what are the advantages provided by welding over the use of bolts and reverts ?
The advantages of either system of attachment depends on the application. For the sake of argument me must assume that both fastening techniques are valid.
– Welding is a permanent attachment method. Once a weld is made the part must be damaged or destroyed to disassemble it.
– Bolting two components is not permanent. The parts can be readily disassembled if one of them is damaged or the parts have reached the end of their service life.
– Depending on the welding method used welding can create a continuous joint with lower stress concentrations, while bolting will always have stress concentrations at each bolt. There are welding techniques where this is not the cases (spot welding or stitch welding)
– Because welding can be continuous it is used in applications where a hermetic seal is required. To accomplish a hermetic seal with a bolted joint require additional components, specifically seals.
– Additionally bolts will work with dis-similar materials say aluminum and s
Welding is stronger than nuts and bolts or rivets because when you weld you are heating the material and exciting it’s atoms. When enough energy is added, atoms combine. The result is two or more separate nuclei that share a common electron cloud.
The dissadvantage, as NeilLion mentioned, is that this only works if both materials are the same element, because you are joining materials at the atomic level.
The bolts as being manufactured under controlled quality conditions , are more reliable than weld . The produced weld depends first on the electrode quality used and the skill of the welder , those factors should be assured to achieve a reliable weld .
Also , once you weld parts together , it is hard to disconnect them and if the process is done in non-comfortable welding position and situation , it will result in bad quality .
Welds have the advantage of higher strength and simplifying assembly operation when speed is of much importance .
