welding 2024

How Do I Weld 2024 and 7075?

Tips for Welding Alloys 2024 and 7075

Most of the welders have difficulty finding information on welding 2024 and 7075. The reason being that both materials belong to a small group of aluminum alloys that are considered as being unweldable by the arc welding process.

These materials are often found on aircraft, sporting equipment, and other types of high-performance, safety-critical equipment. These categories of aluminum alloys are not usually arc welded on the original component. The two most found aluminum alloys within this category are 2024, which is aluminum, copper, magnesium alloy, and 7075, which is aluminum, zinc, copper, magnesium alloy.

What Makes Welding 2024 and 7075 Challenging?

Aluminum alloys of 2024 and 7075 can become susceptible to stress corrosion cracking after welding. This phenomenon is particularly dangerous because it is not detectable immediately after welding. The cracking usually develops later when the component is in service. The completed weld joint can appear to be of excellent quality immediately after welding.

However, changes that occur within the base material adjacent to the weld during the welding process, can produce a metallurgical condition within these materials. This can result in intergranular micro-cracking, which may be susceptible to the propagation and eventual failure of the welded component. The probability of failure can be high. The time to failure is unpredictable and dependent on variables such as tensile stress applied to the joint and environmental conditions. It is also dependable on the period in which the component is subjected to these variables.

Important Point to Consider

So, can you weld 2024 and 7075? It is strongly recommended that great care be taken when considering the repair of components made from these materials. It must be stressed that if there is any possibility of a weld failure becoming the cause of damage or injury to a person or property, do not perform repair work by arc welding on these alloys and then return them to service.