The development of flux cored wire
Flux-cored wire was developed from tubular electrodes in the 1920s. It originated in the United States in 1954. After the 1960s and 1970s, with the emergence of fine-diameter (below φ2.0mm) all-position flux-cored welding wire, flux-cored welding wire entered a stage of rapid development.
Since the late 1980s, 1.2~1.6mm gas-shielded flux-cored welding wire has been rapidly promoted and used and expanded in non-shipbuilding industries. Subsequently, metal powder-cored flux-cored welding wire and seamless flux-cored welding wire were developed.
In recent years, the consumption of flux-cored welding wire in developed countries has accounted for 20-30% of the total amount of welding materials, and is in a steadily increasing stage.
Among the three major categories of welding materials: welding rods, solid core welding wires, and flux-cored welding wires, the annual consumption of welding rods has shown a downward trend year by year, and the annual consumption of solid core welding wires has entered a stage of steady development.
There is still a lot of room for development in all aspects. Flux-cored welding wire is mainly of thick diameter (3.2mm, 2.4mm) and uses AC power. Gas-shielded flux-cored welding wire is used for welding steel pipes, and self-shielded flux-cored welding wire is used for building structures.
In the 1980s, fine-diameter flux-cored welding wires (1.2 to 1.6 mm) were developed using DC power. Among them, all-position flux-cored welding wires with a diameter of 1.2 to 1.6 mm were widely used in ship manufacturing and developed rapidly, which improved the efficiency of shipbuilding welding. Semi-automatic level. During this period, a variety of flux-cored welding wires for stainless steel, low-temperature steel, and 590N/mm2 strength grade steel were developed. Small-diameter self-protected flux-cored welding wires of 1.2 to 1.6mm can be used for welding steel pipe piles.
At present, flux-cored welding wire has been widely used in construction, bridges, chemical industry, metallurgy, electric power and other industries. Because it has the advantages of stable arc, small spatter, beautiful shape, and the flux core formula can be adjusted according to the needs of the mechanical properties of the weld, it can be manufactured in large quantities and used continuously in actual welding.
Compared with solid core welding wire and manual welding rod, it has high production efficiency and will gradually become the leading product of welding materials with obvious technical and economic advantages. It is the most promising high-tech welding material in the 21st century.
Our country began research on flux-cored wire related technologies and manufacturing equipment in the 1960s. In the 1980s, some major domestic engineering projects began to use a large number of imported flux-cored wires, which promoted the use of flux-cored wires. In the mid-1980s, Our country began to introduce flux-cored wire production lines and product formulas. In the early 1990s, domestic flux-cored wire production lines became capable of mass production.
In recent years, the annual domestic flux-cored welding wire consumption has been close to 10,000 tons, accounting for about 1% of the total welding materials. The annual output of domestic flux-cored welding wire is only about 2,000 tons, which is less than 0.3% of the total output of welding materials.
Neither variety nor output can meet the current domestic market demand. Domestic flux-cored wire and related technologies have matured. In the future, Our country’s flux-cored wire technology and applications will also enter a stage of rapid development.
