Browse Categories

The Differences Between Brazing, Soldering, and Welding

Brazing, soldering, and welding


Brazing, soldering, and welding are three closely linked methods used to join together pieces of metal. All three methods require heat, thus also requiring safety equipment, meticulously cleaned and maintained tools of the trade, as well as clean metals on which to perform the work.

However, for all their similarities, brazing, soldering, and welding have fundamental differences. Chief among those differences are the levels of heat that are used and the techniques, tools, accessories required, so it is important to be aware of the distinctions.

Q Source is a global distributor of the industry-leading tools and accessories used in brazing, soldering, and welding, so we are uniquely qualified to provide the following overview of each discipline. Continue reading to get a full understanding of which method to use when, and what tools and techniques are most appropriate for the job in front of you.

What is brazing?

Brazing uses a combination of heat, metal filler, and flux to fuse pieces of metal together. Brazing requires optimal temperatures of around 840-degrees Fahrenheit, which is 450-degrees Celsius — higher temperatures than used in soldering and lower than what you’d use in welding, which requires that the metal being joined reach melting temps.

Brazing is often associated with very thin metals such as aluminum, which can be damaged by higher temperatures. Sometimes when working with hard-to-reach joints, brazing is a better option than soldering. Ferrous metals, carbides, and cermets are often best joined through brazing.

Essential tools used for brazing include a torch, furnace, heated chemical bath, or inductor coil for melting the metal filler. A flux solution or filler material is used in brazing, and common filler materials include alkalis, borates, chlorides, fluorides, and fluoroborates. Protective gloves and glasses are also important tools of the trade in brazing.

What is soldering?

The process of soldering joins pieces of metal by using solder — either a solid wire or a pasty flux — and applying it to the metals or pipes to be fused. Only the solder is heated, and soldering requires the lowest temperatures of the three joining methods at below 800-degrees Fahrenheit and 425-degrees Celsius.
Soldering is most commonly used to join electrical contacts, plumbing pipes, and in metalwork using copper, brass, and iron, and to make jewelry using gold and silver. A soldering iron, soldering-iron tip, solder and/or flux are the chief tools of the trade, and tin and zinc alloys, copper, silver, aluminum, and lead are the most commonly used filler metals.
It is also important to use safety glasses and gloves while soldering.

What is welding?

The highest temperatures of the three methods are used in welding, generally above 840-degrees Fahrenheit and 450-degrees Celsius. Unlike either brazing or soldering, welding requires that the metals being joined must reach the melting point to be fused together.

Welding is most commonly used in industrial processes, construction, automotive repair, shipbuilding, and other heavy-duty applications. Different kinds of welding include laser welding, gas welding, plasma arc welding, TIG welding, and MIG welding. Tools of the trade include a welding torch or gun, an electricity source, fuel gas cylinder or oxygen cylinder, and, of course, heavy-duty protective gear on the face, body, and hands.

Welding is not suited to thinner metals like brazing and soldering are, and larger sections of metal can be joined by welding than can with the other two methods. Because of the extremely high temperatures involved and the larger pieces of metal, welding is generally considered more difficult than ether brazing or soldering.

Tags

Q Source Guest Blog ESD My Account Web account Transforming Technologies cleanroom flooring bevco guest blog signs wish lists search history Bevco ANSI/ESD electronics biomedical electrostatic discharge esd installation importance of ergonomics us made healthy ergonomics easy assembly q source 40 celebrates blog tools composite decking decking bench magnifier vision engineering vision luxo file attachments upload attach files purchase order tax exempt form account holder how to clean esd mat cleaning esd mats how to clean anti static mat mat maintenance cleanroom cleaning protocol clean room laundry clean room cleaning cleanroom cleaning procedure clean room clothes social distancing employee safety customer safety metcal introducing gt90 and gt120 unitron track orders re-order holiday July 4th office closure Independence Day QSource.com wastebaskets PCBs ANSI/ESD S2020 workstations conductive static dissipative Brady arc flash pipe markers labels lockout tagout self adhesive identification ASG Jergens torque threaded fasteners ISO 5393 NIST 35th anniversary 1984 customer service Q Electronics Steve Quail Gus Lugten industrial assembly production miscellaneous Web site features order templates express checkout quick order company logos Shopping Tools favorites frequent orders checkout defaults carts Atrix Omega cordless vacuum immediate containment promo ULPA SMTA Long Island workshop Deadly Sins of SMT Phil Zarrow assembly process stereo microscope On the Bench how-to focus Unitron Peter Indrigo video Z10 Series eyestrain ergonomic seating musculoskeletal disorders Department of Labor National Research Council National Safety Council soldering comic books smt surface mount technology Mighty Ohm Silicon Farmers Mitch Altman Andie Nordgren Jeff Keyzer Greg Peek Dave Roberts Nitrile allergies latex rubber gloves TechNiGlove Fritz Maskrey Type 4 disposable gloves 4500 Series rubber table mats free shipping static control order tracking recent web orders user info shopping tools account tools backless stools ErgoLux ErgoLux Jr Versa Maintenance Repair ANSI-BIFMA Greenguard Gold lab medical industrial electronic assembly quotes orders shopping Quantum Storage Systems Free Shipping Bins Totes Carts Shelving Static Solutions hand lotion EOS/ESD personal grounding wrist straps heel grounders Craig Zander Walking Voltage Test footwear Warmbier WT5000 EFM51WT web account nitrile gloves
Show All

Posts

2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
November October August July June April March January
2019
December October September July June May April March February
2018