Technological Advances in Joining

In common with other areas of materials processing, significant growth in the technology of joining has occurred in recent years. However, growth during the middle and late 1970s has been largely characterized by the continued development, improvement, and application of established processes, rather than by the introduction of new processes. Thus, while plasma-arc welding was pioneered in the 1950s, recent efforts have been directed toward broadening the capabilities of this process and using it in applications where high deposition rates and minimum base metal dilution are required. Similar trends have been also observed in electron-beam welding, laser welding, and other methods of joining. Technical advances are most evident in the field of mechanized welding where substantial progress has been made to extend the usefulness of programmable industrial robots by the inclusion of a welding capability.