JOIN-EM | JOINing of copper to aluminium by ElectroMagnetic fields

The JOIN'EM project aimed to develop innovative methods for joining dissimilar metals to improve the manufacturing of new products, increase product reliability, and reduce maintenance costs. The project focused on the use of the environmentally friendly EMW process, which does not require fluxes or shielding gases and produces no harmful smoke, fumes, or slag. One important aspect of the project is to establish a standard for EMW, which will provide a consensus on terminology, health and safety issues, acceptance levels, and weld defects. The project conducted a comprehensive search of existing standards related to EMW and also identified potential topics for future standards, such as imperfections, acceptance levels, welding procedure specifications, and health and safety issues. Another important aspect of the project is the examination and testing of EMW joints to ensure the quality of the welds. The project used both destructive and non-destructive tests to evaluate the joints and detailed information about the testing methods was be provided in the project D5.1 "Report with specifications of the joint characterisation methods for the defined joint types." The project will also provide information on the range of qualifications, including the parent materials to be welded and the parameters common to all welding procedures.

The JOIN’EM project  focused on investigating the welding of dissimilar materials. As part of this effort, a search was conducted to identify existing standards related to dissimilar materials welding. The standards that were identified include EN ISO 15607, EN ISO 15614-1, EN ISO 15614-5, EN ISO 15614-8, EN 287-1, ISO 15610:2003, EN ISO 9606-2, and EN ISO 9606-3. These standards provide definitions for dissimilar materials joints, as well as specifications for testing and evaluating the quality of such joints. For example, EN ISO 15607 defines a dissimilar material joint as “a welded joint in which the parent materials have significant differences in mechanical properties and/or chemical composition.” EN ISO 15614-1, EN ISO 15614-5, and EN ISO 15614-8 provide guidelines for transverse tensile testing, bend testing, and hardness testing of dissimilar materials joints. EN 287-1, ISO 15610:2003, EN ISO 9606-2, and EN ISO 9606-3 provide guidelines for the range of qualification for dissimilar materials joints. The standards also provide information on what types of dissimilar materials joints are permitted. For example, EN ISO 15607 permits any dissimilar material joints, while EN ISO 15614-1, EN ISO 15614-5, and EN ISO 15614-8 allow for specific types of dissimilar materials joints, such as those between austenitic and ferritic steels. It is important to note that these standards are guidelines and not mandatory rules. It's always important to review and consult the specific standard for more details and to ensure that the welding procedure follows it.

The project has developed a new method of joining metal alloys called electromagnetic pulse welding. This process uses electromagnetic forces to join work pieces, rather than heat. It does not require fluxes or shielding gases and produces no harmful smoke, fumes or slag, making it more environmentally friendly. The process is also considered less safety-critical than other joining techniques, making it more easily implementable in the industry. The project aimed to decrease the consumption of copper by partially substituting it with aluminium, with the goal of creating improved lightweight designs of copper-aluminium hybrid parts with further cost reduction and better performance. There are already standards that handle this issue, however they do not specifically include EMW but rather various welding techniques. Adaptation of these standards have been made for EMW. The process has been successfully demonstrated in three full demonstrators and the project partners are now exploring the possibility of applying the process to other multi-material joints including copper-steel and aluminium-steel alloys.