MANUFACTURING PROCESSES Resistance WeldingResistance Welding (RW) ¢ Resistance Welding is a welding process, in which work pieces are welded due to a combination of a pressure applied to them and a localized heat generated by a high electric current flowing through the contact area of the weld. ¢ The weld is made by a combination of HEAT, PRESSURE, and TIME. ¢ Resistance of the material to be welded to current flow causes a localized heating in the part.Resistance Welding (RW) This HEAT produced is sufficient for local melting of the work piece at the contact point and formation of small weld pool (”nugget”). The molten metal is then solidifies under a PRESSURE and joins the pieces. The pressure exerted holds the parts together before, during, and after the welding current time cycle. TIME of the process and values of the pressure and flowing current, required for formation of reliable joint, are determined by dimensions of the electrodes and the work piece metal type.Resistance Welding (RW) ¢ The heat generated in resistance welding a Ay H, Heat used to Heat lost into the form weld work metal, Nugget electrodes, and pa surrounding air say 40%Resistance Welding (RW) ¢ Therefore the heat generated in resistance welding which is used to form the weld nugget can be expressed as H=kPRt (2) — H= the total heat generated in the work, J — |= electric current, A — t = time for which the electric current is passing through the joint — R= the resistance of the joint, ohms — k= a constant to account for the heat losses from the welded joint. (if k=0.6, that means 40% of the heat is lost into the work metal, electrodes, and surrounding air. )NUMERICAL- Q * Aresistance spot-welding operation is performed on two pieces of 1.5-mm-thick sheet steel using 12,000A for a 0.20 s duration. The electrodes are 7 mm in diameter at the contacting surfaces. Resistance is assumed to be 0.0001 Q , and the resulting weld nugget is a sphere of 6 mm in diameter. The unit melting energy for the metal =12.0 J/ mm. What portion of the heat generated was used to form the weld nugget, and what portion was dissipated into the work metal, electrodes, and surrounding air?LOTT OPN Rema abs * The heat generated in the operation (H) eq 1 * Volume of weld nugget = vol of sphere dia 6mm * Heat required to weld the nugget (H,,) = vol X U * Heat Lost (H,) =(H)- (Hy)4 Major Points Of Resistance * There are 4 major points of resistance in the work area. They are as follows: (R1) Resistance of the electrodes. (R2) The contact resistance between the electrode and the workpiece. (R3) The contact resistance between the two workpiece plates. (R4) The workpiece resistance.WELDING TEMPERATURE 9Current Voltage * AC low volt (typically 1 volt ) electric current (up to 100,000 A) is supplied through copper electrodes connected to the secondary coil of a welding transformer.APPLICATIONS Resistance Welding (RW) is used for joining — vehicle body parts, — fuel tanks, SHEET — domestic radiators, METAL i . Raniil PRODUCTS — pipes of gas oil and water pipelines, — wire ends, — turbine blades etc.Metals Welded * The following metals may be welded by Resistance Welding: —Low carbon steels - the widest application of Resistance Welding — Aluminum alloys — Medium carbon steels, high carbon steels and Alloy steelsADVANTAGES ¢ High welding rates * Low fumes * Cost effectiveness * Easy automation * No filler materials are required * Low distortions * Good repeatability and reliabilityDISADVANTAGES * High equipment cost * Low strength of discontinuous welds * Thickness of welded sheets is limited - up to (6 mm) * Limited to lap joints for most RW processesTypes of Resistance Welding (RW) The most popular methods of Resistance Welding are: 1. Spot Welding (RSW) 2. Seam Welding (RSEW) 3. Resistance Projection Welding (RPW)1. Spot Welding (RSW) * Spot Welding is a Resistance Welding (RW) process, in which two or more overlapped metal sheets are joined by spot welds. * The method uses pointed copper electrodes providing passage of electric current. The electrodes also transmit pressure required for formation of strong weld. * Diameter of the weld spot is in the range - (3 - 12 mm). * Spot welding is widely used in automotive industry for joining vehicle body parts. Typical car body has ~ 10,000 spot welds1. Spot Welding (RSW) AC Power Supply1. Spot Welding (RSW) - STEPS * The sequence is as follows: 1. parts inserted between open electrodes, 2. electrodes close and force is applied, 3. weld time— current is switched on, 4 . current is turned off but force is maintained or in- creased (a reduced current is sometimes applied near the end of this step for stress relief in the weld region), and 5. electrodes are opened, and the welded assembly is removed.1. Spot Welding (RSW) - STEPS q) (2) (3) (4) (8) Electrode | i | F | i ® Molten Weld metal nugget C 7 ft off (1) parts inserted between electrodes, (2) electrodes close, force applied, (3) current on, (4) current off, (5) electrodes opened.1. Force, Current vs Time La Welding Current aE Postweld Heating Current Force, current (ober (oo Le Spot welding cycle (4) viet (1) parts inserted between electrodes, (2) electrodes close, force applied, (3) current on, (4) current off, (5) electrodes opened. 201. Spot Welding (RSW) - POSTWELD * It has been observed that steels containing more than 0.15% carbon may result into brittle weld joint during resistance welding. * Therefore postweld heating is sometimes applied to eliminate possible brittleness.2. Resistance Projection Welding RPW ¢ Aresistance welding process in which coalescence occurs at one or more small contact points on parts * Contact points determined by design of parts to be joined ¢ May consist of projections, embossments, or localized intersections of parts2. Resistance Projection Welding RPW * In a mass-production operation, conventional spot welding is plagued by two significant limitations. 1. Because the small electrodes provide both the high currents and the required pressure, the electrodes generally require frequent attention and re-work (repair) to maintain their geometry. 2. In addition, the process is designed to produce only one spot weld at a time.2. Resistance Projection Welding RPW ¢ When increased strength is required, multiple welds are often needed, and this means multiple operations. Projection welding(RPW) provides a means of overcoming these limitations. * Figure illustrates the principle of projection welding.2. Resistance Projection Welding RPW A dimple is embossed into one of the workpieces at the location where a weld is desired. The two workpieces are then placed between large- area electrodes in a press machine, and pressure and current are applied as in spot welding. Since the current must flow through the points of contact (i.e, the dimples), the heating is concentrated where the weld is desired. As the metal heats and becomes plastic, the pressure causes the dimple to flatten and form a weld. 25,Force Electrode Sheet-metal parts Weld nugget Projection “| (1) (2) * Resistance projection welding (RPW): (1) start of operation, contact between parts is at projections; (2) when current is applied, weld nuggets similar to spot welding are formed at the projections. 263. Seam Welding (RSEW) ¢ Seam Welding is a Resistance Welding (RW) process of continuous joining of overlapping sheets by passing them between two rotating electrode wheels. Heat generated by the electric current flowing through the contact area and pressure provided by the wheels are sufficient to produce a leak-tight weld. * Resistance seam welds (RSEW) can be made by two distinctly different processes.3. Seam Welding (RSEW) 1. In the First Process, sheet metal segments are joined to produce gas- or liquid-tight vessels (Leak proof), such as gas tanks, mufflers, and simple heat exchangers. * The weld is made between over-lapping sheets of metal, and the seam is simply a series of overlapping spot welds, like those shown in Figure.3. Seam Welding (RSEW) AC power supply Overlapping welds3. Seam Welding (RSEW) Electrode wheel Fron of parts Sheet-metal parts past wheel3. Seam Welding (RSEW) * The basic equipment is the same as for spot welding, except that the electrodes now assume the form of rotating disks. * As the metal passes between the electrodes, timed pulses of current form the overlapping welds. * The timing of the welds and the movement of the work are controlled to ensure that the welds overlap and the workpieces do not get too hot. 313. Seam Welding (RSEW) * In a variation of the process, a continuous current is passed through the rotating electrodes to produce a continuous seam. * This form of seam welding is best suited for thin materials, but metals up to 6 mm can be joined. * A typical welding speed is about 2 m/min for thin sheet.3. Seam Welding (RSEW) * Seam Welding is high speed and clean process, which is used when continuous tight weld is required . * Can produce air-tight joints ¢ Applications: — Gasoline tanks — Automobile mufflers — Various other sheet metal containersResistance Butt Welding 2. The second type of resistance seam welding known as_ resistance butt welding ,is used to produce seam welded tubes and pipes. * Fig shows the details of the equipment used. * Current up to 40,000A at about 5V is introduced across the joint by the split electrode roller and force applied by pressure rolls. * Atransformer with slip rings on the primary side is used as a power source.Resistance Butt Welding * Large quantities of tubes are made by electric resistance butt-seam welding process. * Tubes are produced from strips by feeding the strips through set of forming rollers. * These forming rollers form the initial shape of the tube and then it is passed under the seam welding rolls.Resistance Butt Welding * Both work motion and current are kept continuous during the process . * Frequency up to 350 Hz are used in practice with speeds of 36m/min. * The completed tube has a fin of extrude metal along the weld line both inside and out which is removed continuously by cutters.Production Of Seam Welded Tubes/Pipes VIO$Split Electrode Roller Slip Rings | Squeeze rollProduction Of Seam Welded Tubes/Pipes Split Electrode Rollei Slip Rings Lomi] o) NgFunctions of ELECTRODES ¢ RESISTANCE WELDING ELECTRODES perform four functions: 1. Conduct the welding current to the work. 2. Transmit_a force tothe workpieces. 3. Dissipate part _of the heat from the weld zone. 4. Maintain relative _alignment_and position of the workpieces in projection welding.Desirable Properties of ELECTRODES 1. Electrodes should have high electrical _and thermal conductivities and must develop low electric contact resistance in order to prevent deterioration of the work-piece and electrodes. 2. Since the electrodes are subjected to forces that are often of considerable magnitude, they must have good strength to resist to deformation and wear at high temperature.Desirable Properties of ELECTRODES ¢ Proper electrode shape is important because the current must be confined toa fixed area to achieve needed current density.Electrode Material * Commonly used electrode materials are — pure copper and — copper base alloys. ° Pure tungsten or tungsten-silver or pure molybdenum may also be used as electrode material.Electrode Cooling WATER | = * To reduce wear, tear and deformation of electrodes, cooling through water circulation is required.ELECTRODE Shapes * Electrodes are composed of three parts: the electrode cap or tip, the body of the electrode and the cooling system. * Most of the electrodes are cylindrical with the tip machined to a truncated cone with an angle of 30 degrees, though a variety of tip shapes (flat, dome and eccentric) is used to obtain access with complex joints.Commonly Used ELECTRODE Shapes Pointed Dome Flat Eccentric ‘Truncated Spherical