An exothermic welding apparatus and an exothermic welding method, belonging to the exothermic welding field are provided. The exothermic welding apparatus includes a mold, an igniter and an electronic starter, the mold has a holding space configured to accommodate an exothermic welding flux, the igniter includes a heating wire, a first conductor wire and a first connector, the heating wire is configured to ignite the exothermic welding flux directly, one end of the first conductor wire is electrically connected to the heating wire, the other end of the first conductor wire is electrically connected to the first connector, and the electronic starter cooperates with the first connector and is configured to supply power to the first connector. The exothermic welding apparatus can ignite an exothermic welding flux by supplying power with an electronic starter.

Trigger devices for igniting an exothermic reaction is provided. The trigger devices may be flint type trigger devices and electronic type trigger devices. The flint type trigger device has a housing with a spark opening on a rear wall of the housing. A mold mounting assembly is secured to an exterior of the rear wall of the housing. A motor assembly is secured to the inside of the rear wall of the housing. The motor assembly has a flint wheel attached to a shaft of a motor, where the flint wheel is located adjacent the spark opening. A flint assembly is positioned within the housing such that a flint of the flint assembly is in contact with the flint wheel. A controller positioned within the housing is configured to selectively activate the motor to cause the flint wheel to rotate against the flint to create one or more sparks that are ejected from the spark opening.

Trigger devices for igniting an exothermic reaction is provided. The trigger devices may be flint type trigger devices and electronic type trigger devices. The flint type trigger device has a housing with a spark opening on a rear wall of the housing. A mold mounting assembly is secured to an exterior of the rear wall of the housing. A motor assembly is secured to the inside of the rear wall of the housing. The motor assembly has a flint wheel attached to a shaft of a motor, where the flint wheel is located adjacent the spark opening. A flint assembly is positioned within the housing such that a flint of the flint assembly is in contact with the flint wheel. A controller positioned within the housing is configured to selectively activate the motor to cause the flint wheel to rotate against the flint to create one or more sparks that are ejected from the spark opening.

An electrical connector can be provided for connecting a power source to an insertable conductor, including an igniter for exothermic weld material. One or more conductors can be disposed within a housing that is configured to receive the insertable conductor. An actuator can be engaged from outside the housing to move at least one of the conductors within the housing between resting and actuated orientations.

An electrical connector can be provided for connecting a power source to an insertable conductor, including an igniter for exothermic weld material. One or more conductors can be disposed within a housing that is configured to receive the insertable conductor. An actuator can be engaged from outside the housing to move at least one of the conductors within the housing between resting and actuated orientations.

In one embodiment, sheathed thermite rods are provided. For instance, a sheathed thermite rod may comprise a mixture of thermite within an outer casing, such as an aluminum tube, that adds rigidity and allows for better continuity of a burn across breaks in the thermite rod. The sheathing also allows for manufacture of the thermite rods to have reduced drying period, increasing speed of production. In another embodiment, tablet-based thermite rods are provided. A thermite tablet rod herein may comprise a series of inline thermite tablets contained within an outer casing. The tablets may be consecutively adjacent to one another along the length of the outer casing, and substantially conforming to the interior cross section of the outer casing, where the tablets are adjoined by pressure, an adhesive, and/or a burn continuance material.

In one embodiment, sheathed thermite rods are provided. For instance, a sheathed thermite rod may comprise a mixture of thermite within an outer casing, such as an aluminum tube, that adds rigidity and allows for better continuity of a burn across breaks in the thermite rod. The sheathing also allows for manufacture of the thermite rods to have reduced drying period, increasing speed of production. In another embodiment, tablet-based thermite rods are provided. A thermite tablet rod herein may comprise a series of inline thermite tablets contained within an outer casing. The tablets may be consecutively adjacent to one another along the length of the outer casing, and substantially conforming to the interior cross section of the outer casing, where the tablets are adjoined by pressure, an adhesive, and/or a burn continuance material.

A soldering apparatus and method involves capturing an image of a soldering operation, and storing image data in association with that particular soldering operation. A soldering tool that is used to perform the soldering operation has a position during the soldering operation, and the image data could also be stored in association with data for that particular position. The position data could be for an operation start point and/or an operation endpoint. Associating the image data in this way could help a manufacturer investigate soldering abnormalities that might be reported after a product is shipped to a customer.

A soldering apparatus and method involves capturing an image of a soldering operation, and storing image data in association with that particular soldering operation. A soldering tool that is used to perform the soldering operation has a position during the soldering operation, and the image data could also be stored in association with data for that particular position. The position data could be for an operation start point and/or an operation endpoint. Associating the image data in this way could help a manufacturer investigate soldering abnormalities that might be reported after a product is shipped to a customer.

The invention relates to base part of a mold for aluminothermic welding of metal rails, which base part generally has a rectangular parallelepiped and has an upper face for receiving the foot of said rails, this upper face having a hollow cavity comprising a base, two opposing longitudinal side walls, and two opposing transverse side walls. The invention is characterized in that each of said longitudinal side walls has an intermediate region surrounded by two end regions, and these end regions are located in the same plane, whereas the intermediate region has a curved profile, the well of which is directed towards the opposite side wall.