DG Zhongxingshun Sealing Products Factory , https://www.zxs-seal.com
Over the past decade, welding technology has experienced significant advancements across various manufacturing sectors in China. The overall level of welding is primarily determined by the quality of welding equipment and materials, with a growing emphasis on high-end equipment and premium welding consumables. Looking ahead, further attention must be given to the development of advanced welding technologies that support the trend toward integrated and lightweight large-scale equipment. High-energy beam welding and solid-state welding techniques are particularly promising in this regard, offering substantial benefits for integration and weight reduction, and are expected to see rapid growth in the future.
Research into super steel joining techniques is currently ongoing, including low-temperature brazing of thin, high-strength steel, detachable mechanical connections, friction stir welding, and ultra-narrow gap pulsed gas metal arc welding. As new generations of high-strength steel products—ranging from 800 to 1500 MPa—become more widely adopted, major transformations in welding technology will follow. According to Liu Xuming, the welding of low-alloy high-strength steel is still largely dominated by SMAW, GMAW, SAW, and ESW, as new methods are yet to be developed. Internationally, countries have made progress by enhancing manufacturing processes through TMCP combined with micro-alloy design and control, resulting in refined grain structures that reduce crack sensitivity and improve heat-affected zone toughness.
With the continued development of high-strength steel, the future trends in welding technology include:
1. **High-efficiency welding methods**: Multi-wire submerged arc welding, multi-wire gas shielded welding, and electroslag welding remain widely used due to their efficiency. These techniques can achieve maximum heat input up to 1000 kJ/cm, effectively controlling the temperature exposure time in the weld zone and accelerating cooling.
2. **Development of compatible welding materials**: To fully utilize high-strength steel, new micro-alloyed welding materials must be developed. This includes welding wires suitable for large heat input, low-splashing and high-strength GMAW wires, and sintered fluxes designed for efficient multi-wire submerged arc welding.
3. **Improvement of welding standards**: Although material standards for steel structures in China have improved, welding material standards have lagged behind, failing to meet industry demands. Learning from international practices, standards should be reorganized and subdivided based on material types and applications to better serve users.
4. **Advancement of new welding technologies**: As microalloyed high-strength steel and large heat input welding become more common, challenges such as HAZ softening arise. Future research will focus on optimizing welding processes, matching base metal and consumable strength, and managing heat input and interlayer temperatures effectively.
5. **Intelligent welding systems**: The push toward intelligent automation is inevitable, especially in less labor-intensive and safer environments. More robotic systems will replace manual operations, and smart control and tracking technologies will become essential. Cross-industry collaboration will open new opportunities in the welding field.
For more detailed information, please refer to the attached document or the 18th issue of *Metalworking Thermal Processing*.