Number: OH&S 18.50.

1
Revision Date: 02/11/2015

Brazing Safe Work Procedures

Printed copies of this document are uncontrolled.

1. PURPOSE
1.1. To provide safe work procedures and guidelines on brazing operations.

2. SCOPE
2.1 These procedures apply to all Contractors working on projects on TRU Campus and all
employees and students when working on any brazing/soldering tasks

3. PRECAUTIONS

POTENTIAL HEALTH & SAFETY HAZARDS

HAZARD TO PROTECT YOURSELF
PINCH POINTS Use LOCK-OUT procedures when performing
There are gears and exposed maintenance or conducting any work within 12” of an
moving parts on machinery. exposed pinch point.
NEVER put your hands or feet near an exposed pinch
point or gears!
EXPOSURE Understand the chemical(s) you are working in the
vicinity of.
Consult the MSDS and wear the appropriate PPE.

FOOT INJURY Approved protective footwear is needed when there is the

risk of foot injury due to slipping, uneven terrain,
abrasion, crushing potential, temperature extremes,
corrosive substances, puncture hazards, electrical shock
and any other recognizable hazard
COMPRESSED GASES Do not
• drop
• keep near heat

FIRE Complete a hot work permit work where required

Due to flammable
liquids, gases or
combustible dusts

Rings and Dangling jewelry Rings and any loose or dangling jewelry must not be
worn while operating any equipment or machines

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4. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Safety glasses must be worn at all times in work area!

Long and Loose hair must be contained by a hat or hairnet to prevent contact with
moving parts on equipment and machines

Respirator with HEPA filters must be worn when working with materials that create
hazardous fumes or in conditions with excessive dust and smoke in the environment.

Work Boots must be worn at all times when working in an area where there is risk of
serious foot injury due materials falling onto the foot.

Work Gloves should be worn when there is a risk of hand injury during the course of
work tasks.

Close fitting clothing or protective clothing must be worn.

Brazing

5. Brazing:
Brazing is a metal-joining process whereby a filler metal is heated above melting point and
distributed between two or more close-fitting parts by capillary action. The filler metal is brought
slightly above its melting (liquidus) temperature while protected by a suitable atmosphere,
usually a flux. It then flows over the base metal (known as wetting) and is then cooled to join the

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work-pieces together. It is similar to soldering, except the temperatures used to melt the filler
metal are higher for brazing.
6. Fundamentals of Brazing:
In order to obtain high-quality brazed joints, parts must be closely fitted, and the base
metals must be exceptionally clean and free of oxides. In most cases, joint clearances of 0.03 to
0.08 mm (0.0012 to 0.0031 in) are recommended for the best capillary action and joint strength.
However, in some brazing operations it is not uncommon to have joint clearances around 0.6 mm
(0.024 in). Cleanliness of the brazing surfaces is also important, as any contamination can cause
poor wetting (flow). The two main methods for cleaning parts, prior to brazing, are chemical
cleaning and abrasive or mechanical cleaning. In the case of mechanical cleaning, it is important
to maintain the proper surface roughness as wetting on a rough surface occurs much more readily
than on a smooth surface of the same geometry.

Another consideration that cannot be overlooked is the effect of temperature and time on the
quality of brazed joints. As the temperature of the braze alloy is increased, the alloying and
wetting action of the filler metal increases as well. In general, the brazing temperature selected
must be above the melting point of the filler metal. However, there are several factors that
influence the joint designer's temperature selection. The best temperature is usually selected so as
to:
(1) Be the lowest possible braze temperature,
(2) Minimize any heat effects on the assembly,
(3) Keep filler metal/base metal interactions to a minimum,
(4) Maximize the life of any fixtures or jigs used.
In some cases, a higher temperature may be selected to allow for other factors in the design (e.g.
to allow use of a different filler metal, or to control metallurgical effects, or to sufficiently
remove surface contamination). The effect of time on the brazed joint primarily affects the extent
to which the aforementioned effects are present; however, in general most production processes
are selected to minimize brazing time and the associated costs. This is not always the case,
however, since in some non-production settings, time and cost are secondary to other joint
attributes (e.g. strength, appearance).
7 Flux:
A variety of alloys are used as filler metals for brazing depending on the intended use or
application method. In general, braze alloys are made up of 3 or more metals to form an alloy
with the desired properties. The filler metal for a particular application is chosen based on its
ability to: wet the base metals, withstand the service conditions required, and melt at a lower
temperature than the base metals or at a very specific temperature.

Braze alloy is generally available as rod, ribbon, powder, paste, cream, wire and preforms (such
as stamped washers). Depending on the application, the filler material can be pre-placed at the
desired location or applied during the heating cycle. For manual brazing, wire and rod forms are
generally used as they are the easiest to apply while heating. In the case of furnace brazing, alloy

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is usually placed beforehand since the process is usually highly automated. Some of the more
common types of filler metals used are
• Aluminum-silicon
• Copper
• Copper-silver
• Copper-zinc (brass)
• Gold-silver
• Nickel alloy
• Silver
8. Atmosphere:
As brazing work requires high temperatures, oxidation of the metal surface occurs in an
oxygen-containing atmosphere. This may necessitate the use of an atmospheric environment
other than air. The commonly used atmospheres are:
1) Air: Simple and economical. Many materials susceptible to oxidation and buildup of
scale. Acid cleaning bath or mechanical cleaning can be used to remove the oxidation
after work. Flux tends to be employed to counteract the oxidation, but it may weaken the
joint.
2) Combusted fuel gas (low hydrogen, AWS type 1, "exothermic generated atmospheres")
3) Combusted fuel gas (decarburizing, AWS type 2, "endothermic generated atmospheres)
4) Combusted fuel gas (dried, AWS type 3, "endothermic generated atmospheres"):
5) Combusted fuel gas (dried, decarburizing, AWS type 4):
6) Ammonia (AWS type 5, also called forming gas):
7) Nitrogen+hydrogen, cryogenic or purified (AWS type 6A
8) Nitrogen+hydrogen+carbon monoxide, cryogenic or purified (AWS type 6B):
9) Nitrogen, cryogenic or purified (AWS type 6C): Non-oxidizing, economical. At high
temperatures can react with some metals, e.g. certain steels, forming nitrides
10) Hydrogen (AWS type 7): Strong deoxidizer, highly thermally conductive. Can be used
for copper brazing and annealing steel. May cause hydrogen embrittlement to some
alloys
11) Inorganic vapors (various volatile fluorides, AWS type 8): Special purpose. Can be
mixed with atmospheres AWS 1–5 to replace flux
12) Noble gas (usually argon, AWS type 9): Non-oxidizing, more expensive than nitrogen.
Inert. Parts must be very clean, gas must be pure.
13) Noble gas+hydrogen (AWS type 9A)
14) Vacuum: Requires evacuating the work chamber. Expensive. Unsuitable (or requires
special care) for metals with high vapor pressure, e.g. silver, zinc, phosphorus, cadmium,
and manganese. Used for highest-quality joints, for e.g. aerospace applications.
9. Torch Brazing:
Torch brazing is by far the most common method of mechanized brazing in use. It is best
used in small production volumes or in specialized operations, and in some countries, it accounts
for a majority of the brazing taking place. There are three main categories of torch brazing in
use: manual, machine, and automatic torch brazing.

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Manual torch brazing is a procedure where the heat is applied using a gas flame placed on or
near the joint being brazed. The torch can either be hand held or held in a fixed position
depending on whether the operation is completely manual or has some level of automation.
Manual brazing is most commonly used on small production volumes or in applications where
the part size or configuration makes other brazing methods impossible.. The use of flux or self-
fluxing material is required to prevent oxidation. Torch brazing of copper can be done without
the use of flux if it is brazed with a torch using oxygen and hydrogen gas, rather than oxygen and
other flammable gases.

Machine torch brazing is commonly used where a repetitive braze operation is being carried out.
This method is a mix of both automated and manual operations with an operator often placing
brazes material, flux and jigging parts while the machine mechanism carries out the actual braze.
The advantage of this method is that it reduces the high labor and skill requirement of manual
brazing. The use of flux is also required for this method as there is no protective atmosphere, and
it is best suited to small to medium production volumes.

Automatic torch brazing is a method that almost eliminates the need for manual labor in the
brazing operation, except for loading and unloading of the machine. The main advantages of this
method are: high production rates, uniform braze quality, and reduced operating cost. The
equipment used is essentially the same as that used for Machine torch brazing, with the main
difference being that the machinery replaces the operator in the part preparation

10 Silver Brazing:
Silver brazing, sometimes known as a silver soldering or hard soldering, is brazing using
silver alloy based filler. These silver alloys consist of many different percentages of silver and
other metals, such as copper, zinc and cadmium.

Brazing is widely used in the tool industry to fasten 'hard metal' (carbide, ceramics, cermet, and
similar) tips to tools such as saw blades. "Pretinning" is often done: the braze alloy is melted
onto the hard metal tip, which is placed next to the steel and re-melted. Pretinning gets around
the problem that hard metals are hard to wet.

Brazed hard metal joints are typically two to seven mils thick. The braze alloy joins the materials
and compensates for the difference in their expansion rates. In addition it provides a cushion
between the hard carbide tip and the hard steel which softens impact and prevents tip loss and
damage, much as the suspension on a vehicle helps prevent damage to both the tires and the
vehicle. Finally the braze alloy joins the other two materials to create a composite structure,
much as layers of wood and glue create plywood.

The standard for braze joint strength in many industries is a joint that is stronger than either base
material, so that when under stress, one or other of the base materials fails before the joint.

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One special silver brazing method is called pin brazing or pin brazing. It has been developed
especially for connecting cables to railway track or for cathodic protection installations. The
method uses a silver- and flux-containing brazing pin which is melted down in the eye of a cable
lug. The equipment is normally powered from batteries.

11 Braze welding:
Braze welding is the use of a bronze or brass filler rod coated with flux to join steel work-
pieces. The equipment needed for braze welding is basically identical to the equipment used in
brazing. Since braze welding usually requires more heat than brazing, acetylene or
methylacetylene-propadiene (MAP) gas fuel is commonly used. The name comes from the fact
that no capillary action is used.

Braze welding has many advantages over fusion welding. It allows the joining of dissimilar
metals, minimization of heat distortion, and can reduce the need for extensive pre-heating.
Additionally, since the metals joined are not melted in the process, the components retain their
original shape; edges and contours are not eroded or changed by the formation of a fillet.
Another effect of braze welding is the elimination of stored-up stresses that are often present in
fusion welding. This is extremely important in the repair of large castings. The disadvantages are
the loss of strength when subjected to high temperatures and the inability to withstand high
stresses.

12 Cast Iron welding:

The "welding" of cast iron is usually a brazing operation; with a filler rod made chiefly of
nickel being used although true welding with cast iron rods is also available. Ductile cast iron
pipe may be also "cadwelded," a process which connects joints by means of a small copper wire
fused into the iron when previously ground down to the bare metal, parallel to the iron joints
being formed as per hub pipe with neoprene gasket seals. The purpose behind this operation is to
use electricity along the copper for keeping underground pipes warm in cold climates.

13 Brazing Procedures:
13.1 Proper Clearances/ Proper Joint Design
Joint clearance is a principal factor in determining the mechanical strength of brazed
joints. It is also a factor in eliminating harmful voids in the joint area and in establishing
the capillary force required to fill the joint.
During the brazing process, two closely fitted surfaces or parent metals are heated and a filler
metal is introduced. As the filler metal becomes liquid, a pulling force draws the molten filler
between the surfaces of the parent metals. This is known as capillary action. The coalescence of
materials when cooled is a strong, void-free braze joint. This sounds easy but the first step to
insure success begins in the design engineer's office. The design engineer has a working

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knowledge of what the braze joint will face in the field. With this input a joint is designed with
as little stress and the greatest strength possible. The joint integrity will be maximized by
maintaining good fits or clearances between the parent metals.
All metals expand/contract upon heating/cooling. When joining dissimilar metals, the
expansion rate of each parent metal must be calculated and introduced into the joint design. If
this is not included, a joint may be too tight or too wide during the heating process leading to
lower strength conditions.
13.2 Cleaning of Metals to be welded
The joint surface areas should be clean and free from oil, grease, or oxide contamination.
Surfaces may be properly cleaned for brazing by brushing with a stainless steel wire brush, or by
a stiff rubbing with emery cloth. If oil or grease is present, clean with a commercial solvent.
Remember to remove small foreign particles, such as emery dust, by wiping with a clean, dry
cloth. The joint surfaces MUST be clean.
13.3 Assembly and Fixturing
After cleaning, maintaining alignment of the base metals during the heating cycle will assist
capillary action. The easiest method is using gravity. In most cases the parts are self-supporting.
More intricate methods might include fixtures such as clamps or vises. If you have a number of
assemblies to braze and their configuration is too complex for self-support or clamping, it may
be a good idea to use a brazing support fixture. In planning such a fixture, design it for the least
possible mass and the least contact with the parts of the assembly.
Try to use materials in your fixture that are poor heat conductors, such as stainless steel, Inconel
or ceramics. Since these are poor conductors, they draw the least heat away from the joint.
Choose materials with compatible expansion rates so you won't get alterations in assembly
during the heating cycle.
13.4 Fluxing of Parent Metals

Most of flux is conventionally made in a paste consistency; it's usually most convenient to brush
it on. But as production quantities increase, it may be more efficient to apply the flux by dipping.
When using White SilverFlux, however, apply it only with a brush. To prevent excess flux
residue inside refrigeration lines, apply a thin layer of flux to only the male tubing and, if
possible, rotate the fitting once or twice on the tube to ensure uniform coverage.

13.5 Brazing the Assembly

This is the point where heat is introduced. Torch Brazing using a fossil fuel such as oxy-
acetylene is a reliable method. This is most common in single assemblies or smaller production
levels. It involves heating the assembly to brazing temperature, and flowing the filler metal
through the joint. In larger operations, multiple station turntables with multi-tip torches can
increase production levels.. The heat must be applied uniformly. Mass differences and
conductivity of the base metals will affect the amount of heat and how much time is required.
The heat is directed to a broad area surrounding the joint. Because filler metals follow the greater
heat source, the key is getting the interior facing surfaces to proper temperature. If you're
brazing a small assembly, you may heat the entire assembly to the flow point of the brazing filler
metal. If you're brazing a large assembly, you heat a broad area around the joint. DO NOT direct

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heat solely on the joint surface as it can lead to premature flow of the alloy but not necessarily
into the length of the joint. The joint might look adequate but it will have little strength. When
using preforms, the alloy is preplaced as close as possible to the joint.

13.6 Post Braze Cleanup

After completing the brazed assembly, it must be cleaned; the flux residues must come off.
Fluxes are corrosive, If not removed they can eventually weaken a braze joint. The quickest and
most economical method is a water quench. Once the filler has solidified, place the warm
assembly in a hot water bath. This will normally "crack" the residue off. For more tenacious
residues, agitate the water bath or use a jet spray to knock the flux off. Or simply wire brush the
assembly while submerged in the bath. If the flux has been saturated during the heating cycle, the
assembly will have a blackish discoloration. In most cases, an acid bath will be needed to assist
the flux removal. Care must be taken in choosing a mild acid to avoid etching the joint.

14 RECORDS/VERIFICATION OF UNDERSTANDING
14.1 Records
14.2 Verification of Understanding
14.2.1 A training master log will be maintained by ….
15 SUMMARY OF CHANGES
Revision # Date Change (include section #) Issued By
1 02/11/2015 NEW OHS Officer

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