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Brazing Dictionary

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Active brazing

Active brazing is the direct brazing of ceramic-ceramic and ceramic-metal joints. The active
brazing alloys used for active brazing generally contain titanium which promotes wetting via a
reaction at the brazing alloy / ceramic interface.

Active brazing alloys

Active brazing alloys are used for directly brazing ceramic-ceramic and ceramic-metal joints. In
order to achieve good wetting of the ceramic materials, alloying elements are added to the
active brazing alloys. These alloying elements form a reaction layer at the brazing alloy /
ceramic interface, so creating the joint. Active brazing alloys can also be used for brazing
diamond, sapphire, ruby and graphite. The active brazing alloys BrazeTec CB1, CB2, CB4, CB5
and CB6 are based on silver or silver-copper alloys and contain titanium in varying
concentrations as an active element. A minimum brazing temperature of 850C is required for
active brazing in order to create a joint with the ceramic. Higher brazing temperatures improve
the wetting behaviour. Pure argon or a vacuum are employed as atmospheres for the brazing
work.

Alloy

Compounds of two or more metals are called alloys.

Aluminium and aluminium alloys

Aluminium and aluminium alloys are predominantly brazed with AlSi brazing alloys. The working
temperature of these brazing alloy is ca. 600C and hence only aluminium base materials with
solidus temperatures above 630C can be brazed with these brazing alloys. Pure aluminium and
Al-Mn, Al-Mg and Al-Mg-Si alloys with less than 2% Mg and Si can be successfully brazed. For
alloys with higher Mg and Si levels, brazing is not possible because the solidus temperature is
too close to the working temperature of the brazing alloy. Higher Mg and Si contents also make
wetting by solders more difficult.

Annealing

The majority of metals used industrially, e.g. copper, brass, steel for deep-drawing, are
generally strengthened by cold-forming processes (pressing, drawing, rolling and suchlike).
Annealing allows the soft and less strong starting state to be re-established. For other materials,
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steels which can be hardened or copper-beryllium, customised heat treatments can increase the
hardness and strength. It is recommended to consider these two groups of materials separately
for brazing.

Assembly gap

The assembly gap is the gap between the components to be brazed at room temperature.

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Brazing

Brazing is a joining technique which uses alloys whose liquidus temperatures are above 450C.
Silver-copper-zinc alloys are generally used as brazing alloys. These may also additionally
contain cadmium and tin.

Brazing alloy preforms

Brazing alloy comes in the following forms: wire sections, wire rings, shaped pieces of wire,
discs, perforated discs, square or rectangular sheet sections and stamped sheets. In special
cases, e.g. for surface brazing, shaped pieces of brazing alloy must be used for brazing as the
rate of flow into narrow surface gaps is considerably smaller than into the free fillet.

Brazing atmosphere

The brazing atmosphere is the atmosphere during the brazing. Possible brazing atmospheres are
air + flux, inert gases (e.g. argon, nitrogen, helium), reducing gases (e.g. hydrogen, carbon
monoxide, dissociated ammonia) and a vacuum.

Brazing gap

The brazing gap is the gap between the components to be brazed at the brazing temperature.
Due to thermal expansion of the base materials, the brazing gap may be different to the
assembly gap.

Brazing time

The brazing time is the time from the start of the heating to complete solidification of the
brazing alloy. In air this should be at maximum 5 minutes so that the oxide-dissolving effect of
the flux is maintained.
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Brazing/soldering

In accordance with DIN 8505, brazing/soldering is a thermal process for securely joining and
coating materials, whereby a liquid phase is formed by melting a solder / brazing alloy or by
diffusion at the interfaces. In contrast to welding, the solidus temperature of the base material is
not reached.

Burner

Burners are instruments for heating components in atmospheres. There are burners for different
gases combinations: acetylene-oxygen; acetylene - drawn-in air; propane - oxygen; propane -
drawn-in air; natural gas - oxygen and natural gas - compressed air. There are also hydrogen
burners. The selected gas combination and size of the burner head determine the time required
for brazing.

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Cadmium-containing silver brazing alloys

Silver brazing alloys have low working temperatures and very good wetting behaviour. They are
however only suitable for brazed joints used at operating temperatures up to 150C. These
brazing alloys are not recommended by us because of their cadmium content and the associated
health problems. Nevertheless, cadmium-containing silver brazing alloys are still used in many
sectors of industry.

Cadmium-free silver brazing alloys

Due to health problems associated with cadmium-containing silver brazing alloys, we

recommend the use of cadmium-free silver brazing alloys. Compared to cadmium-containing
brazing alloys with the same silver content, these have higher working temperatures. They can
however be used at somewhat higher operating temperatures (ca. 200C).

Capillary effect

If the gap between the components to be brazed has a width of maximum 0.2 mm at the
brazing temperature, the liquid brazing alloy is drawn into the gap. This so-called capillary effect
allows the brazing alloy to penetrate into deep gaps or even to rise into vertical gaps.

Capillary filling pressure

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The capillary filling pressure is the pressure which the molten brazing alloy exerts against gravity
in the brazing gap. This pressure is dependent on the width of the brazing gap and the
geometry. In general, the capillary filling pressure increases the more narrow the brazing gap
becomes.

Copper bit

Copper bits are only used for soldering. They consist of a metal bit (copper) which is heated for
example electrically or using a burner. Via contact with the component, the heat and also molten
solder is transferred to the component and a joint is created.

Copper-bit soldering

Copper-bit soldering involves heating the point to be soldered and melting the solder with a
manual or machine-powered copper bit. The heat capacity and shape of the bit must be adapted
to the joint to be soldered. With the aid of flux, both components are brought up to working
temperature with the solder, prior to starting the actual soldering procedure.

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De-wetting

In brazing technology, de-wetting is the shrinking of molten brazing alloy previously spread out
over the surface.

Diffusion

In general, the term diffusion refers to a macroscopic mass transport caused by movement of
individual atoms along paths which are larger than the interatomic distance.

Diffusion zones

In a successful brazed joint, the brazing alloy alloys to a thin layer of the pure metal surface.
The movement of metal atoms necessary for this is called diffusion. Correspondingly, the
resultant joint-zones are also called diffusion zones. Their existence and size determine the
strength of the brazed joint.

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Effective temperature range

Fluxes start to become effective above a certain temperature; above a certain temperature they
lose their effect. The flux is active within this effective temperature range and allows or
promotes wetting of the workpiece surface with liquid brazing alloy.

Eutectic alloys

Just like pure metals, eutectic alloys have a melting point rather than a melting point range. The
best known example in brazing technology of a eutectic alloy is BrazeTec 7200, comprising 72%
silver and 28% copper and having a melting point of 780C.

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Flame brazing

A large number of brazed joints are formed using flame brazing (burner brazing). Various fuel
gas / oxygen mixtures are used for this. Propane / drawn-in air and acetylene / oxygen
combinations are commonly used. In flame brazing, flux must be used for all base material /
brazing alloy combinations. The only exceptions are the phosphorus-containing copper brazing
alloys which can be used without flux for copper-copper joints.

Flammable gases

Pipes which are used for transporting gases for public and private gas utility companies in
Germany must be brazed. In accordance with the DVGW (Deutscher Verband des Gas- und
Wasserfaches e.V.) working sheet GW2, silver brazing alloys BrazeTec 4576, 3476 and 4404 and
also phosphorus-containing brazing alloys BrazeTec S 94 and S 2 are permitted. If it is possible
for sulphur-containing media (e.g. engine oils, air from stalls, etc.) to come into contact with the
brazed joints, phosphorus-containing brazing alloys cannot be employed. In accordance with ISO
9539 (Version 1988) and Trac (Version 1999), acetylene pipes must be brazed with alloys which
do not contain more than 46% Ag and not more than 36% Cu (BrazeTec 4576 or 4404).

Flux

A flux is a non-metal material whose main task is to remove any oxides which are present on
the surface to be brazed and on the brazing alloy and to hinder oxide formation. Salt mixtures
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which are able to dissolve metal oxides are used to prepare fluxes for brazing. They are
generally based on boron compounds. The flux must melt at a lower temperature than the
brazing alloy which is used. Before the brazing procedure, the flux is applied to the joint to be
brazed as a thin layer. As soon as the temperature of the component to be brazed reaches the
active temperature range of the flux, the flux dissolves the oxide layer.

Flux vapours

The vapours which are produced when brazing with fluxes are irritating and corrosive. Extraction
of the vapours is always recommendable. If the relevant applicable MAK-values are exceeded,
brazing work must be carried out with extraction of the vapours.

Furnace brazing

In furnace brazing, the materials to be brazed and the brazing alloy - and if required the flux -
are heated to the required temperature in a furnace. The correct furnace temperature is
generally about 50-100C above the working temperature of the brazing alloy which is being
used. In general, furnace brazing is carried out at higher temperatures in inert gas atmospheres
or under a vacuum and in the absence of flux.

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Galvanising

If the surface of the components to be brazed is intended to be coated by galvanisation after

brazing, low melting point silver brazing alloys are preferred because flux residues are easy to
remove. In general cadmium-free brazing alloys form smoother fillets. In special cases, silicon-
containing silver brazing alloys are to be recommended. When using higher melting point
brazing alloys such as BrazeTec 60/40 or BrazeTec 48/10, the flux residues must be removed
mechanically. Gaseous fluxes can also often be used.

Gap brazing

Gap brazing is the joining of components, whereby a narrow gap between the components is
preferentially filled with brazing alloy by capillary pressure. Workpieces with gap widths below
0.5 mm are brazed using the gap brazing technique.

Gaseous flux
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Gaseous fluxes are fluxes which are usually formed from volatile liquid mixtures consisting of
boric acid esters and a highly volatile solvent as a transport medium. They are only used for
flame brazing. In this technique, the flow of fuel gas is passed through the liquid mixture and
becomes enriched with flux. The flux is then passed via the flame to the component to be brazed
and removes the oxides. A disadvantage of using gaseous flux is that it is only effective above
ca. 750C and does not penetrate into narrow gaps, so hindering through-brazing.

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Hard metal special brazing alloys

Although the number of HM special alloys is only very small, they are of considerable importance
for the manufacturers of tools for drilling, milling and wood, plastic and metal processing. In
general, the tungsten carbide based hard metals require a highly reactive brazing alloy
component which promotes wetting, for example manganese, supplemented by nickel or cobalt.
Typical hard metal brazing alloys are BrazeTec 4900, BrazeTec 6488, BrazeTec 21/80 and
BrazeTec 21/68. For large joint surfaces, tri-metals such as BrazeTec 49/Cu, 64/Cu, 49NiN or
CuNiN are used for brazing hard metal / steel joints. These are copper strips or nickel meshes,
which have a layer of brazing alloy on both sides. By means of plastic deformation, both the
ductile copper layer and the brazing alloy in the nickel mesh can reduce the stresses which arise
on cooling the components and which are caused by the different thermal coefficients of
expansion.

Hard metals

HM are powdered metals - based on powder mixtures made from naturally hard materials by
sintering - which contain a high proportion of metal carbides, most commonly tungsten carbide
(TC). Cobalt in concentrations of between 5-13% is mainly used as the binder metal. In
exceptional cases the cobalt content is much higher.

High temperature brazing

High temperature brazing involves flux-free brazing in an inert gas furnace or vacuum furnace
with brazing temperatures of over 900C. Typical high temperature brazing alloys are made of
alloys based on copper and nickel as well as noble metals.

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Induction brazing

In induction brazing the component is heated by an induced current. To induce the current, the
component is placed contact-less in a coil through which an electric current is flowing.
Depending on the frequency of the current, a distinction is made between high frequency
brazing and medium frequency brazing. In general, the procedure involves working in air with a
brazing alloy and flux.

Inert gas

Oxygen-free atmospheres. Gas mixtures having reducing properties (especially nitrogen-

hydrogen mixtures) and inert gases (such as nitrogen, noble gases) are preferred. Pure
hydrogen is also frequently used because it is a strong reducer. Oxidation-sensitive materials
such as alloys containing more than 0.5% aluminium, titanium or zirconium can also be brazed
in reducing gases, but flux has to be present. Components which are brazed in inert gas
atmospheres are bare and do not require further touching up.

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Joint brazing

If the surfaces to be joined on the workpiece are more than 0.5 mm apart, there is said to be a
(brazing-) joint (smaller distance = brazing gap). The joint brazing technique is used for such
joints. The working method and temperature distribution for joint brazing are the same as for
fusion welding. In joint brazing, relatively large amounts of brazing alloy are used. For that
reason silver-free brazing alloys BrazeTec 60/40 and BrazeTec 48/10 are almost always
employed. If a component with a brazing gap cannot tolerate heating over the whole length of
the surface to be brazed, then in such instances the joint brazing technique can also be used.

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Knife-edge corrosion

Knife-edge corrosion concerns interfacial corrosion. This occurs for example on stainless steel
components which have been brazed with zinc-containing brazing alloys and which come into
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contact with aqueous media. The steel surface is usually clearly attacked at the edge and under
the brazed joint. The danger of corrosion is reduced by brazing with Zn-free brazing alloys such
as BrazeTec 6009 (Ag 60%, Cu 30%, Sn 10%) and flux. When furnace brazing (without flux),
e.g. using copper as the brazing alloy, there have not yet been any incidences of knife-edge
corrosion.

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Laser brazing

In laser soldering, the components to be brazed are heated by a laser. Laser brazing is generally
carried out in the absence of flux.

Liquidus temperature

(upper melting point) The liquidus temperature is the upper temperature limit of the melting
range or the melting interval. The brazing alloy is completely liquid above this temperature.

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Maximum brazing temperature

The maximum brazing temperature is the temperature up to which the base material and the
brazing alloy are not damaged. The brazing temperature for cadmium-containing brazing alloys
is restricted (due to Cd-vaporisation) to the following value: working temperature + 50C. The
heating during brazing must be so controlled that the brazing temperature is in the range
between the working temperature and the maximum brazing temperature, namely the heat
sources must be chosen such that suitable temperature-time profiles are present in the
workpiece.

Melting point range

All non-eutectic brazing alloys have a melting point range. The melting point range is the
difference between the liquidus temperature and the solidus temperature.
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Operating temperature

Increased operating temperatures almost always results in considerable loss of strength in

brazed joints. The maximum operating temperatures given in technical data sheets or product
information should not be exceeded for long periods. Higher temperatures are generally
permitted for short periods if the brazed joints are not subject to noteworthy loads at these
higher temperatures.

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Partial alloying

Partial alloying is the strong diffusion of the components of the brazing alloy into the base
material. As the diffusion is dependent on both the time and temperature, the residence time at
the brazing temperature should be kept as short as possible, especially for high temperature
brazing alloys, in order to avoid strong partial alloying of the base material (erosion) and
possible formation of brittle phases in the transition zones.

Phosphorus-containing brazing alloys

These brazing alloys can be used without flux for copper-copper joints. On melting the brazing
alloy, the phosphorus alloy component reacts with atmospheric oxygen to form phosphorus
pentoxide. This reacts with the copper protoxide which forms on the copper surface to form low
melting point copper metaphosphate. It is this which acts as a flux. As copper metaphosphate is
unharmful from a corrosion-chemical point of view, the brazed joints do not subsequently have
to be touched up. In normal atmospheres, these brazing alloys can be used on copper, silver and
copper-tin-bronze without the use of flux. In contrast, flux has to be used for copper-zinc alloys.
It is not permitted to use these brazing alloys for sulphur-containing media. These brazing alloys
are not recommended for steels, iron alloys and nickel alloys due to the formation of brittle
intermediate layers (formation of brittle phases).
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Selecting a flux

Fluxes for brazing are chosen based on the anticipated brazing temperature and the base
materials to be brazed. BrazeTec product information contains further details.

Solder bath soldering

In this technique, the components to be joined are dipped in a bath of molten solder alloy and
then subjected to the soldering process. Before being dipped into the bath, the components are
wetted with flux. The immersion speed must be chosen such that the brazing temperature on
the workpiece is reached during each dipping phase. A visible sign of this is a positive meniscus
at the interface of the solder surface and the component.

Solderability/brazeability

The solderability/brazeability of a component is the ability of the component to be manufactured

in such a way by soldering/brazing that it fulfils the stipulated requirements during use. The
solderability/brazeability is determined by the suitability of the material to be soldered/brazed,
by the attainable integrity of the soldered/brazed joint (determined by the construction and the
strength and corrosion properties) and by the ability to be soldered/brazed, namely the ability of
the component to be produced by a soldering/brazing process.

Soldering

Soldering is a joining technique which uses alloys having liquidus temperatures below 450C.
Typical lead-free solders are zinc-copper and tin-silver alloys.

Solders
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Amongst other things, solders are used in installation engineering. The zinc-copper and zinc-
silver solders used in installation engineering can be used for continuous operating temperatures
of up to 110C. At higher operating temperatures the joint strength decreases. Another major
area of application is in electronics. Tin-lead solders are principally used here.

Solidus temperature

(lower melting point) The solidus temperature is the lower temperature of the melting range or
melting interval. The brazing alloy is completely solid below this temperature.

Strength of a brazed/soldered joint

If one assumes predominantly static loads at room temperature, material combinations suitable
for brazing alloys / solders and no large brazing/soldering defects, the following strength can be
expected of brazed/soldered joints and can be used for calculation purposes:

Brazed joint: B 200 N/mm2, B 100 N/mm2

Soldered joint: B 3 N/mm2

In order to attain these strengths, the brazing/soldering gap must be at least 80% filled. The
breaking limits for brazed/soldered joints are generally considerably higher than these values.

Surface brazing

Surface brazing is coating using brazing techniques. The coatings can be used for protection
against wear and corrosion.

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Vacuum brazing

It is not necessary to use a flux when brazing in a vacuum. For vacuum brazing, brazing alloys
whose components have a high vapour pressure at the brazing temperature cannot be used, for
example all brazing alloys which contain volatile elements such as cadmium and zinc. Brazing in
a vacuum generally involves furnace brazing, whereby resistance-heated or induction-heated
vacuum furnaces are used.
Whilst flux and gases can become trapped in brazing gaps when brazing in the presence of
gases, this is virtually never the case when brazing in a vacuum, so resulting in brazed joints
with a good degree of filling and high strength. This is especially important for components
which are subject to high loads such as turbine blades, heat exchangers and open framework
constructions. Vacuum brazing is the method of choice in power transmission engineering.

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Wetting

In brazing technology, wetting is the irreversible spreading of the molten brazing alloy over the
surface of the workpiece. Brazing alloys only wet the base material if the surfaces to be brazed
and the brazing alloy are metallically pure. Furthermore, the surfaces to be brazed and the
brazing alloy must at least have reached the working temperature of the brazing alloy and at
least part of the brazing alloy must readily form an alloy with the base material to be brazed.

Working temperature

The working temperature is the lowest surface temperature at the point to be brazed at which
the brazing alloy wets the materials to be joined or at which a liquid phase forms via interfacial
diffusion. The working temperature is always higher than the solidus temperature of the brazing
alloy. It can be either above or below its liquidus temperature or can be the same as the liquidus
temperature.

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