Confused between Brazing, Soldering and Welding?
Don’t worry, I have prepared a comparison table of Brazing vs Soldering vs Welding.
So whether you want a comparison of Brazing vs Soldering or Brazing vs Welding or Soldering vs Welding, just look at the differences given below in tabular form.
| Brazing | Soldering | Welding |
|---|---|---|
 1) Definition: Brazing is defined as a process of joining two similar or dissimilar metals by using a fusible alloy called “spelter”. |  1) Definition: Soldering is defined as a process of joining two metal pieces by adding an extra material or alloy called “solder”. |  1) Definition: Welding is defined as a joining process in which two or more parts are joined together by using a very high amount of heat which melts the parts & filler rod and fuses them with each other which ultimately forms a strong joint on cooling. |
 2) Filler material used in brazing is called spelter. |  2) Filler material used in soldering is called solder. |  2) Filler material used in welding is called welding rod or welding electrode. |
| 3) Spelter may be copper based alloy or silver based alloy. | 3) Soft solder contains 37% lead and 63% tin.Plumber’s solder contains 70% lead and 30% tin.Electrician’s solder contains 58% lead and 42% tin. | 3) Welding electrodes contain inner core metallic wire made of rimming quality steel which is covered with a flux coating material. |
| 4) In brazing operation, the workpiece is heated below its melting point. | 4) In soldering operation, workpiece is not heated. | 4) In welding operation, the workpiece is heated to its melting point. |
| 5) In brazing operation, the temperature ranges from between 450 °C to 600 °C. | 5) The soldering process occurs at a temperature range below 450 °C. | 5) In welding operation, the temperature of the weld zone can reach up to 3800 °C. |
| 6) The change in mechanical properties of the base metal is very negligible. | 6) There is no change in mechanical properties of the base metal. | 6) Change in mechanical properties of the base metal is higher as the base metal is exposed to very high temperatures. |
| 7) Strength of the brazed joint is higher than solder joint but lower than the welded joints. | 7) Strength of the solder joint is very less as compared to brazed joints and welded joints. | 7) Strength of welded joints is highest in comparison with brazed joints and solder joints. |
 8) Uses: Used for fastening of similar or dissimilar metals, pipes, fitting of carbide tips in tools, etc. |  8) Uses: Used for connections in electrical PCBs and other electrical instruments. |  8) Uses: Used in most of the manufacturing industries like home applications, mining equipments, boilers, furnaces, air conditioning units, and many more components. |
| 9) Brazing is classified as; Torch brazing, Furnace brazing, Induction brazing, Resistance brazing, Dip brazing and Laser brazing | 9) Soldering is classified as; Soft Soldering and Hard soldering | 9) Welding is classified as; Gas welding, Arc welding, Resistance welding, Solid state welding, Thermo chemical welding and Radiant energy welding |
| 10) Commonly used brazing flux are; Chlorides, Fluorides and Boric acid | 10) Commonly used soldering flux are; Zinc chloride, Hydrochloric acid and Alcohol resin | 10) Commonly used flux coatings on electrodes are; Cellulose type, Rutile type, Acid type, Acid rutile type, Oxidizing type, Basic type. |
| 11) Finished part obtained by brazing is smooth. | 11) Finished part obtained by the soldering process is smooth. | 11) Finished part is not so smooth as compared to parts obtained by brazing or soldering. |
So this is a simple tabular form showing the comparison of Brazing vs Soldering vs Welding.
I hope you have understood the difference between brazing, soldering and welding.
From this comparison, you can easily select the suitable metal joining process for a particular application.
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Brazing image credits: Cyfac, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
