General Approach for Inline Electrode Wear Monitoring at Resistance Spot Welding

Electrodes for resistance spot welding inevitably wear out. In order to extend their service life, the tip-dressing process restores their original geometry. So far, however, the point in time for tip-dressing is mainly based on experience and not on process data. Therefore, this study aims to evalu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Processes 2021-04, Vol.9 (4), p.685
Main Authors: Mathiszik, Christian, Köberlin, David, Heilmann, Stefan, Zschetzsche, Jörg, Füssel, Uwe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Automation
Deformation wear
Electrodes
Heat
Monitoring
Nondestructive testing
Process parameters
Resistance spot welding
Service life
Spot welds
Steel alloys
Wear resistance
Welding
Welding electrodes
Welding parameters
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Summary:Electrodes for resistance spot welding inevitably wear out. In order to extend their service life, the tip-dressing process restores their original geometry. So far, however, the point in time for tip-dressing is mainly based on experience and not on process data. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the in-situ or inline wear during the welding process without using additional sensors, and to base the timing for tip-dressing on continuous process monitoring, extending electrode life even further. Under laboratory conditions, electrode wear is analyzed by topographical measurements deepening the knowledge of the known main wear modes of resistance-spot-welding electrodes, mushrooming and plateau forming, and characterizing an electrode length delta over the number of spot welds. In general, electrode wear results in deformation of the electrode contact area, which influences process parameters and thereby weld quality. The conducted tests show correlation between this deformed contact area and the electrode length delta. The study shows that this electrode length delta is visible in actual process data, and can therefore be used as a criterion to characterize the wear of electrodes. Furthermore, this study gives reason to question commonly used spot-welding quality criteria and suggests different approaches, such as basing spot-welding quality on the possibility of nondestructive testing.
ISSN:2227-9717
2227-9717
DOI:10.3390/pr9040685