Knowing how to weld dissimilar metals is becoming more and more important. One reason is that it's often impossible for one material to provide the optimum chemical, physical, and mechanical characteristics needed for an application. For this reason, as well as cost efficiency, technology specialists are experimenting with different joining processes to weld bimetal joints optimally.

For many people, the world of plasma cutting is a complex and daunting place, with a cryptic set of rules that can be mastered only by highly trained technicians after weeks of training. For every change of material or thickness being cut, a long process ensues of resetting gas mixtures, tweaking pierce heights and pierce delays, and manually calibrating every last parameter to ensure a reliable result.

As manufacturers worldwide strive to reduce costs and streamline their production processes, the market for surface-sensitive materials continues to expand. Surface-sensitive materials include all prepainted steel products and nonferrous decorative materials, such as copper, brass, and stainless steel.