A comprehensive survey on the cold metal transfer process in welding similar and dissimilar materials and for cladding

The growing use of aluminum in a variety of industries is driving technologists to create practical and effective techniques and processes for joining aluminum alloys. The main aim of this artifact is to critically review and examine the maturity of welding for comparable and differing materials and also for cladding using Cold Metal Transfer. CMT, which stands for Cold Metal Transfer in the acronym, is a modified MIG welding technique. The CMT and its modes are used in similar and dissimilar welding of Al as well as its alloys of 2xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx series, and with other materials is discussed in detail and compared with other joining methods. The recent advancements in this field with enhanced mechanical properties of Al alloys, as well as high-performance welding techniques, are discussed in this article. The mechanical and microstructural properties of weld like weld strength, microhardness, corrosion behavior, surface morphology, ductility, and fracture mechanism were used to assess the efficiency of the weld. The following aspects of weld bead surface consistency are investigated in terms of bead uniformity along the welding path, bead surface smoothness, and spattering strength. The effort is made to conclude the welding system which is free from all welding flaws, like gas porosity, spattering, and intermetallic formation, resulting in welded joints with the highest mechanical properties. CMT as an advanced welding approach has gained a significant attraction from researchers in investigating it for the cladding process. The geometric and microstructural properties of a clad-like microhardness assessment, and corrosion resistance analyses were used to evaluate the applicability of CMT in the cladding process.