Page 52 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book
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(Above) Rivets are used to bind together metal sheets. They are hammered over when hot; and as they shrink on cooling, they grip the plates tightly.
Joining metals
It is not enough to make metals. A way also has to be found to join pieces together. One way is to use rivets – short bars of material that are forced through holes in the pieces to be attached and then burred over at both ends.
By the end of the 19th century it became possible to use a combination of acetylene and oxygen gases
to produce a flame that was hot enough to make iron and steel melt. As a result, it was possible to join these metals directly, a process called welding.
By 1902 electric arcs were also in use to weld metals. Electric arc welding is now the most common type used, for example, throughout the car industry.
(Below) Robot welders on a car production line.
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