Electric Resistance Welding of Austenitic and Galvanized Steel Sheets

Abstract

Nowadays the automotive industry is predominantly using heterogeneous welded joints. The welding of an austenitic and galvanized steel sheet is one of the most common applications, which are using resistive spot welding (RSW); it is a process in which contacting metal surfaces are joined by the heat obtained from resistance to an electric current. The electrodes used influence the quality of a heterogeneous welded joint. This paper describes the influence of the electrodes used, their material and shapes, and the final heterogeneous welded joint, which consists of two or three sheets. They will be compared with each other two electrode materials: CuCr1Zr original (material used for both electrodes) of new material CuCr1Zr (upper electrode replacement) and CuCo2Be (removable bottom electrode). Furthermore, the improved electrode geometry where the original planar electrode is passed to the electrode with radius surface, due to poor access to the point of welding. The aim of this research was to achieve a better quality of spot welded joints consisting of two or three sheets.