Resistance Welding

Commonly used resistance welding processes:

Resistance Spot Welding (RSW),
Resistance Seam Welding (RSEW),&
Resistance Projection Welding (PW) or
(RPW)
Resistance welding uses the application of
electric current and mechanical pressure to
create a weld between two pieces of metal.
Weld electrodes conduct the electric current to
the two pieces of metal as they are forged
together.

 The welding cycle must first develop sufficient

heat to raise a small volume of metal to the
molten state. This metal then cools while under
pressure until it has adequate strength to hold
the parts together. The current density and
pressure must be sufficient to produce a weld
nugget, but not so high as to expel molten metal
from the weld zone.
High Frequency Resistance Welding (HFRW)
Percussion Welding (PEW) and Stud Welding
(SW), too.

H = I2 R t

Electrode

K- energy losses through radiation &

conduction

Weld
Nugget

resistances of the electrodes

electrode- w/p contact resistance
resistance of the individual parts to
be welded
w/p-w/p contact resistance
(maintained high)

Resistance Welding
Benefits

High speed welding

Easily automated

Suitable for high rate

production

Economical

HAZ
Electrode

 Resistance Welding Limitations

Initial equipment costs
Lower tensile and fatigue strengths
Lap joints add weight and material
Common Resistance Welding Concerns
Optimize welding process variables.
Evaluate current welding parameters and
techniques.
And thus eliminate common welding problems and
discontinuities - such as

Resistance Welding Problems and

Discontinuities

Cracks
Electrode deposit on work
Porosity or cavities
Pin holes
Deep electrode indentation
Improper weld penetration
Surface appearance
Weld size
Irregular shaped welds

RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING

AIR OPERATED ROCKER ARM SPOT WELDING MACHINE

RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING

ELECTRODE DESIGNS FOR EASY ACCESS INTO COMPONENTS

RESISTANCE SEAM WELDING

RESISTANCE PROJECTION WELDING

HIGH FREQUENCY BUTT WELDING OF TUBES

FLASH WELDING

POOR

FOR SOLID RODS & TUBES

GOOD

DESIGN GUIDELINES

RESISTANCE STUD WELDING

DISTORTION
Welding involves highly localized heating of the metal
being joined together.
The temperature distribution in the weldment is
nonuniform.
Normally, the weld metal and the heat affected zone (HAZ)
are at temperatures substantially above that of the
unaffected base metal.
Upon cooling, the weld pool solidifies and shrinks,
exerting stresses on the surrounding weld metal and HAZ.
If the stresses produced from thermal expansion and
contraction exceed the yield strength of the parent metal,
localized plastic deformation of the metal occurs.
Plastic deformation results in lasting change in the
component dimensions and distorts the structure. This
causes distortion of weldments.

Types of distortion

Longitudinal shrinkage
Transverse shrinkage
Angular distortion
Bowing
Buckling
Twisting

Factors affecting distortion

If a component were uniformly heated and cooled

distortion would be minimized. However, welding
locally heats a component and the adjacent cold metal
restrains the heated material. This generates stresses
greater than yield stress causing permanent distortion
of the component. Some of the factors affecting the
distortion are:

1. Amount of restraint
2. Welding procedure
3. Parent metal properties
4. Weld joint design
5. Part fit up

 Restraint - to minimize distortion. Components welded

without any external restraint are free to move or distort
in response to stresses from welding. It is not unusual
for many shops to clamp or restrain components to be
welded in some manner to prevent movement and
distortion. This restraint does result in higher residual
stresses in the components.
Welding procedure impacts the amount of distortion
primarily due to the amount of the heat input produced.
The welder has little control on the heat input specified in
a welding procedure. This does not prevent the welder
from trying to minimize distortion. While the welder
needs to provide adequate weld metal, the welder
should not needlessly increase the total weld metal
volume added to a weldment.

 Parent metal properties, which have an effect on

distortion, are coefficient of thermal expansion and
specific heat of the material. The coefficient of thermal
expansion of the metal affects the degree of thermal
expansion and contraction and the associated stresses
that result from the welding process. This in turn
determines the amount of distortion in a component.
Weld joint design will effect the amount of distortion in a
weldment. Both butt and fillet joints may experience
distortion. However, distortion is easier to minimize in
butt joints.
Part fit up should be consistent to fabricate foreseeable
and uniform shrinkage. Weld joints should be
adequately and consistently tacked to minimize
movement between the parts being joined by welding.

Welding Discontinuities
Some examples of welding discontinuities are
shown below.
Evaluation of the discontinuity will determine if the
discontinuity is a defect or an acceptable condition

Incomplete Fusion - A weld discontinuity in

which fusion did not occur between weld metal
and fusion faces or adjoining weld beads.

Undercut - A groove melted into the base metal adjacent to the weld toe or
weld root and left unfilled by weld metal.
Overlap - The protrusion of weld metal beyond the weld toe or weld root.

Underfill - A condition in which the weld face or root surface extends below the
adjacent surface of the base metal.
Incomplete Joint Penetration - A joint root condition in a groove weld in which weld
metal does not extend through the joint thickness
Partial joint penetration groove welds are commonly specified in lowly loaded
structures. However, incomplete joint penetration when a full penetration joint is
required, as depicted above, would be cause for rejection. A fix for an
incomplete penetration joint would be to back gouge and weld from the other
side. Another acceptable partial penetration joint is shown below.

Partial penetration joint on the left without discontinuities is an

acceptable condition.
Appropriate engineering decisions need to be applied to
determine what type of joint should be specified for a given
application.

Several different representations of weld Cracking

Representation of a convex fillet weld without discontinuities