Interesting welding (well, kind of)

[AlanB]

I was doing some "welding" last night, well, technically brazing using silicone bronze and the TIG machine.

Thought some here might find it interesting.

I work with a Xmsn shop that does a lot of high end and specialty stuff and one thing they make is performance converters, one of the steps in that is securing the little fins with silicone bronze (which is where I come in)

We do it with the TIG, and flow a drop of bronze around each fin attach point, (well technically we leave off one row)

That means I get to do 211 joints to keep my tig hand steady

Of course, I make $10 per unit so I make what 4.7 cents per weld............ Man, I am making money now

So anyway, it was just something I do a little different, and thought others may have some interest in it. It is not your run of the mill tractor welding project though.

 

[SimS]

Alan;

That's pretty neat welding/brazing. What is the procedure? Do you strike an arc and use rod? Or is it a paste that is applied before hand like furnace brazing? How many units do you do a day? I would be cross-eyed after the first few welds.

SimS

 

[AlanB]

Alan;

That's pretty neat welding/brazing. What is the procedure? Do you strike an arc and use rod? Or is it a paste that is applied before hand like furnace brazing? How many units do you do a day? I would be cross-eyed after the first few welds.

SimS

Yes, strike a soft arc (hf on) enough to stabilize, not enough to melt the steel, then add a drop of silicone bronze (3' tig sticks) I usually put the drop right on the point, then chase down both sides.

And yeah, it can get old doing them.

 

[Tig]

Very interesting. I never really got my head around exactly how a torque converter works. I know that the angle of the fins is important for the stall speed. Are the fins attached to that ring I see and the angle is preset before you weld?

 

[AlanB]

Very interesting. I never really got my head around exactly how a torque converter works. I know that the angle of the fins is important for the stall speed. Are the fins attached to that ring I see and the angle is preset before you weld?

I can assure you I have not got it straight in my head either, they are really pretty simple, while still being tough for me to visualize, and I was standing there last night having it all explained to me (again) and still really dont follow it all.

There are a bunch of factors that effect stall and lockup and torque etc. etc. that those things do.

Fortunately for me, all those little fins are sticking up through the cages, and the tabs are bent over. In stock form that is as far as it goes. The HP ones they silicone bronze them in place (the part I am doing) but they still flex slightly under load. He explained it too me at one point as to why they did not want them fully welded etc. I also think they want the "tabs" anchored down so that they could not get fluid under there and lift the tab up. Apparently it will not happen at stock loads, but in the HP stuff it is possible.

He goes back through after I am done and does some more machineing and then welds it all back together.

 

[Bird]

With that many little welds, all alike, that looks like it ought to be a job for a robotic welder.

 

[AlanB]

With that many little welds, all alike, that looks like it ought to be a job for a robotic welder.

The really big places use a paste, and an atmosphere controlled oven.

But that is really big money.

Welding the halves of the torque converter itself (you are looking at the back half and the turbine (inside) is done roboticly, but the different converters have different fin configurations, numbers and spacings.

So far it seems to be the most practical to do what we are doing, but my eyes certainly cross after a bit and I wonder what I am doing this for.