Welding Applications

Metal Welding processes are still essential in many industries, where automotive industry is no exception. One of the later welding methods – namely laser welding – has been rapidly developing over the last years. Laser welding is more and more applied in the manufacturing of automotive components and body assembly (“body shop”).  On components, as well as in bodywork, spatter free surface is essential. E.g. the “body in white” must got to the coating without any grinding or rework if the aim is to efficiently secure optimum quality. Grinding is non productive work and at the same time reduces the zinc layer, which potentially leads to reduced corrosion protection.

Hot metal spatter develops during spot welding/resistance welding, laser welding, MIG/MAG welding, MIG soldering, etc. If not protected, metal spatter burns into the sheet metal surface – in particular when welding zinc plated sheet metal. This reduces the quality in visible areas or in areas relevant to assembly and also negatively influences corrosion protection.

Metallotion PROTEC CE15L+ provides surface protection and maintains the surface quality, thus preventing reworking and allowing to go straight into following stages after welding works, be it MIG/MAG, laser welding or other methods.

The zinc layer is maintained and unproductive cleaning tasks become obsolete. Total process safety is guaranteed – from welding to cataphoresis/coating. The PROTEC fluid also equally protects during laser welding on aluminium sheets.

In car bodywork, PROTEC anti-spatter fluid mainly is used for protection of doors or body side parts/door entrances in laser welding processes or resistance welding processes.

The advantage of PROTEC anti-spatter fluids lies in its simple application and the strong protective qualities directly on the metal surface, even on complex structures.

The fluid is applied (up to three weeks) before welding. This is the only prerequisite to obtain reliable metal surface protection and other processes remain entirely unaffected. The PROTEC fluids can be applied manually or automatically. PROTEC team readily shares its professional expertise and offers consulting on effective and efficient application technology.

Reducing costs and boosting quality are particularly important as part of the production of components within the automotive supplier industry. For instance, as part of axle, shock absorber, gear parts and powertrain parts, exhaust system, seat, and wheel production as well as many other components. In these areas, PROTEC anti-spatter fluids can make a significant contribution to protection from adhering metal spatter.

Protection of components saves reworking costs and maintains the quality of metal surfaces.
PROTEC fluids prevent metal spatter on components — at linking points, threads, in visible areas — and in general help to obtain ideal corrosion protection. Protection with Metallotion PROTEC CE15L+ reliably reduces adhering weld spatter and guarantees maximum process safety for welding and coating processes.

Protection of equipment saves cleaning costs, boosts service life, and prevents faults.
For instance, Visco-Lotion PROTEC CE15V+ is used to protect jigs and welding fixtures. In axle production, it is widely used in MAG welding processes., e.g. in gear part production it is used for protection of jigs and fume extraction in laser-welding processes.
The use of jig-protection increases the service life and the (dry ice) cleaning intervals, — simply put, it saves costs.

In vehicle manufacturing, process safety and corrosion protection are paramount. This is a challenging task considering the increasing cost pressure and the incrementally growing requirements to metal surface quality.

PROTEC can make a significant contribution to this matter as it ensures components and equipment free of metal spatter, at the same time guarantees process safety for perfect weld quality and coating finish.

Examples of a successful application include surface protection for vehicle bodies and equipment in bus or coach production, protecting frames during semi-trailer production, component protection for sets of wagons and bogies, etc.

PROTEC anti-spatter fluids have been tested and approved for all welding processes and coating methods, for instance cataphoresis, galvanising, paintwork (also suitable for a water-based paint), powder coating, etc.

MIG/MAG welding in structural steel/or metal engineering still often provides great potential for saving on reworking costs caused by adhering weld spatter. In many cases, unsuitable gun sprays are used for component protection. Such agents do not provide a sufficient level of surface protection and bear the risk of unwanted side effects, such as coating errors, for instance during galvanising or painting of metal surfaces.

PROTEC offers a stable solution with great protective characteristics against metal spatter.
PROTEC anti-spatter protection also achieves maximum process safety in manual applications – from the quality of the weld seam to coating. Ideal properties when welding over the fluid are guaranteed, even if it has been applied excessively. PROTEC anti-spatter protection fluids are non-flammable and biodegradable, and thus safe for both, user and the environment. The integrated degreasing effect results in ideal prerequisites for downstream coating procedures.

In brief: PROTEC provides optimum protection from metal spatter throughout welding processes – without unwanted side effects. Consequently, productivity and quality of metal surfaces show significant increase.

The demands to surface qualities are particularly high in shopfitting and furniture production (including gym equipment or playground equipment). Adhering metal spatter resulting from MIG/MAG welding processes is detrimental to the perceived qualities of the visible areas and also poses the risk of injuries.

Protecting welded components using Metallotion PROTEC CE15L+ results in clean metal surfaces and provides optimum preparation for powder coating, paintwork or any other coating methods.

PROTEC CE15L+ is also ideally suitable for welding of stainless steel.

Result: Perfect metal surfaces without additional (investment) costs

Variable sheet metal thickness, welding with a high energy input, often also in confined spaces, paired with increased demands to metal surface quality – to this end, application of welding separation agents on the components lead to vast cost savings:

Using PROTEC anti-spatter fluid minimises reworking costs and maintains metal surface qualities. Its application ensures functional properties, perfect corrosion protection, and the quality of visible areas without incurring any additional costs.

PROTEC anti-spatter fluids guarantee process safety – from laser cutting to MAG welding, to cataphoresis. PROTEC products are safe-to-use and sustainable.

Construction machinery and crane production often involves high strength steel and thick metal sheets – despite cutting edge procedures, the development of metal spatter during MAG welding is a much-discussed topic, for instance during ignition and in confined spaces or when welding final runs. Component protection during welding processes and laser cutting hence results in significantly increased productivity by minimising reworking costs and increasing the quality of metal surfaces.

Process safety during welding (no porosity, no hydrogen input in fine grained steel) and unrestricted suitability for paint and cataphoresis represent key goals for PROTEC. It goes without saying that product line is safe for users and the environment.

Regardless of whether in series production or on a project basis, protection from weld spatter considerably boosts the productivity of the company’s welding department. Large proportions of reworking are no longer required. Using PROTEC maintains the surface quality.

PROTEC fluids are suitable for many coating methods. Thus, the level of production flexibility is as high as the level of process safety.

Examples for a successful application of PROTEC anti-spatter fluids in the area include transformer production, wind turbine production, ventilation technology, conveyor belt technology, the production of manufacturing machinery (e.g. CNC), control cabinets and housings, etc.

PROTEC complies with special container engineering requirements (tanks, boilers, etc.), such as maximum process safety (no porosity), the low levels of emissions permissible during welding works on the inside of the container, and user safety thanks to non-flammable products on a mainly herbal basis. Protection during welding and laser cutting allows securely preventing reworking of metal surfaces and avoiding any unwanted side effects.

Furthermore, PROTEC is compliant with all common coating methods – even for enamelling, a process where a lack of metal spatter is of particular importance to the final surface quality.