Exothermic welding is unlike traditional welding where an electrical (Mig or
Tig) arc is used. When it comes to welding copper conductors, a traditional
weld or braze merely joins together the two surfaces that can be seen with
the naked eye. In the case of a round wire, that will be only the outer
circumference of the wire. The weld itself will be of a filler material that
is not usually as electrically conductive as the wire itself (not pure
copper).
An exothermic weld is a pure chemical process were a metal mixture is
ignited with a simple flint igniter and the mixture rapidly burns and
reduces to a super hot molten copper liquid which then melts the ENTIRE wire
together. The resulting connection is one solid piece of copper. The
connection is a molecular bond throughout the entire cross section of the
conductor, not just at the circumference.
This is why an exothermic weld is the ONLY type of connection to be
recognized as equivalent to unspliced cable. All other connection types
will result in some sort of voltage drop across the connection.
See http://www.atitec.com/support/tectoweld/tectoweld.html for more
information.
Wilson Lui
ATI Tectoniks
wilsonlui@atitec.com
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of R. Kevin Stover
Sent: Saturday, July 03, 2004 5:42 AM
To: kd4e@verizon.net; towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] What Welder Makes Good Exothermic Bonds?
All welders produce exothermic quality welds, in the hands of someone
who knows what they are doing.
The welding process produces an alloy of the base metal and the weld metal.
There are three main types of welders. ARC, MIG and TIG. Arc is what we
call "stick welding" and probably the most recognizable by regular folks
and the hardest to learn to do right. MIG is Metal-Inert-Gas and uses an
inert gas to shield the weld from oxygen till the process is finished.
The inert gas could be Argon or CO2. This process is commonly called
"wire welding" because the weld metal is a wire fed from a spool
automatically rather than a stick, and is the easiest for the common
individual to learn. The last is TIG and is specialized. I doubt
seriously whether a lot of people have TIG rigs in their garages or
workshops.
With all of that said The only base metals I've ever welded were steel,
stainless steel, and aluminum.
I suppose someone makes some wire to use in a MIG welder to weld copper
but I'd be surprised if there was. Copper and brass are usually brazed
or soldered. Not welded.
--
R.Kevin Stover
Systems/Network Admin
Iowa Quality Beef L.L.C
3337 L. Ave.
Tama, IA 52339
E-mail:kstover@iowaqualitybeef.com, rkstover@mchsi.com
Phone: 641-484-2290 ext. 330
Fax: 641-484-2450
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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TowerTalk mailing list
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http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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