Filler alloys and consumables consist of welding, brazing, and soldering filler alloys; tips and electrodes; and fluxes and cleaners. Filler alloys are available in rod sheet, wire spool, coated stick, weld stud, powder, and paste forms. They are made from a variety of materials. Copper, copper alloys, and copper tungsten composites are used for resistance welding tips, electrodes, and horns. Plasma welding uses tungsten and tungsten-based alloys as electrodes because these materials resist erosion at high temperatures. In terms of fluxes and cleaners, both brazing and soldering fluxes remove oxides or other contamination from workpieces. Welding fluxes react with impurities within the metallic pool to form a slag that floats to the top of the relatively heavier liquid steel or metal alloy. Welding fluxes also create a shielding gas that protects the melt pool and may improve arc stability. Filler alloys and consumables include cleaners, solvents and pickles that are used for removing excess flux or grease, machining chips, cutting fluid, shop dust, oxide scale or corrosion.

Selecting filler alloys and consumables requires an analysis of welding, brazing, and soldering materials. Welding filler alloys include aluminum, cast iron, cobalt, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium, or zirconium. Carbon, low carbon, and high carbon steel alloys are also available. Low hydrogen filler alloys prevent the development of hydrogen embrittlement or hydrogen assisted cracking in welded steel components. For brazing, filler alloys include aluminum, copper, gold, nickel, palladium, or silver. Vacuum grade braze alloys provide relatively low vapor pressure or low volatility for processing in vacuum furnaces. For soldering, filler alloys include cadmium-zinc, lead-zinc, indium, tin-lead, tin-silver, tin-antimony, and zinc-aluminum. Cadmium-free and lead-free filler alloys are also available. For some applications, specialized materials are used to join castings or produce or restore work surface layers.

Filler alloys and consumables consist of welding, brazing, and soldering filler alloys; tips and electrodes; and fluxes and cleaners. Filler alloys are available in rod sheet, wire spool, coated stick, weld stud, powder, and paste forms. They are made from a variety of materials. Copper, copper alloys, and copper tungsten composites are used for resistance welding tips, electrodes, and horns. Plasma welding uses tungsten and tungsten-based alloys as electrodes because these materials resist erosion at high temperatures. In terms of fluxes and cleaners, both brazing and soldering fluxes remove oxides or other contamination from workpieces. Welding fluxes react with impurities within the metallic pool to form a slag that floats to the top of the relatively heavier liquid steel or metal alloy. Welding fluxes also create a shielding gas that protects the melt pool and may improve arc stability. Filler alloys and consumables include cleaners, solvents and pickles that are used for removing excess flux or grease, machining chips, cutting fluid, shop dust, oxide scale or corrosion.

Selecting filler alloys and consumables requires an analysis of welding, brazing, and soldering materials. Welding filler alloys include aluminum, cast iron, cobalt, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium, or zirconium. Carbon, low carbon, and high carbon steel alloys are also available. Low hydrogen filler alloys prevent the development of hydrogen embrittlement or hydrogen assisted cracking in welded steel components. For brazing, filler alloys include aluminum, copper, gold, nickel, palladium, or silver. Vacuum grade braze alloys provide relatively low vapor pressure or low volatility for processing in vacuum furnaces. For soldering, filler alloys include cadmium-zinc, lead-zinc, indium, tin-lead, tin-silver, tin-antimony, and zinc-aluminum. Cadmium-free and lead-free filler alloys are also available. For some applications, specialized materials are used to join castings or produce or restore work surface layers.

Filler alloys and consumables are available in many forms and are used in several welding processes. Flux coatings are applied to stick welding electrodes, brazing rods, and strips. The flux covering the electrode melts during welding or brazing, forming a gas that shields the arc and molten weld pool. Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is a metal inert gas (MIG) process in which metal is joined by melting the base and filler metals with an arc struck between a consumable filler metal wire and the base alloy workpiece. Flux-cored arc welding is similar to MIG welding but uses a wire with a flux-filled central core. Usually, equipment that is suitable for MIG welding can also be used for flux-cored arc welding. Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is a tungsten inert gas (TIG) process that joins metals by melting base and filler metals with an arc struck between a tungsten electrode and the workpiece. Argon or other inert gas mixtures are used for shielding. When studs, nuts or other fasteners are welded to a workpiece, the fastener becomes an integral part of the welded assembly. Special welding guns, power sources and systems are often used in the stud welding process.  

Filler alloys and consumables meet a variety of standards and specifications. In the United States, standards organizations include the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Filter alloys and consumables also meet American Welding Standards (AWS) and Aerospace Materials Specifications (AMS). In Europe, standards organizations include the British Standards Institute (BSI) and Germany’s Det Norske Veritas (DNV). The Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the Resistance Welding Manufacturers’ Association (RWMA) also maintain standards for filler alloys and consumables.