Weldable Argentium Silver
Why is Argentium Silver weldable?
Advantages of welding applications
Strong and ductile welds
Laser-welded Argentium Silver chain
Related documents
Why is Argentium Silver weldable?
The high conductivity and reflectivity of pure silver and standard sterling silver makes these materials difficult to weld. Argentium Silver contains a small addition of germanium; this increases the thermal and electrical resistance, making the silver suitable for welding processes.
The international Annealed Copper Scale (IACS) is a measure of conductivity in metals and alloys (lower IACS values = increased resistance and weldability). The following chart shows the IACS values for various metals and alloys.
IACS value (%) 
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Advantages of welding applications
Welding applications offer clean and efficient production methods, using localised heat for joining materials. Welding technologies provide excellent alternatives to the use of solders.
The ability to weld Argentium Silver opens new avenues for the design and production of silverware and jewellery items.
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Strong and ductile welds
The micrographs (below) show welded sections of standard sterling silver (left) and Argentium 930 Silver (right). The standard sterling weld has a large grain size: making it weak and vulnerable to cracking along the grain boundary. The Argentium 930 Silver weld has a small, tight grain structure: making it strong and ductile.
Standard sterling Argentium 930 Silver
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Laser-welded Argentium Silver chain
This laser-welded Argentium 930 Silver chain was manufactured by Stern-Leach, USA. The chain has a breaking strain of 9lb (the minimum specification is 6lb).
Standard sterling silver chain production relies upon more labour intensive processes, using powdered solders or solder-filled wire. Finished chain is often silver plated to mask imperfections.
You can download a report by Stern-Leach on welding Argentium Silver chain from the list of documents below.
Image: laser-welded Argentium 930 Silver chain, by Stern-Leach
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Related documents
'Weldable Argentium Silver' data sheet (pdf download)
Stern-Leach report: 'Laser Weldable Joints - Argentium Sterling Silver' (pdf download)
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