MDP252

Resistance Welding

Name ID
Seif Khaled Seif Elmolook Mohamed 21P0143
Ibrahim
Omar Alaa Eldin Mohamed 18P9390

May Fadl Helil 18P8064

 1. Introduction
Welding is the process of joining two pieces of metal together to form one piece by
heating the metals to their melting points. Sometimes filler metal is used to help
bond the two pieces together. A filler metal is an additional metal used to secure a
joint through welding.
Welding uses high temperatures to fuse the base metals by melting them. There are
other methods of fusing metals, such as brazing and soldering, which use lower
temperatures and do not melt the base metal

2. types of welding
There are several types of welding. The welding type is determined by the job
requirements and the type of technology used.
Welding types fit into one of two categories:
1. Plastic welding
2. Fusion welding
Plastic welding or pressure welding: is the process by which pieces of metal to be
joined are heated to a plastic state and then forced together by external pressure.
This welding process is also known as liquid-solid welding. This method is used in
both forge welding and resistance welding.

Fusion welding or no-pressure welding: is the process by which material at the

joint is heated to a molten state and allowed to solidify. This welding process is
also known as liquid state welding. It is used in gas welding, arc welding.

1. Gas Welding:
Gas welding is a welding process done by burning. of fuel gases with the
help of oxygen which forms a concentrated flame of high temperature. This
flame directly strikes the weld area and melts the weld surface and filler
material. The melted part of welding plates diffused in one another and
create a weld joint after cooling.
 Fig: Gas Welding
2. Arc Welding
Arc welding is welding process using an electric arc to create heat to melt and join
metals. A power supply creates an electric arc between a consumable or non-
consumable electrode and the base material using either direct (DC) or
alternating (AC) currents. The base metal is melted, a filler material is typically
added to the joint to form a pool of molten material (the weld pool) that cools to
form a joint. The welding region is sometimes protectedby some type of inert or
semi- inert gas, known as a shielding gas, and filler material is sometimes used as
well. The arc length should be 2mm to 3mm, and beyond 4mm the power supply
cuts off.

Fig: Arc Welding

3. Resistance Welding
Resistance welding generates heat by passing current through the resistance
caused by contact between two or more metal surfaces. As a high amperage
current (1,000 -100,000 A) passes through the metal, small pools of molten metal
are formed at the weld area, resistance welding methods are efficient and cause
little pollution, but their applications are somewhat limited and the equipment
cost can be high. Spot welding is a popular resistance welding method used to
join overlapping metal sheets up to 3 mm thick.

Fig: Resistance Welding

3. RESISTANCE WELDING
Resistance welding can be defined as; it is a liquid state welding method where the
metal-to-metal joint can be formed within a liquid state otherwise molten state.This
is a thermoelectric method where heat can be generated at the It is a thermo-
electric process in which heat is generated at the edge planes of welding plates
because of electric resistance and a weld joint can be created by applying low-
pressure to these plates. This type of welding uses electric resistance to generate
heat. This process is very efficient with pollution free but the applications are
limited because of the features like equipment cost is high, and material thickness
is limited.
The working principle of resistance welding is the generation of heat because of
electric resistance. The resistance welding such as seam, spot, protection works on
the same principle. Whenever the current flows through electric resistance, then
heat will be generated. The same working principle can be used within the electric
coil. The generated heat will depend on material’s resistance, applied current
conditions of a surface, applied the current time period
Resistance welding is often categorized as a type of cold welding because it
operates at lower temperatures compared to other welding methods like arc
welding. The heat is generated directly at the interface of the materials being
joined, minimizing thermal distortion and preventing excessive heat-affected
zones.
 Fig: Resistance Welding
The following metals may be welded by Resistance Welding: Low carbon steels
Medium carbon steels, high carbon steels Aluminum alloys and Alloy steels (may
be welded, but the weld is brittle)

Advantages of Resistance Welding :

(i) Fast rate of production.
(ii) No filler rod is needed.
(iii) Semi automatic equipments.
(iv) Less skilled workers can do the job.
(v) Both similar and dissimilar metals can be welded.
(vi) High reliability and reproducibility are obtained.
(vii) More general elimination of warping or distortion of parts.

Disadvantages of Resistance Welding

(i) The initial cost of equipment is high.
(ii) Skilled persons are needed for the maintenance of equipment and its controls.
(iii) Bigger job thicknesses cannot be welded.

Applications of Resistance Welding

Resistance welding is used for
(i) Joining sheets, bars, rods and tubes.
(ii) Making tubes and metal furniture.
(iii) Welding aircraft and automobile parts.
(iv) Making cutting tools.
(v) Making fuel tanks of cars, tractors etc.
(vi) Making wire fabric, grids, grills, mash weld, containers.

Types of Resistance Welding are:

Þ Spot Welding (RSW)
Þ Projection welding (PW)
Þ Seam Welding (RSEW)
Þ Flash Welding (FW)
Þ Resistance Butt Welding (UW)

4. SPOT WELDING & SEAM WELDING

4.1. SPOT WELDING

Spot welding is a resistance welding process in which overlapping sheets are

joined by local fusion at one or more spots by the heat generated, by resistance to
the flow of electric current through work pieces that are held together under force
by two electrodes, one above and the other below the two overlapping sheets

Fig: Spot welding

I. Working Principle of Spot Welding

The process involves applying pressure and heat to the

weld area using shaped alloy copper electrodes which
convey an electrical current through the weld pieces. The
material melts, fusing the parts together at which point
the current is turned off, pressure from the electrodes is
maintained and the molten “nugget” solidifies to form the joint. Fig: Spot Welding working
The welding heat is generated by the electric current, which is transferred to the
workpiece through copper alloy electrodes. Copper is used for the electrodes as it
has a high thermal conductivity and low electrical resistance compared to most
other metals, ensuring that the heat is generated preferentially in the work pieces
rather than the electrodes

II. Advantages of Spot Welding

• Strong and durable welds.
• Rapid and efficient process.
• Minimal distortion of workpieces.
• No need for consumable filler material.
• Suitable for various metals and alloys.
• Cost-effective and automated for mass production.
• Reliable and consistent results.
• Environmentally friendly (minimal fumes or waste).

III. Disadvantages of Spot Welding

• Limited to thin materials.
• Requires precise alignment of electrodes.
• Not suitable for welding dissimilar materials.
• Creates visible weld marks.
• Limited access to complex geometries.
• Electrode wear and maintenance in Spot Welding are required.
• Susceptible to issues with coating and surface contaminants.
• High initial equipment costs.

IV. Defects of Spot Welding

The various defects in Spot Welding include:

• Uneven spot weld marks

• Metal splatter near the weld site
• Cracks within the weld area
• Sunken or indented surfaces
• Weld splattering

V. Applications of Resistance Spot Welding

Spot welding is employed in the following industries:

• Automotive industry for body and chassis assembly.

• Electrical and electronics manufacturing.
• Aerospace industry for sheet metal components.
• Appliances manufacturing (e.g., white goods).
• Metal furniture fabrication.
• HVAC systems.
• Shipbuilding and marine industry.
• Industrial equipment and machinery production.
• Construction and metalworking industries.
• Spot Welding is also employed in Custom metal fabrication for various
sectors.

4.2. Seam Welding

It is the 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 leaktight weld.

I. Working Principle of Seam Welding

• The work-pieces to be seam welded are cleaned, overlapped suitably and placed between
the two circular electrodes which hold the work-pieces together by the pressure on
electrode force.
 • Switch on the coolant supply (in some machines, the electrodes are cooled by external
spray of water; in others, the electrodes are cooled by refrigerant fluid that flow inside the
working electrodes).
• Switch on the current supply. As the first current impulse is applied, the power driven
circular electrodes are set in rotation and the work-pieces steadily move forward.
• If the current is put off and on quickly, a continuous fusion zone made up of overlapping
nuggets is obtained. It is known as stitch welding.
• If individual spot welds are obtained by constant and regularly timed interruption of the
welding current, the process is known as roll (spot) welding.

II. Advantages:
• Efficient energy use, with little pollution
• Fast processing times
• Easily automated
• No required filler materials
• Economical
• Adaptable to a variety of electrically conductive materials
• Ability to produce leak-tight welds
• Can be performed by unskilled operators
• For certain high strength aluminium alloys, it is practically the only process
applicable
• Low fumes

III. Disadvantages
• Limited by component shape and wheel access
• Initial equipment costs
• Lower tensile and fatigue strengths
• Thickness of welded sheets is limited - up to 1/4” (6 mm)

IV. Applications:

Resistance seam welding has a wide range of applications such as:

• Manufacturing of round or rectangular steel tubing

• It can be used to fabricate liquid or gas tight sheet metal vessels such as
gasoline tanks, automobile mufflers and heat exchangers.
• Manufacturing of steel beverages cans
• Manufacturing of steel fuel tanks for motor vehicles
• Production of seam welded pipes and tubing (Butt seam weld)
 • Manufacturing of steel drums and domestic radiators

5. Conclusion
resistance welding offers a versatile and efficient method for joining metals in
various industries. Understanding its different techniques, applications, advantages,
and disadvantages is essential for optimizing its use in manufacturing processes.