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SPOT WELDING
pot welding is often selected for joining sheet metal fabrications, stampings and assemblies because it is fast, reliable and econ o m i c a l . H o w e v e r, numerous design considerations can affect the quality and cost of the weld, among them: size of the spot weld, accessibility, positioning, materials, thicknesses and the number of spots needed to attain the desired strength. This section will focus primarily on resistance spot welding (RSW) and resistance projection welding (RPW) since these processes are most commonly used due to their speed and flexibility. See Figure 1, for schematics of RSW and RPW. Applications include attachment of reinforcing braces and stiffeners, functional brackets, hinges and other parts. Often, spot welding is the method of choice for assembly of entire enclosures, cabinets and multipart assemblies. Thickness of the majority of parts joined by spot welding ranges up to 18 in. (3 mm) for each m e m b e r, although parts up to 14 i n . (6 mm) thick can be successfully spot welded.
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are interrelated. Table I gives realistic strength expectations for design purposes. For economy, avoid over-specification of welds. In applications where space is limited, one weld may produce a stronger bond than two spots, which may be limited in size and integrity because of constraints in positioning, accessibility and shunting effects (current loss). Depending on workpiece thickness and the type of material used, typically, diameters of spot welds range from about 18 in. (3 mm) to l2 in. (13 mm). When the size of spot welds is designated, the designer should specify only one size throughout an assembly in the interest of manufacturing economy and total part cost.
Weldability of Materials
Low-carbon steel is one of the most readily spot welded materials. It can be spot welded to many ferrous and non-ferrous alloys with varying success, depending on the combination of metals joined. Higher carbon and low-alloy steels can also be spot welded, although with reservations, because of a tendency to form harder welds, which may degrade weld performance. As carbon content increases, so does brittleness, with an associated propensity for cracking and weld separation. In addition, higher strength steels may require special techniques or treatments such as tempering after welding. Spot weldability of HSLA (High-Strength Low-Alloy) steels is directly related to composition and type of microalloying elements. It is advisable to check with the supplier before specifying spot welding. Stainless steels are spot weldable, s o m e grades more readily than others. Au s t e n i t i c grades of the 300 series are the most commonly welded types, followed by ferritic. Martensitic stainlesses are the least common because welded joints are much more brittle. All stainless steels require careful adjustment of welding parameters and/or special methods to obtain optimum quality welds. Highly conductive materials like aluminum require very high power to form quality spot
Figure 1. In resistance spot and projection welding, two sheet metal parts under pressure are heated by electrical resistance, melting the metal and forming a weld nugget. Circular in shape in a plan view, the nugget has an oblong cross-section that, ideally, penetrates both thicknesses equally.
unless instructed otherwise. Where possible, spot welding should be shown schematically without dimensions.
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Stainless steel in. 170 470 800 1270 1700 2400 3400 4200 5000 6000 6600 kg. 374 1034 1760 2794 3740 5280 7480 9240 11000 13200 14520
Note: One half or less spotweld spacing as given in above table can be achieved by the use of multi-point electrodes. The same can be accomplished with a single spot electrode on a dual circuit welder. There, a higher current is used for all subsequent spots to overcome the shunting effect. Frequent destructive testing is indicated in these cases to maintain correct settings and quality control. Check with your weldment supplier for applicability and associated cost.
welds. However aluminum alloys are routinely spot welded (see Table I for weldability). Here, cleanliness is much more of a concern than with low-carbon steels because of aluminums rapid surface oxidation characteristics. For optimum quality and weld performance, expensive cleaning procedures to remove surface oxide are required. For demanding applications, equipment to monitor surface resistivity from lot to lot is necessary to assure consistency of quality. This leads to a related consideration. If aluminum has been chosen for an important reas o n , such as lightweight or high strength-toweight ratio, the added expense of ensuring a high-quality weld should be justified. If it has not, re-evaluation of the original material selection is in order or, perhaps, another assembling method should be considered. Spot welding of very dissimilar metals, such as aluminum and steel, is generally not possible because of different melting characteristics and
conductivities. Some types of coated low-carbon steels require special techniques. Steels plated with chrome and nickel for electrical conductivity can usually be resistance welded as readily as uncoated material. A l u m i n u m , t i n , zinc and terne-coated steels are also spot weldable with special precautions and welding equipment. Some coatings emit poisonous fumes that must be safely handled when spot welded, thereby increasing cost. Spot welding of coated substrates creates burn marks in the coating which can be unsightly and may corrode in severe environments. Designers should carefully consider the products appearance and service requirements before specifying spot welding of pre-coated materials.
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ferent thicknesses also can be joined and produce a centered weld nugget by using a larger electrode on the thicker member. At a ratio above about 3-to-1 (thickest to thinnest member), spot welding becomes diffic u l t . At this point, another joining method should be consideredprojection welding for example. Note that weld deformation is always greater on the thinner member. For this reason, stiffeners and brackets spot welded to cosmetic parts should be thinner than or equal in thickness to the exposed surface material.
bon and stainless steel. Weld-t o-edge distance should also conform to a minimum dimension that is a function of the weld diameter. Generally, the center of a spot weld (its location point) is positioned one to two diameters away from the edge of the part being welded or from a feature in the part being welded depending on thickness of material (Figure 2). If this minimum-dimension requirement is not followed, a poor-quality weld, distortion of the parts being joined, or no weld at all may result. See Figures 3, 4 and 5. We l d-t o-form spacing should be a minimum of one bend radius plus the spot diameter so that the electrodes can make proper contact with the surfaces being joined without shunting to the adjacent wall (Figure 6).
Figure 2. Recommended minimum spacing between spot welds and edges of parts to be joined also applies to slots and holes in the workpieces.
Figure 3. Improper weld. Excess metal has been expelled from the weld causing the weld to deform due to excessive indentation and surface cracks.
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Figure 4. Existence of deep pits is cause for rejection, as are cracks and burned metal in the weld.
Figure 5. Excessive edge bulge, which causes weld and base metal to crack, leads to a rejectable weld.
Figure 7. Specifying spot welds on short flanges could make access nearly impossible.
Cosmetics
Good design practices attempt to limit spot welding on appearance or cosmetic surfaces. While textured paints can be used to hide small electrode marks on finished surfaces, grinding, or filling and grinding, is often required and can double the cost of the welding operation. Often, structural elements such as stiffeners are required to reinforce large cosmetic surfaces. For these applications, designers should select material which is thinner than the material from which the appearance part is fabricated. This assures that weld shrinkage will occur on
Figure 6. When a part incorporating a formed feature like a bend is joined to another sheet metal part, sufficient clearance must be maintained to form a quality spot weld.
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the noncosmetic part which helps to control the cost of filling and abrasive finishing.
Projection Welding
A refinement of resistance spot welding is resistance projection welding (RPW). It makes use of projections previously formed on the workpiece to reduce the power required to make a resistance weld. Consequently, multiple welds can be made more easily at the same time, and thicker sections can be joined more readily than in RSW. Other advantages include reduced shunting effects, closer weld-to-weld spacing and welding of workpieces with smaller flanges. Projection welding can be used on low-carbon, low-alloy and stainless steels, as well as on aluminum. Typically, thicknesses up to 0.125 in.
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Self-Aligning Features
Figure 8. Half shear or extruded button, with their mating holes, can accurately align components for spot welds where tolerances are important.
(3.18 mm) can be joined. Thin workpieces from 0.010 in. (0.25 mm) up to 0.022 in. (0.56 mm)may require special equipment. Below 0.010 in. (0.25 mm), RPW is not recommended, because on this thin material the projections would collapse before the fusion temperature is reached. The two major types of welding projections appear in Figure 9, along with commonly used projection sizes, which are normally based on the thickness of the thinner material to be welded. In general, projections should be positioned as shown in Figure 10 to optimize strength and accessibility. While RPW can be less expensive than RSW, workpiece alignment is more critical, a n d heights of projections with simultaneous welds need to be closely controlledtypically, within 0.003 in. (0.08 mm) of each other.
Figure 9. Button and cone type welding projections and typical dimensions.
Tolerance Considerations
Required restrictive tolerances should be indicated on the part drawing, while less important dimensions should be designated with appropriately relaxed tolerances. One way to do this is to expand the tolerance block on drawings by including: English Units .X 0.100 (2.54 mm) .XX 0.020 (0.5l mm) (dedicated tools) .XX 0.030 (0.76 mm) (universal tools) .XXX 0.010 (0.25 mm)
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Figure 10. Recommended positioning for projection welds made on various thicknesses of sheet metal.
Figure 11. Recommended method for specifying spot welds and projection welds.
When specifying attachment of structural parts such as stiffeners use the most liberal tolerance (X 0.100), since this reduces or eliminates fixturing costs for such unimportant dimensions. Critical dimensions, for such details as hole diameters, coplanar hole-to-hole spac-
ing, etc., should be separately toleranced. Established by the American We l d i n g Society (AWS), the recommended method for specifying resistance spot welds and projection welds appears in Figure 11.
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