Welding process. Introduction

Welding is one of the most widely used techniques for joining metallic materials. It can be used, for example, to obtain watertight capacities, or to transmit forces within an assembly of individual parts... The normative aspect is relatively important in the field of welding. Typing in the term "welding" on the AFNOR website ^® gives a list of over 2,000 normative documents. If we restrict ourselves to the "welding processes" sequence, we come up with a list of 300 documents. This is why, in this introductory article, we refer to a number of these normative documents.

After some general definitions, a brief history of welding processes is given. Two classifications of welding processes are presented, along with their symbols. Finally, based on comparative elements, criteria for choosing a welding process are discussed, along with the health and safety risks involved. An initial approach to the most significant risks (welding fumes and radiation) in electric arc welding is given in terms of prevention.