Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Resistance seam welding (RSEW)

Resistance seam welding (RSEW) is a resistance welding process which produces coalescence at the faying surfaces the heat obtained from resistance to electric current through the work parts held together under pressure by electrodes.
The resulting weld is a series of overlapping resistance spot welds made progressively along a joint rotating the electrodes. When the spots are not overlapped enough to produce gaslight welds it is a variation known as roll resistance spot welding. This process differs from spot welding since the electrodes are wheels. Both the upper and lower electrode wheels are powered. Pressure is applied in the same manner as a press type welder. The wheels can be either in line with the throat of the machine or transverse. If they are in line it is normally called a longitudinal seam welding machine. Welding current is transferred through the bearing of the roller electrode wheels. Water cooling is not provided internally and therefore the weld area is flooded with cooling water to keep the electrode wheels cool.
In seam welding a rather complex control system is required. This involves the travel speed as well as the sequence of current flow to provide for overlapping welds. The welding speed, the spots per inch, and the timing schedule are dependent on each other. Welding schedules provide the pressure, the current, the speed, and the size of the electrode wheels.
This process is quite common for making flange welds, for making watertight joints for tanks, etc. Another variation is the so-called mash seam welding where the lap is fairly narrow and the electrode wheel is at least twice as wide as used for standard seam welding. The pressure is increased to approximately 300 times normal pressure. The final weld mash seam thickness is only 25% greater than the original single sheet.

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