Abstract: The invention comprises a method and an apparatus for the manufacture of cylindrical hollow bodies by the shape welding process. This apparatus comprises a connection between a rotatably mounted supporting body which can be driven and a base body onto which the weld material is deposited. This connection is effected by elastically deformable elements and is capable of changing in the radial direction. Metal profiles which can be deformed elastically are fastened, in a manner permitting detachment, to the periphery of the supporting body, spaced at regular intervals. The base body is composed of a metal sheet or strip which is wrapped around the profiles and attached to them in a manner permitting detachment. Preferably the profiles extend over the length of the supporting body. The deformable metal profiles may be designed as cylindrical tubes, without any discontinuities or as half-tubes, angle-profiles, Z-profiles, or corrugated-sheet profiles.

Abstract: A large cylindrical structural element is manufactured by welding together a pair of thick-walled cylindrical components at their ends by applying between the cylindrical components at least one buffer layer of weld material, the buffer layer being applied by a welding electrode held with its axis maintained at an angle to the plane of abutting surfaces of the components with the at least one buffer layer being applied in the form of weld beads which overlap and subsequently applying an assembly weld seam to join the components together.

Abstract: Very large diameter metal shafts for turbines and electric generators, and other large structural metal parts, can be made in one piece to a high quality without occlusions, cavities, segregations, and cracks by building the part up layer by layer, each layer being formed by deposition of molten metal by welding along neighbouring tracks which together cover the area over which the layer is to be deposited. The weld deposition of the metal may be effected by a welding head which is moved longitudinally along the part, and if the part is simultaneously rotated the metal is deposited along a helical path in forming a layer. A plurality of welding heads may be used so that metal is deposited simultaneously at different positions during the construction of each layer.