RESISTANCE WELDING

What is Resistance Welding?

History of welding technology
In ancient times, metal welding was done in the form of forge welding (metals heated up to melting point
are pressed together) and brazing (weld using alloy of low melting point). With the advent of electricity,
welding technology advanced remarkably; namely, resistance welding, arc welding and gas welding were
invented in the end of 19th century. Thereafter, various welding technologies such as ultrasonic, friction,
electron beam, plasma, laser welding have been invented.
Though we have very little chance to experience the welding technology, it is applied broadly in a variety of
industries and contributed their growth.

Principle of resistance welding

Resistance welding is conducted as follows: Apply force and current through electrodes contacted metal
parts to be welded; and resistance heat is generated at the interface of metal parts and makes a nugget,
resulting in melt joint. Though a large current flows, there is no danger of an electric shock because only
low voltage is impressed.

Resistance Welding - also known as "spot welding" or "resistance spot welding" - is a thermoelectric process in which heat is generated at the interface of the metal parts to be joined by
passing an electrical current through them for a precisely controlled time under controlled
pressure.

APPLICATIONS OF RESISTANCE WELDING

Applications of resistance welding are vast - ranging from tiny spot welds on implantable medical
devices to welding the enormous bolts on residential or commercial water heaters. Both

conductive and resistive materials may be joined using a resistance spot welder. Resistance
welding power supply selection is based on a number of criteria including material, the presence of
plating, geometry and size of the parts to be welded, whether you need a spot weld or seam weld,
the need for data collection and/or monitoring, available input power at your facility, and desired
production rates.

SPOT WELDING

Spot welding is a resistance welding method used to join two or more overlapping metal sheets,
studs, projections, electrical wiring hangers, some heat exchanger fins, and some tubing. Usually
power sources and welding equipment are sized to the specific thickness and material being
welded together. The thickness is limited by the output of the welding power source and thus the
equipment range due to the current required for each application. Care is taken to eliminate
contaminants between the faying surfaces. Usually, two copper electrodes are simultaneously used
to clamp the metal sheets together and to pass current through the sheets.

RESISTANCE SEAM WELDING

Resistance seam welding is a process that produces a weld at the faying surfaces of two
similar metals. The seam may be a butt joint or an overlap joint and is usually an automated
process. It differs from butt welding in that butt welding typically welds the entire joint at once and

seam welding forms the weld progressively, starting at one end. Like spot welding, seam welding
relies on two electrodes, usually made from copper, to apply pressure and current. The electrodes
are disc shaped and rotate as the material passes between them. This allows the electrodes to stay
in constant contact with the material to make long continuous welds. The electrodes may also
move or assist the movement of the material.

A transformer supplies energy to the weld joint in the form of low voltage, high current AC
power. The joint of the work piece has high electrical resistance relative to the rest of the circuit
and is heated to its melting point by the current. The semi-molten surfaces are pressed together by
the welding pressure that creates a fusion bond, resulting in a uniformly welded structure. Most
seam welders use water cooling through the electrode, transformer and controller assemblies due
to the heat generated. Seam welding produces an extremely durable weld because the joint is
forged due to the heat and pressure applied. A properly welded joint formed by resistance welding
is typically stronger than the material from which it is formed.

COMMON USE
A common use of seam welding is during the manufacture of round or rectangular steel tubing.
Seam welding has been used to manufacture steel beverage cans but is no longer used for this as
modern beverage cans are seamless aluminum.

DIFEERENCE BETWEEN SPOT AND SEAM WELDING

Spot Welding
Spot welding is most often used to connect metal parts that are usually around 3 mm thick. The
material to be welded is put between two copper electrodes. Electric current flows through the
material to weld the two metals while pressure on them is maintained.

Seam Welding
Seam welding is more complicated than spot welding. Two copper wheels replace the electrodes
present in spot welding. The wheels create seams along two pieces of metal that bind them
together. Seam welding is used to make items such as fuel tanks.

Benefits
Spot and seam welding have been used for many years to help make many different kinds of
objects. Metal enclosures and other complex metal creations can be made more structurally sound
due to spot and seam welding.

ASSIGNMENT NO 1
TOPIC: RESISTANCE WELDING
NAME: MUHAMMAD USAMA RIAZ

ROLL NO: 13-MCE-06

MANUFACTURING PROCESS LAB

NFC IEFR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTEMENT