Preheat, Interpass, and Postheat ‘The temperatures for various types of surfacing operations are dependent on many factors, including: # Type of base material. © Thickness of base material © Complexity of weldment design and type of weld join. Type of filler materials to be used, ‘© Mechanical and chemical values of the completed weld, Final heat treatment of the surfaced part Other areas must be considered before welding the part. Some metals cannot be heated beyond a certain temperature—the heat will destroy the grain structure of the base material and cause the weldment to fail, Other metals must be postheated to prevent hardening of the final welds and cracking as the weld metal cools. ‘The following conditions for heating operations generally apply * Austenitic manganese steels are not heated. Chrome-nickel stainless steels are nor heated, Low-carbon steels are nor heated, Cast irons are heated Extremely cold materials are heated. (Thermal shock may cause cracking of the base material or the weld.) * High-chromium steels are heated, ‘© Medium- and high-carbon steels are heated, ‘© Very hard surfueing deposits are heated. In general, if the partis to be heated, then the entire heat-affected zone requires heat, Complex design parts must be heated throughout to prevent cooling stresses from forming. If preheating is required, interpass heating and postheating are done also. Interpass temperature should be maintained until the welding operation is complete, The final heating should be started before the Chapter 12 Surfacing 108 Figure 12-6. preheat calculator can be usod to determine tho heating temparatures required for surfacing carbon and low- alloy steels. (Lincoln Electric Co.) part drops below the interpass temperature. Final cooling should be done by covering the part with an insulating material or a blanket, or placing it in a furnace to prevent ipid cooling. Rapid cooling results in internal or ‘external stresses that may cause cracking of the weld or the weldment. Several companies have developed preheat and interpass temperature calculators for determining required temperatures when welding and surfacing ‘carbon and low-ally steels. See Figure 12-6, Welding Techniques Many completed harifacing welds on construction equipment have patterns with no definite designs that ‘cover only part of the wearing surface, See Figure 12-7.