Transition joints have been mainly produced by the explosive weld-bonding process carried out in the open air in remote locations. This explosive process is in fact a cold pressure welding process, where investigations have shown that superior joint properties can be achieved if the process takes place under vacuum.
As this is very difficult to achieve in practice, at the present time only one manufacturer in the world has the capability to produce explosive clad products in a vacuum:
Shockwave Metalworking Technologies b.v. in Holland
Visit www.smt-holland.com for more information.