August 2020 Volume 2

INDUSTRY NEWS & CALENDAR

Serving the Forging Industry for 75 Years

with actual forging dies. In this way, alloys like 525 and 535 were developed, and for more than 70 years they have reduced tooling repair costs and improved cavity production. Forging light metals like aluminum and titanium have increasingly common. These light alloys present different forgeability issues than steel, and the die repair requires different weld fillers. Weld Mold has developed alloys to specifically address the types of wear encountered when forging these more difficult light alloys. Custom is Our Everyday Weld Mold can create alloy solutions to meet just about every condition and need. Custom alloys, or modifications to standard alloys, is something we do every day. With our manufacturing capability focused on coated electrodes and cored wire production in smaller batches, changing weldability or developing specific weld deposit characteristics can be done quickly and at a relatively low cost to the customer. With a minimum order volume of 100 pounds for customor non-stock alloys, this can be a bargainwhere amaterial is not available or has a very long lead time from another vendor. With over 3,000 part numbers and sizes, and a product line that includes copper and nickel based, stainless steel, and hard-facing alloys as well as the 500 series designed specifically for forging die steel, there aren’t many specialty weld filler manufacturers that match our selection. Most of our alloys are available in MIG, TIG, FCAW, SAW, and SMAWwelding processes. Our wire products are available on spools, coils, or in drums of 100, 250, or 500 pounds. Available as a flux core wire (FCG – requires shielding gas), metal core wire (MCG – requires shielding gas), or open arc wire (FCO – no shielding gas required). Our coated electrodes range in size from 3/32” to ¾”.

Weld Mold Company has built a worldwide industry. Focusing on the reduction of forge tooling cost through reliable, repeatable, and cost—effective forging die repair and renewal has always been the purpose of Weld Mold Company. In 1890, Charles L. Coffin of Detroit received a patent for an arc welding process. This was the first time that metal was transferred across an electric arc to deposit filler metal to create a welded joint. From that humble beginning, welding has extended into every conceivable industry in some manner. For 75 years, Weld Mold Company has played a consistent part in the welding world, with a major presence in the forging industry. Established in Detroit in 1945, Weld Mold Company began behind a neighborhood grocery store, with one man’s dream to become a welding engineer. With little more than a self-taught ability to weld, and metallurgical knowledge gained as an apprentice in his family’s blacksmith shop in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Matt Kiillunen had first-hand knowledge of what type of welding electrodes not to use for repairing forging dies through his work as a welder at Huron Forge during WWII. Working with a colleague that taught him how to formulate welding electrodes and what to use, Matt developed brand new welding filler alloys that have set the standard for forging die repair around the world. The principle challenge to overcome was a method to make a usable electrode. Hand dipping the electrodes, a process similar to making candles 100 years earlier, and allowing them to air dry was the process Matt settled on. The next task was to develop alloys that would work at the temperatures and impact/pressures developed in forging. Both of these steps required a lot of trial and error

FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2020 21