Stick welders, MIG welders, TIG welders, and Arc welders are well aware that the wear or the so called deterioration of the surfaces is problem in many industries, including the welding industry. The wear of the welding wire and the filler rods, as well as all other materials used in the processes that multiprocess welders apply is the result of erosion, impact, abrasion, oxidation and corrosion.

Sometimes the wear is due to a combination of all those processes. The effects left from the wear can be repaired by the TIG welders, Stick welders, Arc welders, and MIG welders when they apply welding. When the multiprocess welders use special welding filler metals, they replace the worn out metal with a new metal that can offer a better wear than the original on. This process known as hardfacing applies coating to reduce the wear due to erosion, impact, cavities, oxidation, etc.

The multiprocess welders need to understand the wear processes and the reasons behind the metal deterioration, in order to be able to select a hard facing alloy that will fit best the certain place. The different types of wear come under this classification:

Abrasion – this is a typical condition when the surface is wearing away due to rubbing, grinding or other frictions. The abrasion occurs when a hard material is used on a softer one. This grinding or scraping wear rubs away the metal surface. Unusually, the process is caused by gravel, sand, earth and other material of that kind.

Impact wear – this is when one object strikes against another causing splitting, breaking or deformation of metal surfaces. The impact wear occurs when a metal surface slams into another hard surface.

Thermal shock – this is an interesting reason for metal deterioration. It happens when the welding wire splits or cracks due to several cycles of rapid heating and then cooling. This is not a typical wear problem, though it is a deterioration problem.