Steel brazing services play a huge roll in many applications. To better understand this process, here’s a little background for you:
What is capillary action?
All brazing actions are based on the capillary action. When you see metals that have been worked over to assume a specific shape, you’ll likely find the surface smooth. However, under the lens of a microscope, you’ll see that the surface has plenty of nooks and crannies. These channels, or what most in the industry call pores, are where the liquid moves through when you join up two pieces of metal together. In the case, of brazing, molten filter material is channeled through these pores by capillary action.
How does it work?
The capillary action will only work if the metals being joined together stays solid while the filler metal is heated and liquefied. Then once the filler metal has filled up those pores, the result is a unit that’s sturdy and have been durably-pieced together.
Is it the same as welding?
There are plenty of similarities between the two. Welding also uses a filler to joint metallic elements. However, brazing is well suited for low operating temperatures while welding requires a higher one. Essentially, welding fuses together the two pieces of metal themselves by melting the base metals along with the filler, if one is necessary, says How Stuff Works. It doesn’t use any capillary action, unlike brazing.
What do you need?
In brazing, you’ll have to have a filler metal and a heat source so you could melt that filler. Filler materials typically include primary metals like aluminum, copper, nickel, silver, gold and cobalt. You’ll need to find the one that’s ideal for your project, based on how the filler behaves with your base metals.
For more information, reach out to a company offering steel brazing services today.
