Projection Welding :

Projection Welding is a popular type of resistance welding. As the

name suggests, Projection Welding is used for welding multiple projections on the
workpiece. I. . These projections can be circular, round dimples, extended corners,
rib type, or elongated ridges of weld nuts. Let’s dive deeper into the Projection
Welding Process to understand it better.

Working Principle of Projection Welding :

 Copper electrodes are used in projection welding as copper is a good

conductor of electricity and heat.
 The two metal workpieces to be joined are placed between the two
electrodes. These electrodes are kept upwards & downwards as shown in the
figure above.
 External Pressure (force) has a huge role to play in this welding.
 A large amount of force is applied to the electrodes. This force eventually gets
transferred to the workpieces.
 After that, the current is passed through the electrodes. As the current
passes, it generates heat due to the internal resistance of the metal
workpieces.
 Now, the produced heat due to resistance is concentrated at the projections
on the workpiece as the two workpieces are placed in a manner that the metal
sheets come in touch only at the projection points.
 Projection Welding Workpieces have fixed, predetermined projections. All of
them get welded in one shot.
 Due to the applied pressure on the workpiece, the projections collapse and
get fused. Weld nuggets are formed at the projection spots.
 Finally, a quality weld is formed and the two metal workpieces are welded
successfully!
Advantages of Projection Welding:
 More than one spot can be weld at a given time.
 Proper heat balance can be obtained easily.
 The welds may be placed closer than spot welding.
 Electrode life is much longer than the life of electrode in spot welding.
 Appearance and uniformity of the weld is better than spot welding.
 With the projection welding, it is easy to weld certain parts which cannot be
welded by spot welding.

Disadvantages of Projection Welding:

 Metals, which cannot support projection, cannot be welded satisfactory.
 To make projection is an extra operation.
 The initial cost of the equipment required for projection welding is high as
press type machines are required for this type of welding.

Applications of Projection Welding:

 It is usually employed on punched where the projection automatically exists.
 Small fasteners, nuts etc. can be welded to larger components.
 Projection welding is used for welding of refrigerator condensers, crossed-
wire welding grills etc.
 Welding of stainless steel parts.
General Structure & Components :
The lower knee is probably the most obvious characteristic of a projection-
style welder. In contrast to a spot welder, a projection welder's lower knee is box-
constructed for mounting tools and fixturing. T-slot platens are commonly attached to
projection welders to allow for rapid tool changeover, similar to how vertical
machines have t-slots for quick tool change.
When weld arms are used these are usually squared to reduce the degrees of
freedom while increasing setup time and repeatability. More simple models don’t
have any platens if tool change is not required. As mentioned, this type of welding
machine uses weld projections on the component to create multiple high-quality
welds in one go, hence the name ‘projection welder’. Welding many welds at once
often require a greater weld force and therefore a stronger frame compared to a
simple spot weld.

Difference between Projection and Spot Welding :

Spot Welding(also called earlier as Shot welding)-the metal
sheets to be welded/joined are brought together, between the copper electrodes.
High current(in thousands of Amps or with high frequency, current passes for very
short time, in hundredth of a second), instantly passes through from one electrode to
another electrode. The electric current generate heat, proportional to square of
electrical current and resistance. Due to the heat and a thrust force from the
electrode, the joint is welded. Often the joint location, is cleaned before assembly, for
easy passage of current.

Projection Welding-is also a spot welding type. Here, one of the sheet is having a
projection/a high point at the joint(made by pressing/machining etc). This gives, high
concentration of heat at the summit of the projection and make the heating and
welding easier. Here , comparing to spot welding, Projection welding needs lesser
current to weld the joint.