In the grand pursuit of improving my welding skills, or lack thereof, from shameful to simply embarrassing, I am constantly at war with distortion. I have felt the effect of distortion while attempting to freehand a 90. I could feel the metal pull as it cooled. So, as a true engineer I wondered is it possible to calculate the effective force or torque that the cooling metal applies so that I can make sure to provide an equivalent opposing force? Surely there’s a way and surely someone has done this before.
I know that a moment can be calculated around the point (weld) at which the force is applied. I.e. the amount of force required to move X lbs of steel 1.5 degrees at 6ft distance. That’s a number that exists, and once I figure out how to determine it, I can plan for it and offset it.
I tack my opposing corners and then weld them in, but I will still get one corner of a truss that is off, or the truss comes out like a pringle. I am sure there is a practical way to accomplish this, but in reference to the first paragraph, I am an engineer.
I know that a moment can be calculated around the point (weld) at which the force is applied. I.e. the amount of force required to move X lbs of steel 1.5 degrees at 6ft distance. That’s a number that exists, and once I figure out how to determine it, I can plan for it and offset it.
I tack my opposing corners and then weld them in, but I will still get one corner of a truss that is off, or the truss comes out like a pringle. I am sure there is a practical way to accomplish this, but in reference to the first paragraph, I am an engineer.
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