The wear of electrodes is an inevitable result of the thermal and mechanical damage

caused during spot welding. It is worse on coated materials where the coating has a low
melting point and alloying of the tip face occurs.

The main factors to consider are as follows:

Cooling
This is most the important factor and inadequate cooling is the most frequent cause of
electrode life problems. It must be attended to first. Typically 4 l/min of water flow
through the electrodes is recommended for uncoated, thin steel sheet and 6 or more
l/min for coated and thicker steels. An inlet temperature not exceeding 20°C is
recommended and outlet temperature not exceeding 30°C. The electrode diameter
should be a minimum of 2.5 to 3 times the tip diameter to increase the effectiveness of
cooling. The cooling tube should be cut at 45° and directed on the inside face of the
electrode. It is important to check that blockages or back pressure on the outlet do not
affect the flow rate. When using female caps, the holder should be drilled through to
direct water onto the electrode itself.

Electrodes
The electrode should be the correct material and shape for the job. Truncated cone
electrodes normally give the longest electrode life but need to be well aligned.
Copper/chromium/zirconium electrodes are traditionally used for spot welding coated
steels but the higher conductivity copper/zirconium electrodes are considered to give
less sticking and longer lives. Aluminium oxide dispersion strengthened copper
electrodes are also found to give some advantage but are much more expensive.

Equipment
The welding machine or gun should be sufficiently strong and the electrode holders of
sufficient diameter to avoid electrode skidding under load. Good electrode alignment is
also crucial to avoid more localised heating of the electrode tip. Excessive impacting of
the electrodes onto the sheet surface should be avoided where possible, although
reduction of the electrode approach rate may increase the weld cycle time. Servo guns
enable variable electrode approach speed to be programmed, and reduced speed may
be set just before electrode contact. This is claimed to give improved electrode lives.

Weld Settings
Ensure a suitable welding condition is set for the job, avoiding excessively high welding
current or excessively long times. The use of high electrode forces is not necessarily a
problem if they are required to provide a tolerant welding condition with sufficient safety
margin between the minimum acceptable weld size and weld splash. A well set-up
condition provides greater tolerance to electrode wear before quality is affected.

Electrode Maintenance
In order to correct for electrode wear, electrode dressing and/or current stepping
(programmed progressive increase in welding current) can be applied. Dressing can be
conducted frequently, with little material removal, as a means of maintaining the tips in
perfect condition, or by allowing substantial wear within the life of the tip, then dressing
substantially back to the original shape. In the latter case, a current stepping operation
may accompany the dressing procedure. A range of commercial electrode dressing
tools is available and additional features can include automatic tip changers, tip size
and alignment checking and electrode force and current measuring devices. Such
accessories offer the possibility of providing routine quality checks.