Welding Reflection

From this lab, I learned everything I now know about machines and machining. I came into this class with no knowledge on the subject so I was able to learn a lot. I learned how to drill holes with machines, I learned to center drill and why it’s important to center drill. I learned the importance of cutting fluid and what happens if none or not enough is used. I also learned that it is imperative to be precise in everything that you do because, it will pay off in the long run. Some problems that I ran into were: not being familiar with the machinery and my original measurements being off. I actually had to redo my base because my axel holes were too close to the top of the base and were not able to be drilled. However, the problems I did have …show more content…
We learned why welding is used, the proper welding safety, and a brief history of welding. The main purpose of this lab was to familiarize students with welding and actually teach them how and why welding is used. As stated in the manual, the primary objective of any welding operation is to produce a weld that has the same properties as the base metal. The types of welding that we learned are: Electric Arc welding, Oxyacetylene Brazing, and Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW). Electric Arc welding is the simplest type that we learned. It is also the least strong weld and definitely not as reliable as the other types. To use electric arc welding, the metals are aligned on top of each other and switch is flipped for a few seconds. When the switch is flipped, electrodes are transferred between the metals, thus creating a bond. The electrode can have either a positive or negative charge, which will determine the heat concentration, in turn affecting the welding properties. The next type of welding that we learned is brazing. Brazing can be traced back to ancient Egypt and is now used all over the world. Brazing is different in its own way because only the filler metal is melted, not the actual metals being