Welding Services
From Midlake Products in Louisville, Ohio
Midlake Products offers welding services from our facilities in Louisville, Ohio as part of our integrating custom manufacturing for sheet metal and custom hinges.
Combining the skills of our certified craftsmen with state-of-the-art equipment, Midlake offers welding capabilities which can add additional value to your parts, assemblies and product manufacturing requirements. From spot, TIG, or MIG welding, allow us to add the value you need when welding is required.
Assembly and custom manufacturing at a variety of levels is also available at Midlake. From simple hardware installation to complex sub-assemblies, Midlake wants to work with you to provide a lower cost alternative. By working with our customers, we have been able to streamline the supply chain which provides an overall lower landed cost.
Our welding services
Welding is simply a fabrication process that joins materials, both metals and thermoplastics. The process creates coalescence by melting the work pieces and adding filler. And at Midlake Products, we offer in house welding including:
- Spot Welding
- Gas Tungsten Arc (TIG Welding)
- Gas Metal Arc Welding (MIG Welding)
- Fixtures
Spot Welding – Spot welding is typically used to weld sheet metal and describes the process where metal surfaces are joined by the heat coming from electric current flow. The welding is concentrated on a particular “spot” thus clamping to sheets together.
TIG Welding – Also called tungsten inert gas welding, is an arc welding process often used to weld thin metal pieces. And while it is often used in aerospace applications, at Midlake we use it to produce high quality welds for custom hinges as well as medical industry supplies.
MIG Welding – Sometimes referred to as metal inert gas welding, this process is at least partially or totally automated using a welding gun. Originally created for welding aluminum, it is now a preferred method for steel welding due to lower welding times as compared to other processes.
Fixtures – Even the most skilled welders at Midlake need to take advantage of tools which enhance their work. Some parts are rather complicated with complex and intricate critical dimensions. For these situations, we build, in-house, fixtures which allow the parts to be held in precise locations till they are attached by the welders. End result – welded parts and assemblies that hit the drawing specifications all the time!
More about Arc Welding
Arc welding uses a power supply to create an electric arc between an electrode and the base material. Both constant current power supplies and constant voltage power supplies can be used. Shielded metal arc welding is commonplace. It uses relatively inexpensive equipment and is used often is shop jobs and field work. It can be done with a modest amount of training. Weld times are fairly slow.
Gas metal arc welding, also referred to as MIG Welding, is a semi-automatic or automatic process that uses continuous wire feed as an electrode and an inert gas to protect the weld from contamination. Welding speeds are faster than shielded metal arc welding.
Gas welding is usually oxyfuel welding. It is an older process and has become less popular in modern applications. It is inexpensive and simple.
Resistance welding generates heat by passing current through the resistance caused by contact between two metal surfaces. As high current is passed through the metal, small pools of molten metal are formed. Equipment cost can be high.
Energy beam welding is a relatively new process and is popular in high production applications. It is fast but relatively expensive.
In solid-state welding, materials are not melted but thin sheets of metal or wires can be connected by vibrating them as very high frequencies.
Costs
As with any industrial process, many variables affect the cost of welding including equipment, labor, materials, and energy inputs. Costs can vary from inexpensive to very expensive, so some applications are only use in high production operations.
For manual welding, labor makes up most of the costs. Therefore, consideration is spent on minimizing production time. Recently, robotic welding has become more commonplace as a way to decrease labor costs.
Get a free welding quote
At Midlake we offer in house welding including spot, gas tungsten arc, and gas metal arc welding. Conveniently located in the heart of Ohio, contact us today for a free quote on your next welding project!
