Spot Welding

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Spot welding

Resistance Spot welding is the process of joining two thin metal sheets together by applying
pressure. The heat required for welding is generated by the resistance to the flow of current
through the electrode. The welding electrodes are made up of copper which is a good
conductor of electricity. The movable and fixed electrodes of the spot welding machine are
held under pressure on either side of pair of plates to be welded together as the current
passes it experiences the resistance between the electrode and workpiece contact and
generates heat

This heat causes the interface of the workpiece in contact with another workpiece to melt

and pressure fuses the two metals thus forming a solid bond. The equipment required in
spot welding machines also known as electrodes. Coming to the working of spot welding,
When the power is turned ON the transformer supplies the low voltage, and high current to
the electrodes made up of copper these electrodes, are held under pressure against a pair of
workpieces to be spot welded with the help of tongs.

o The current flow for a second to several seconds is 5000 A


o Voltage applied is less than 2V, the power factor is 0.3 to 0.5 lagg
o This spot welding provides mechanical strength and is used for sheets having a
thickness (10-12 mm)

Fig : Resistance spot welding diagram

The current flows from the tongs to the electrodes as copper is a good conductor of
electricity but faces resistance at the point of contact between the two work pieces. This
resistance generates heat at metal to metal interface and causes the two metals in contact to
melt. Then the pressure causes the molten metal to fuse together and thus a solid bond is
formed.

Applications of Spot welding


It is used for welding thin sheets together in the manufacturing of fuel tanks joining vehicle
body parts radiators wire ends etc,

Advantages and Disadvantages of Resistance Spot welding

The brief overview of spot welding is studied, let us look at the advantages and
disadvantages:

Advantages of Spot welding

o This process is simpler with no filler metal the process can be automated and this
process is simple, no filler metal is required.
o Low and no fumes are generated during the process
o High welding rate is possible

Limitations of Spot welding

o The initial cost is high


o Low strength due to discontinuous weld
o This process is limited to the thickness of the metal

Seam welding

Resistance Seam welding, the workpiece is supported on both sides by a pair of electrodes
are in the form of rollers to produce a continuous weld on the workpiece continuous spot
welding is known as seam welding. And the working principle of seam welding is similar to
that of resistance spot welding equipment are components used in the process of seam
welding when the power is turned ON the transformer supplies the low voltage high current
to the roller electrodes made up of conductive materials.

Fig: Resistance Seam Welding diagram


These roller electrodes support the pair of workpieces to be welded together when the
rollers are made to contact the workpiece the current flows easily through the roller
electrodes with a low resistance but experience a high resistance at the metal-to-metal
interface that is between the upper plate and lower plate to be joined. Thus high resistance
to the flow of current offered by the pair of workpiece raises the temperature to the fusion
point between the workpiece interface and a weld is generated in the form of a nugget as a
weld between the two workpiece interfaces

Application of Resistance seam welding process

o Welding transformer
o Paint containers welding of gasoline tanks
o Automobile mufflers
o Welding of sheet metal tanks

Advantages of Seam welding

o It can generate a leak-proof weld the production rate is high


o Dissimilar metals can be welded together
o No filler metal or flux is needed
o The processes can be automatic or Semi-automatic
o It is possible to weld thin metal sheets with this process
o A semi-skilled person can also produce good weld

limitations of seam welding the welding

o This process is suitable for thin sheets only up to a thickness of three millimeters
since the electrodes are in the form of rollers they can weld only along a straight line
or well-curved path the process is limited to the lap joints.

Projection welding

It is one type of resistance welding process wherein coalescence is produced by the heat
obtained from resistance to electric current flow through work parts held together under
pressure by electrodes. These electrodes are cooled as in spot welding. Since a number of
welds are made at each operation, both the electrical power (kVA) and mechanical pressure
must be correspondingly greater as compared to spot welding.
Fig : Resistance Projection welding diagram

The projection in the upper pieces is held in contact with the lower pieces under electrode
pressure. The current flows and is localized to the region around the projection, heating the
metal in that area to the plastic state. The heated and softened projection collapses under
the pressure of the electrodes thereby forming the weld. Flat electrodes are used against tip
electrodes in spot welding.

Applications of Resistance Projection welding

o Cross wire welds


o Refridgerator condenser
o Small fasteners and nuts
o Welding larger components also
Friction Welding
What is meant by Friction Welding?
Friction welding is a solid-state welding technique for joining workpieces by
producing heat through mechanical friction. They do not use an external heat source
to melt or convert the metal into a plastic state. Instead, the welding is formed by the
application of external pressure. In friction welding, one part of the pieces to be joined
rotates relative to the other. Because of this movement, friction is generated that heats
up the materials at the contact surfaces. Till the completion of the welding cycle, a
high-pressure force is applied.

What metal joints are used in friction welding?


The major benefit of friction welding is that it can be used to join dissimilar metals.
Friction welding is widely used with metals like steel, aluminum, copper, titanium,
nickel alloy, and thermoplastics in a wide variety of aviation and automotive
applications. An eco-friendly process, friction welding is also used to manufacture
subassemblies for industrial printers, material handling equipment, marine, and oil
applications. The components that are usually manufactured using the friction welding
process are gears, axle tubes, hydraulic piston rods, drivelines, valves, truck roller
bushes, connection rods, pump shafts, drill bits, etc.

Working Principle of Friction Welding [1]


Friction welding uses the principle of heat generation by friction between two
members. During the friction welding process, two surfaces to be welded are made to
rub against each other at a very high speed. The developed friction between the
rotating and non-rotating surface produces enough heat at the weld interface. Once
the required welding temperature is generated, a uniformly increasing external
pressure is applied till both the workpieces form a permanent joint. This is the basic
principle of all types of friction welding processes, even though the exact process may
vary slightly depending on the type.

What are the steps in Friction Welding?


All the friction welding processes mostly follow the following steps:

 Step 1: One part to be welded is placed in a rotor-driven chuck and the other part is held
stationary. Now the rotor is switched on to rotate at a very high speed along with the
workpiece.
 Step 2: The rubbing of welding surfaces creates sufficient heat (of the order of 900-
13000 C for steel). Now a high pressure is applied through the stationary part.
 Step 3: Once the temperature of the welding surfaces reaches the required temperature,
the rotor is stopped.
Step 4: Now, the pressure is increased continuously till both parts weld to each other.
Benefits of Friction Welding
Friction welding provides various advantages with respect to conventional welding
processes. Some of the advantages of using friction welding are:

 Joining Dissimilar Materials: Friction welding allows to join of aluminum with steel or
copper to aluminum. Similarly, various bi-metallic friction welded joints can be produced.
 No external heat source or flux application
 Fast and efficient process
 Need very less surface preparation
 As the welding process is CNC controlled, the friction welding process produces
consistent quality products.
 Reduced Material wastage
 Environment-friendly process
 As solid-state welding, friction welding avoids defects associated with fusion welding.

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