Easyweld aluminium welding rods
Easyweld aluminium welding rods
Durafix Easyweld aluminium welding rods are said to be providing antenna specialist RF Solutions with a convenient, dependable and cost-effective answer to a perennial problem – how to make electrically and mechanically sound joints between aluminium, copper, and copper-based alloys.
Aluminium combines lightness with excellent electrical conductivity and is,therefore, used extensively in the innovative lightweight antenna systems designed and manufactured by RF Solutions. Making joints between aluminium and other non-ferrous metals, especially copper and copper alloys has, however,always presented a challenge for the company.
In the past, the most effective method was to plate the aluminium with nickel, then to make the joint to the copper with a tin-based solder. Unfortunately, nickel plating of aluminium is difficult and expensive, which makes this approach unattractive especially for prototypes and small-volume customised products.
In searching for a better approach, RF Solutions encountered Easyweld aluminium welding rods from Durafix Limited. Designed to produce strong welded joints between almost any combination of non-ferrous metals and alloys,including aluminium, these rods have a low working temperature of just 392°C,which means that they can be used with an ordinary hand-held blowtorch.
Although Easyweld is an excellent option for joining aluminium to aluminium,RF Solutions had already adopted HF TIG welding for this purpose and has,therefore, used Easyweld principally for joining the aluminium radiating elements of the company's antennas to copper cables and brass RF connectors.
“The results we've obtained are superb,” said RF Solutions director, Kenny Heernaert. “The joints are easy to make and they are mechanically strong. The electrical performance also matches that of the expensive nickel- plated and soldered joints – we've done tests at frequencies up to 1GHz, and there's no detectable degradation of conductivity or standing wave ratio.”
“In fact,” continued Kenny, “the only real differences are that Easyweld is much more convenient and much less costly! Easyweld also means that we can respond much faster to customer requests for prototypes and modifications, since we no longer have to wait for a third-party supplier to nickel plate the aluminium antenna elements.”
Easyweld rods produce non-porous joints that are stronger than the parent metals being joined, and which are entirely free from slag. In addition to the experience of RF Solutions, the quality and performance of the rods is confirmed by the US Army Engineering Corp., which has approved them under specification number MIL-R-4208 for use in an extensive range of demanding military applications, including the repair of aircraft skins.
Durafix supplies the rods in a wide range of pack sizes, as well as in the form of inexpensive kits complete with a high-quality auto- or manual-ignition blowtorch and a stainless steel brush for cleaning the metal surfaces prior to welding.
Details available from: Durafix UK, Tel: +44 (0) 845 0942131, E-mail: tracy@easyweld.com
