Influence of Groove shape on the Mechanical Properties of Welded Commercial Steel

Manufacturers always seek for quality and effective welding to stay competitive in the market. There is a continuous demand for a quick and efficient manufacturing set ups for new products. GMAW is among the welding processes that is wieldy used in the industry. Welding factors such as welding voltage, welding current, gas flow rate, filler wire size and welding speed play a significant role in determining the welding quality. Taguchi design uses optimization technique for the process of experimentation as an effort to improve productivity and enhance product quality. This study discusses the welding of commercial steel welded using GMAW. The welding was controlled by welding current, welding speed and groove shape to test their influence on the welding strength; tensile strength and hardness. X groove shape welding has obtained lower tensile strength and hardness than V groove shape as did higher welding current and lower welding speed. The results concluded that welding current welding had the highest influence on tensile strength and hardness of the welding, followed by groove shape, while the welding speed had the minimum influence. The optimized combination of welding factors is 170 A, V groove shape and 150 mm/min