oxyacetylene welding uses a gas |
| finished product, the environment the product is | | | | to generate the heat to bond the materials together. |
| being installed into, and the desired durability of the | | | | Most commonly oxyacetylene is used, but other |
| finished, assembled product. | | | | gases can be used depending on the material being |
| Welding is a very common technique used to | | | | welded. Whatever other gas is used, it is always |
| assemble sheet metal. Multiple kinds of welding have | | | | passed through a steam of oxygen in order to |
| been developed as the metals industry has grown | | | | create the combustion process that creates the |
| and evolved, and the selection of welding technique | | | | weld. |
| relies heavily on the kind and size of the materials | | | | Laser beam welding uses laser beams as a |
| being used. | | | | concentrated heat source to join the two metals, |
| Arc welding, oxy-fuel welding, resistance welding, | | | | and electron beam welding uses an electron beam as |
| laser beam welding, and electron welding are the | | | | the heat source. |
| primary types of welding being used today. | | | | Besides welding there are numerous other techniques |
| Arc welding uses an electrical current to create a | | | | to joining sheet metal. |
| bond between materials. | | | | Riveting, bolting, screwing, and clipping are all potential |
| Different categories fall within arc welding and include | | | | assembly routes, and the efficacy of each technique |
| submerged arc welding, which is commonly used in | | | | will depend on the finished product itself. There are |
| shipbuilding; gas metal arc welding, which is used for | | | | even some sheet metal components that are |
| non-ferrous materials; shielded metal arc welding, | | | | designed to fit together in a slot-A/tab-B |
| which uses a consumable electrode; flux-cored | | | | configuration without the help of any major assembly |
| welding, which revolutionized the speed at which | | | | process. |