Fluid-cored welding wire, a new type of welding material that emerged after welding electrodes and solid wires, is widely used in various arc welding processes due to its unique metal outer sheath and core flux powder structure. This type of welding method is collectively known as flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), and it exhibits broad market prospects and development potential.
The development of flux-cored welding wire can be traced back to the United States and Germany in the 1920s, but large-scale application began in the 1950s. Especially after the 1960s and 70s, with the introduction of fine-diameter (less than 2.0 mm) all-position flux-cored welding wire, this welding material ushered in a period of rapid development. Today, in developed countries, the market demand for flux-cored welding wire has reached 20% to 30%, and this proportion is still steadily increasing.
Research on flux-cored welding wire in my country began in the 1960s, when related manufacturing technologies and equipment were explored. By the early 1980s, some major domestic engineering projects began to use flux-cored welding wire extensively, although these products were mainly imported. In the mid-1980s, my country began importing foreign flux-cored welding wire production lines and product formulas. By the early 1990s, domestically produced flux-cored welding wire had achieved mass production capabilities.
In recent years, the annual consumption of flux-cored welding wire in China has approached 10,000 tons, but the annual output of domestically produced flux-cored welding wire is only around 2,000 tons, far from meeting domestic market demand. However, judging from recent development trends, domestically produced flux-cored welding wire and related technologies have matured.
