EXOTHERMIC WELDING

By Lucas Milhaupt Date 10-03-2005 14:46

There is exothermic welding and brazing that use essentially the same process. The exothermic process uses a chemical reaction to produce/generate the heat required to heat the joint up to temperature. I do not know if the compound used to produce the chemical reaction is always the same for welding and brazing. Most likely the compound varies depending on the temperature that is needed to be reached. You may want to contact companies like Cadweld, Thermoweld, and Techweld, they may be able to provide you with more specifics about the compounds.

-Creed Darling

By aweisel Date 11-17-2005 22:20

Exothermic welding of copper conductors and copper to steel using the CADWELD process produces a true weld using molten super-heated copper. The melting or fusing temperature rating of the finished joint is therefore 1083 degrees C. Most brazing alloys melt at approximately 450 degrees C and therefore have a lower current carrying capacity. A well made brazed joint is a good joint that will resist corrosion and thermal cycle degradation, but will not have the current withstand capacity that an exothermically welded joint will have.

CADWELD is the name of a welding process developed and marketed by ERICO, Inc. You can find more information at www.erico.com.

-Andy Weisel