Carbon arc welding

Lore & Background

Carbon arc welding could not have been created without the discovery of the electric arc by Humphry Davy in 1800, later repeated independently by Russian physicist Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov in 1802. Petrov studied the electric arc and proposed its possible uses, including welding. The inventors of carbon-arc welding were Nikolay Benardos and Stanisław Olszewski, who developed the method in 1881 and patented it under the name Elektrogefest (Electric Hephaestus).

The process uses a carbon electrode to produce an electric arc between the electrode and the materials being bonded. This arc produces temperatures in excess of 3,000 °C, at which the separate metals form a bond and become welded together. A filler metal is generally used to aid the bond in the workpieces.

Variations of carbon arc welding include gas carbon arc welding (CAW-G), which no longer has commercial significance, shielded carbon arc welding (CAW-S), and twin carbon arc welding (CAW-T), in which the arc is established between two carbon electrodes. Other processes using shielding gases have replaced carbon-arc welding, such as tungsten-arc welding (GTAW, or TIG), plasma-arc welding (PAW), and atomic-hydrogen welding (AHAW).

Reader's Guide

Carbon arc welding holds historical significance as the first arc-welding process ever developed, marking a foundational step in the evolution of metal joining technology. Its creation relied on earlier discoveries of the electric arc by Humphry Davy and Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov, and the method was patented by Nikolay Benardos and Stanisław Olszewski in 1881 under the name Elektrogefest. Although CAW is no longer widely used in modern industry, it paved the way for subsequent arc welding processes that employ non-consumable electrodes, such as tungsten-arc welding (GTAW/TIG), plasma-arc welding (PAW), and atomic-hydrogen welding (AHAW). The process itself operates by generating an electric arc between a carbon electrode and the workpiece, reaching temperatures over 3,000 °C to fuse metals. Variations like twin carbon arc welding (CAW-T) and shielded carbon arc welding (CAW-S) emerged, but most have been superseded by more efficient methods. The legacy of carbon arc welding lies in its role as the prototype for all later arc welding techniques, demonstrating the practical application of the electric arc for industrial bonding.

Did You Know?

• Carbon arc welding was the first arc-welding process developed.
• The electric arc was discovered by Humphry Davy in 1800 and independently by Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov in 1802.
• The inventors of carbon-arc welding were Nikolay Benardos and Stanisław Olszewski, who patented it in 1881 as Elektrogefest.
• The arc in carbon arc welding produces temperatures in excess of 3,000 °C.