Sodel has several solutions that will allow you to increase the productivity of the equipment in terms of durability and reduction of maintenance time and costs. Sodel has a complete line of hardfacing welding alloys that adapt to the working situation of your tools and equipment. Here are some of the most popular ones :

Sodel 325 will be useful where there is a direct jolt with rocks ; this alloy has an excellent impact resistance. This exceptional impact resistance is due to the quick hardening of the deposit’s microstructure under shock stress. The hardfacing of hammers and crusher jaws constitutes one of the major applications that will require the use of this alloy.

Sodel 2045 will protect the parts against abrasion when drilling. This product has a superior resistance to fine abrasives. This intrinsic property is due to the multiplicity and the concentration of hard compounds forming in the deposit’s microstructure in the as-welded condition.

Sodel 2024PLUS is to be used on parts facing abrasion under low impacts. This product has an excellent abrasion resistance and a moderate impact resistance. With its unique structure meeting the requirements for resistance to abrasion and impact, this product is very efficient and has brought great satisfaction in regards to its performance on several machinery components (Agriculture machinery, mining equipment, forestry equipments, dredging equipment, public work, etc.).

Please take note that the ideal product to use may vary from one project to another depending on the working condition of the equipment. It is for this reason that the Sodel product line includes more than 50 hardfacing products.

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Here are few examples of strategies you can use depending of your particular situation :

DOTS STRATEGY

When to use it : When your parts are subjected to several impacts, like in crushers.

How to depose it : You need to make a dot the size of about a 2$ coin and the distance between the dots must be half the diameter of the dot. So, if your dot has a diameter of 1’’, the distance between the circles must be at 0,5’’. You must use the same pattern that you find on a dice for the number 5.

Which Sodel products to use : The kind of products to use could be different depending of the base material of your part to be protected, the kind of rocks or soil where your equipment is working and the kind of resistance you are looking for. Contact the Sodel technical team in order to have the right products for your application.

CIRCLES STRATEGY

When to use it : On the side of buckets in a way that the soil stays stuck inside and around the circles to protect the steel. Very useful for city works.

How to depose it : You need to make a circle of about 1” diameter and the distance between the circles must be half the diameter of the circle. So, if your circle has a diameter of 1’’, the distance between the circles must be at 0,5’’. You must use the same pattern that you find on a dice for the number 5.

Which Sodel products to use : The kind of products to use could be different depending of the base material of your part to be protected, the kind of rocks or soil where your equipment is working and the kind of resistance you are looking for. Contact the Sodel technical team in order to have the right products for your application.

LINES STRATEGY

When to use it : Lines can be used to facilitate the flow or to avoid the material from coming out of the bucket depending on their orientation..

How to depose it : When you are mainly working in rocks, the lines are welded along the flow and their spacing depends on the size of the rocks. While when you are mainly working in fine material (sand, soil, small rock, etc.), the lines are welded perpendicular to the flow to retain the material in the bucket.

Which Sodel product to use : The kind of products to use could be different depending of the base material of your part to be protected, the kind of rocks or soil where your equipment is working and the kind of resistance you are looking for. Contact the Sodel technical team in order to have the right products for your application.

DIAMONDS STRATEGY

When to use it : It can be use for multiple situations, it is a combination of the lines and circles strategies.

How to depose it : The lines are welded to make a diamond shape and their spacing depends on the size of the material.

Which Sodel product to use : The kind of products to use could be different depending of the base material of your part to be protected, the kind of rocks or soil where your equipment is working and the kind of resistance you are looking for. Contact the Sodel technical team in order to have the right products for your application.

You can contact our technical support team anytime in order to get the right product and procedure for your application.

https://youtu.be/mNtqwBSrhv0

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With the eye, it is almost impossible to differentiate between these three steels, because it is their properties that identify what type of metal it is.

Here is a chart showing their differences :

We can see that for a same metal volume the weight of the zinc is more than two time higher than aluminum or magnesium and is similar to the one of iron or steel. The point of fusion of the zinc is approximately 2/3 the one of aluminum and magnesium.

Now, how to concretely differentiate magnesium from aluminum. It is possible to find a quick answer to this question. You just need to make a very simple chemical reaction test. The magnesium reacts with table vinegar. You just need to put a little bit of vinegar on a corner of a well cleaned part. If the vinegar reacts with the part (it is possible to see little bubble formation on the part surface), if this is the case, we have magnesium. If there is no reaction we have an aluminum alloy.

support@sodel.com

https://youtu.be/RxAb2ZxIE1A

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Last week we had a question from a customer that had to weld a 304H stainless steel part using a 308H electrode. The contract specification was requesting a ferrite number between 3 and 6 on the weld beads. They tough that they would be in line with specifications in using a 308H coated electrode with a ferrite number of 5,5 (calculated from WRC 1992 diagram). What was the final result when analyzing with the Ferritscope probe ? A ferrite between 0 and 2 FN; how could it be possible ?

One of the most powerful chemical elements affecting ferrite level is the dissolved nitrogen in the weld bead. For evaluating ferrite level, welding rod manufacturers consider an ideal nitrogen level of 0,06% in any stainless steel (300 series) weld metal. This is the nitrogen content you should get if you weld their rods using prescribed parameters. It is important to understand that nitrogen is not added intentionally in the coated rods. As a matter of fact, nitrogen which dissolves in the austenitic stainless steel comes from the ambient atmosphere. To obtain this low ideal nitrogen level of 0,06% in the weld metal, you have to maintain a very short arc.

In the present case, the project requested to realize 308H weld beads containing 94 to 97% of austenite and 3 to 6% of ferrite. If the customer uses a too long arc, he should obtain a dissolved nitrogen level in the weld bead over 0,06%. Nitrogen being a powerful austenitizer (a chemical element which stabilizes austenite to the detriment of ferrite), that’s why the measured ferrite number is lower than expected. In this situation you have two possible ways to obtain the requested ferrite : shorten the arc length using the same rod rated at 5,5 FN or keep a long arc using a rod rated at 8 or 9 FN. If you choose the second solution, the long arc will give you higher nitrogen content which should lowers the weld metal ferrite to the requested range. Because a higher than normal nitrogen level can have an effect on the weld bead mechanical properties, you should carefully consider this last solution.

support@sodel.com

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To counter the thermal conductivity, it is important to use a procedure (preheating, heat input, protective gas) enable to transfer enough heat to the welding joint.

Molten copper is very fluid and has to be welded in the flat position. On fillet weld, it is possible to weld it in the horizontal position.

Copper is sensitive to hot cracking when it is cooling down to the solid state. This is mainly occurring with tin bronze, copper-nickel and alloys containing lead. You can improve your chance of success by buttering the face of the chamfer and by peening the weld bead while they are still hot.

Copper reacts easily with oxygen to form porosities, so it is important to ensure of the adequacy of the gas protection.

Here is some reminder on welding with copper alloys

• Weld in flat position whenever possible because of copper’s high fluidity
• Using a support plate will help keep the parts on for better penetration
• Good cleaning before and during welding will help to produce a quality weld
• If there is arc blow while welding dissimilar metals, increase the preheat temperature
• If the part is held in place by a vise or other metal device, preheating such devices will help maintain the temperature of the workpiece when preheating is required
• Heat losses during preheating can be prevented by using a non-flammable, insulating material such as Sodelfix and by placing the workpieces on insulating refractory material.
• When welding dissimilar metals, use the minimum welding currents recommended, whenever possible to minimize dilution
• To join cast iron to copper alloys with Sodel 661, use small diameter electrodes and make small, discontinuous beads.

support@sodel.com

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In order to use the tubes, the required equipment is: the gun that supports the tubes, an oxygen tank and a 12 volt battery (Nautical battery is suggested for its durability). There is not a lot of equipment to bring on site, no compressor is necessary, no welder or acetylene tank to move.

In order to start the process, which resembles welding with covered electrode, we must create a starting arc by touching a metal plate where the current flows. When the arc is initiated, it is the oxygen that starts the exothermical reaction. Following the reaction, the cutting power will be sustained with the oxygen and the burning tube. The operator can start his cutting job very quickly, which would not be the case with an oxy acetylene torch.

This process is much more interesting to use for the operator because it allows much more freedom and has less inconveniences. You can cut several types of alloys including cast iron and you can even pierce it !  It is also important to notice that it is much less noisy than the carbon electrode process, so no need to wear ear plugs and no disturbing of all the people surrounding your work place. Also, this cutting tube will not let any trace of carbon in the fusion bead, should you make the mistake of pulling instead of pushing with the tube, like with the carbon electrode process. For those who know the carbon electrode process, they are aware that they will lose a lot of grinding time if there is carbon deposit in the weld bead. This process will also create much less toxic fumes than the carbon electrode. The exothermical cutting tubes allow you more freedom and brings less trouble in the utilization for you and your colleagues.

This cutting method is the perfect way to take out stuck pins in the articulations of excavators’ arm. When a pin is stuck, it can take hours if not days to take it out. Sometimes the tactics used could even break the equipment, aside from not being safe. With the cutting tubes, the goal is to pierce the pin in its center in order to overheat the part and then, to cool it down with water in order to shrink it. Afterword, we can take it out more easily and proceed in the maintenance of the equipment.

Whether you are in demolition, recycling, excavation or you are responsible for field maintenance, this cutting tool will be very useful.

Eric.st-pierre@sodel.com

https://youtu.be/juDHG4Lxn5U

Related products:

• SODEL GRIZZLY (Cutting tubes)
• SODEL VULCAIN (Hardware required to use the Sodel Grizzly cutting tubes)

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