ESAB offers a complete line of welding and cutting products and solutions. Explore our equipment offering with ease based on product line and industry.
ESAB is a world leader in welding and cutting equipment and consumables. Explore our complete line of welding & cutting products for virtually every application.
ESAB University Courses are incremental, structured learning modules designed to help you take your skills to the next level. New courses are being added regularly, so please check back often. Click the link to see current courses offered.
Articles cover industry topics more in-depth and are created in partnership with ESAB engineers and master welders. Click the links to see the latest.
Tips from ESAB Experts to help take your welding, cutting and fabrication skills to the next level.
ESAB Courses are structured learning designed to help welders achieve certain learning milestones and explore topics more in-depth. Check back often for updated resources.
ESAB University videos are curated with tips and best practices from top fabricators around the world. Learn new techniques or improve your current skills with ESAB University videos.
Enhance your knowledge of welding, cutting, and fabrication with free and accessible webinars on a variety of topics, including welding best practices, tips for using ESAB products, new product launches, and more, presented by trusted ESAB experts.
ESAB is a world leader in welding and cutting equipment and consumables. We offer a complete line of fabrication solutions for virtually every application.
ESAB Newsroom - Stay up to date with the latest news from ESAB. View press releases, product announcements, corporate news, and more here.
ESAB EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) initiatives are monitored with the highest degree of importance and commitment to safety is ingrained in our culture.
The history of ESAB is the History of Welding. Go here to view an interactive look at ESAB's history in shaping the future of innovation in welding, cutting, and fabrication.
View available job openings and more on the ESAB Careers page.
ESAB is recognised for its adherence to the best industry practices and commitment to its employees and customers. Explore our list of prestigious awards that we have been honoured with!
Purchasing from an ESAB Authorised Distributor guarantees you first-class customer service and support for all ESAB products.
ESAB offers a wealth of product support resources, including a range of technical and service publications, from Safety Data Sheets and downloadable product manuals to product certifications.
Visit ESAB's global manual search engine to access the items below and more.
Global User Manuals
Instruction Manuals
Spare Parts List
Product Storage Instructions
View Main Contact Page
View ESAB Location Information
+91 44 4228 1100
No playlist found! Your playlist can be created here.
Filler Metals
In this article, you will learn about the differences between heat-treatable and non-heat-treatable aluminum alloys. The article also covers how the type of base alloy affects the final strength of the weld
Heat-Treatable and Non-Heat-Treatable are the two basic types of aluminum alloys. They are both widely used in welding fabrication. These alloys have distinct characteristics associated with their chemical and metallurgical structure and their reactions during the arc welding process.
Let us understand the basic differences between these two groups of alloys.
The strength of these alloys is initially produced by alloying the aluminum with additions of other elements. These alloys consist of pure aluminum alloys (1xxx series), manganese alloys (3xxx series), silicon alloys (4xxx series), and magnesium alloys (5xxx series).
A further increase in strength of these alloys is obtained through various degrees of cold working or strain hardening. Cold working or strain hardening is accomplished by rolling, drawing through dies, stretching, or similar operations where area reduction is obtained. Regulating the amount of total reduction in the area of the material controls its final properties. Material that has been subjected to a strain-hardening temper may also be given a final, elevated temperature treatment called “stabilizing.” This is to ensure that the final mechanical properties do not change over time.
The letter “H” followed by numbers denotes the specific condition obtained from strain hardening.
The first number following the “H” indicates the basic operations used during or after strain hardening:
H1 – Strain hardened only
H2 – Strain hardened and partially annealed
H3 – Strain hardened and stabilized
The second number following the “H” indicates the degree of strain hardening:
HX2 – Quarter Hard
HX4 – Half Hard
HX6 – Three-Quarter Hard
HX8 – Full Hard
HX9 – Extra Hard
The initial strength of these alloys is also produced by the addition of alloying elements to pure aluminum. These elements include copper (2xxx series), magnesium and silicon, which can form the compound magnesium silicide (6xxx series), and zinc (7xxx series).
When present in each alloy, singly or in various combinations, these elements exhibit increasing solid solubility in aluminum as the temperature increases. Because of this reaction, it is possible to produce significant additional strengthening to the heat-treatable alloys. This is done by subjecting them to an elevated thermal treatment, quenching, and, when applicable, precipitation heat-treatment known also as artificial aging.
Note: Because of additions of magnesium and or copper, there are also silicon(4xxx series) alloys that are heat treatable.
In solution heat-treatment, the material is typically heated to temperatures of 900 to 1050 °F, depending upon the alloy. This causes the alloying elements within the material to go into a solid solution. Rapid quenching, usually in water, which freezes or traps the alloying elements in solution, follows this process.
Precipitation heat-treatment or artificial aging is used after solution heat-treatment. This involves heating the material for a controlled time at a lower temperature (around 250 to 400 °F). This process is used after solution heat treatment, both increase strength and stabilizes the material.
In short, the difference in transverse tensile strength of the completed groove weld is governed by the reaction of the base material to the heating and cooling cycles during the welding operation.
The non-heat-treatable alloys are annealed in the heat-affected zone adjacent to the weld. This is unavoidable when arc welding, as we will reach the annealing temperature. The extended time at these temperatures is not required to anneal the base material.
The heat-treatable alloys are usually not fully annealed during the welding operation. They are subjected to a partial anneal and over the aging process. These alloys are very susceptible to time at temperature. The higher the temperature and the longer at temperature, the more significant the loss of strength in the base material adjacent to the weld. For this reason, it is important to control the overall heat input, preheating, and interpass temperatures when welding the heat-treatable alloys.
Typically, the common heat-treatable base alloys, such as 6061-T6, lose a substantial proportion of their mechanical strength after welding. For example, 6061-T6 typically has 45,000 PSI (Per Square Inch) tensile strength prior to welding and around 27,000 PSI in the as-welded condition. One option with the heat-treatable alloys is post-weld heat treatment to return the mechanical strength to the manufactured component. If post-weld heat-treating is considered, the filler alloy’s ability to respond to the heat treatment should be evaluated.
Most of the commonly used filler alloys will not respond to post-weld heat treatment without substantial dilution with the heat-treatable base alloy. This is not always easy to achieve and can be difficult to control consistently. For this reason, filler alloys have been developed to independently respond to heat treatment.
As an example, filler alloy 4643 was developed for welding 6xxx series base alloys and developing high mechanical properties in post-weld heat-treated conditions. This alloy was developed by taking the well-known alloy 4043, reducing the silicon, and adding 0.10 to 0.30 percent magnesium, this ensured its ability to unquestionably respond to post-weld heat treatment.