Effect of Electrode Type and Weld Current on Service Life of Resistance Spot Weld Electrode

Abstract

HSLA steels are widely preferred in the automotive industry due to their advantages of high strength, lightening of vehicle weight and formability. The fact that a lot of welding processes are carried out during the creation of the vehicle body has made the welding operations of these steels an important topic. In this study, zinc coated HX340LAD+Z sheet material was welded by RSW application in factory conditions. The welding opera-tion was carried out with different current intensities and 300 spot welds for three different electrodes, keeping the weld duration constant. After the welding trials, the shortening of the electrodes was examined and information about the electrode lifetime was obtained. The weld core diameter was measured on the sheet metal also microstructure and micro-hardness investigations were made. As a result of the findings, information was obtained about weld hardness and collapse. Determination of splashing in the HX340LAD+Z ma-terial was provided by SEM imaging and EDX studies. It was determined that F type Copper electrode was more efficient.