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Used in a wide range of applications that make modern life safer and more convenient, welding is something that is very much taken for granted today. In fact, it’s one of the oldest trades in recorded history, dating back to the Bronze Age in around 3000 BC.
More than 5,000 years later, following periods of rapid development in the 20th century, welding is forging ahead with new techniques and a greater sense of environmental responsibility, shaped by evolving air quality standards and a need for sustainability.
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The history of welding takes us on a fascinating journey back to the bronze and iron ages, after archaeologists pieced together a timeline of how the ancient skill began and evolved. Starting out as a cottage industry, it has since become a global enterprise, with an estimated market value of £11.3 billion worldwide in 2024, according to a report by Grand View Research.
The first recorded use of welding was in ancient Egypt and among communities living in the eastern Mediterranean region, who learned how to fuse pieces of iron and other metals together using heat and a hammer. They achieved the necessary heat by using furnaces and controlled combustion to burn fuels such as charcoal, creating a higher temperature than wood and fanned by blasts of air or bellows to increase the intensity of the flames.
Ancient Egyptians referred to “pressure welding”, which involved heating iron ore over a charcoal fire, reducing it to spongy iron and welding it together using hammers. Archaeologists have unearthed small, circular gold boxes, created by pressure welding lap joints, believed to date from around 1400BC. Tools used for welding in around 1000BC have also been found.
The growth of blacksmithing in the Middle Ages saw more iron items created by welding materials together using heat and hammering. As well as making horse shoes, blacksmiths learned fine skills to manufacture tools, weapons and armour.
Between 1750 and 1900; the Industrial Revolution saw many rapid advances in welding techniques to keep pace with the growing numbers of factories and new industries springing up across the UK. Welding using a hammer continued until the early 19th century, when the trade evolved into more modern techniques.
Edmund Davy, a chemistry professor at the Royal Cork Institution in Ireland, discovered acetylene in 1836. The highly flammable gas, when burned with oxygen, produces the hot flame that makes oxy-acetylene welding and cutting possible. The invention of the electric generator in the mid-19th century furthered industry advancements.
In the late 1800s, gas welding and cutting were developed, followed by arc welding with carbon and metal arcs. In 1881, French electrical engineer Auguste De Meritens, of the Cabot Laboratory in France, joined lead plates for storage batteries by using the heat of an arc.
Russian scholars Nikolai Benardos and Stanislaus Olszewski lodged patents for welding in the UK and US, in 1885 and 1887 respectively, marking the start of carbon arc welding, which was popular during the 1890s and early 1900s. The first patent for arc welding using a metal electrode was awarded to Charles Coffin of Detroit in the late 19th century.
Resistance welding techniques evolved including seam welding, spot welding, flash butt welding and projection welding. In 1903, German chemist Johannes “Hans” Goldschmidt invented thermite welding for railroad rails. During the same era, gas welding and cutting were developed after the invention of the blow pipe and torch – suitable for use with low-pressure acetylene.
Between 1914 and 1918, World War I sparked a need for massive armament production. In the UK, electric arc welding was the main method of making bombs, torpedoes and mines, due to a shortage of gas. Many companies turned to making munitions to help the war effort. Built in 1917, at the Cammell, Laird & Co shipyard in Birkenhead; the ship Fullagar was put together using arc welding. It was the first fully welded seagoing ship.
In 1920, Peter Nobel of General Electric Company in the US invented automatic welding using an electrode wire. Operated on arc voltage and direct current as the basis of regulating the feed rate, the method was used on motor shafts, crane wheels and rear axle housings.
During World War II, the process of gas tungsten arc welding was ideal for stainless steel, aluminium and magnesium. Crucial to the Allied war effort in enabling the rapid production of ships, tanks and aircraft, including the famous M4 Sherman tank in the US, where more than 1,700 different types of weapons were created by welding; significant numbers of women entered the workforce in roles that were previously reserved for men.
A key moment in welding history occurred in 1946, when the Air Reduction Company sponsored the Battelle Memorial Institute in Ohio to further develop gas metal arc welding. The tungsten electrode was replaced with a continuously fed small diameter electrode wire and a constant voltage source of power.
The practice of welding in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) with consumable electrodes began in 1953, rapidly gaining favour, as it produced a hot arc with fairly high currents. Using inert gas with small amounts of oxygen enabled a spray type arc transfer in the early 1960s.
Inertia welding uses a flywheel that generates kinetic energy, instead of a drive motor. One part spins to a high speed as it’s brought into contact with a stationary part. Developed in the Soviet Union, it is a highly specialised process, with a high initial expense for tools and equipment.
Frequently used in automotive metalworking, laser welding us one of the newest processes. It relies on a massive concentration of energy in a small space to create a powerful heat source. Handling repetitive tasks and reducing human error; robotic welding is also changing the industry, offering precision and consistency.
Today’s practices must take into account the detrimental effects welding can have on our health and the environment. Harmful welding fumes contain particulates and gases that can cause industrial diseases and have a negative impact on the planet if the correct workplace safety procedures aren’t followed.
A dust extraction system is crucial for employee safety. AirBench, the UK’s leading range of downdraught benches, captures dust using external filters, returning clean air to the room. In addition, our VertEx range of modular dust extraction walls and booths draws particles through perforated front panels into internal filters. Contaminants are removed and clean filtered air is returned to the workspace.
Modern dust extraction systems are helping to make the workplace safer for welders by providing protection against industrial diseases such as respiratory issues, occupational asthma, lung cancer and kidney damage.
The acute effects of exposure occur soon after welding, leading to around 50 employees being hospitalised annually, according to UK safety watchdog the Health and Safety Executive. The long-term effects can be more damaging and potentially fatal: it is mandatory for businesses to adhere to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
AirBench Ltd are the UK’s leading manufacturer of downdraught benches and cross draught extraction systems. We have more than 10,000 extraction systems in service in the UK and overseas. Along with our range of coolant mist filters and air cleaning systems, we are actively helping businesses across many industries solve their workplace dust and fume issues.
If you'd like to try an AirBench product for FREE simply book a demo and we'll bring one to you.
If you’d like to try an AirBench product for FREE simply book a demo and we’ll bring one to you.