RESISTANCE SEAM

WELDING

CLASS : EMC7M6

LECTURER : DR ING. YUPITER HARANGAN

PRASADA MANURUNG
INTRODUCTION
• DEFINITION
•PROCESS
 DEFINITION

 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 OR A type of continuous weld made
between or upon overlapping metal parts.

 The resulting weld is a series of overlapping resistance spot welds made

progressively along a joint by rotating the electrodes.
 Resistance seam welding is another variation on resistance spot
welding.
 In resistance seam welding, the welding electrodes are motor driven
wheels rather than stationary caps. This results in a “rolling” resistance
weld or seam weld.
 Seam Welding has three parameter :
1. power supplies and control-welding speed, spots per inch, and timing
2. welding wheel configuration- wheels in line(longitudinal) with the
throat of the machine or transverse.
3. sheet configuration.

 The welding rollers perform three tasks:

1. Weld current transmission
2. Welding pressure
3. Feed motion transmission
 Resistance Seam Welding

Roll Spot Weld

Upper Electrode Wheel

Knurl or Friction Overlapping Seam

Drive Wheel Weld

Continuous Seam
Weld

Workpiece
Throat

Lower Electrode Wheel [Reference: Welding Handbook,

Volume 2, p.553, AWS]
 PROCESS

1. The workpiece is passed through the space between the two discs, and
under pressure applied by the discs and current flowing through
them, a continuous weld is formed.
2. The overlap of the work piece with its comparatively high electrical
resistance is intensely heated by the current.
3. With each positive or negative current half-wave the parts are heated
to a semi-molten condition, especially at the current peaks.
4. The semi-molten overlap surfaces are pressed together by the welding
pressure which causes them to bond together into a uniforming
welded structure after cooling.
5. Most seam welded technologies use water cooling through the weld
roller assemblies due to the intense heat generated.
SEAM WELDING MACHINE
IN THE WORKSHOP
•PICTURE
•SPECIFICATIONS
PICTURES
SPECIFICATIONS
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 aluminum alloys, it is practically the only
process applicable
 Low fumes
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)
APPLICATIONS
•MATERIAL
•PROCESS
•PRODUCT
 MATERIAL

 The following metals may be welded :

1. Low carbon steels - the widest application

2. Aluminum alloys
3. Medium carbon steels, high carbon steels and Alloy steels (may be
welded, but the weld is brittle)
 PROCESS

 Making flange welds

 Making watertight joints.
 Create larger flat-stock parts
 Join relatively long components
 Create cylinders, cones, or open-ended boxes
 PRODUCT

 Containers, radiators and heat exchangers, pressure vessels, tanks,

water floats, nuclear components, appliance drums, brewery tanks,
motor shells, etc.
 TYPES
• WIDE WHEEL SEAM
• NARROW WHEEL SEAM
• CONSUMABLE WIRE SEAM WELDING
• MASH SEAM WELDING
• FOIL BUTT SEAM WELDING
 Wide wheel seam

 Wheel contact width normally 5 t mm flat (where t is single sheet

thickness in mm).
 General purpose welding (domestic radiators up to about 6 m/min).
 Narrow wheel seam

 Wheel contact shape typically 6mm radius.

 Knurl drive on wheel edge with contact surface continuously planished.
 Controls electrode contamination when welding coated steels, such as
for vehicle fuel tanks.
 Consumable wire seam welding

 Shaped, consumable copper wire fed between the wheels and sheets to
be joined to give consistent clean contact.
 Used for welding coated steels such as tin cans and vehicle fuel tanks.
 Mash seam welding

 Narrow overlap of sheet edges, which are partly crushed together

during welding.
 High speed welding of tin cans and drums (0.2mm tinplate up to
100m/min).
 Wide wheel or consumable wire processes used.
 Foil butt seam welding

 Foil welded on to each side of the butted edges of the sheets to be

joined.
 Typically 4mm wide stainless steel foil used to preserve corrosion
resistance on coated steel.
 Virtually flush finish with no crevice and used to produce wide panels.
WELDING SYMBOL
•GENERAL
•SIZE OF RESISTANCE SEAM WELDS
•LENGTH OF RESISTANCE SEAM WELDS
•PITCH OF RESISTANCE SEAM WELDS
 General

Resistance seam weld symbols have no arrow or

other side significance in themselves, although
supplementary symbols used in injunction with them
may have such significance. Resistance seam weld
symbols must be centered on the reference line.

Dimensions of resistance seam welds may be shown

on either side of the reference line.
 Size of Resistance Seam Welds

 The size of resistance seam welds must be designated as the width of

the weld expressed in fractions or in decimals in hundredths of an inch
and shall be shown, with or without inch marks, to the left of the weld
symbol.

 The strength of resistance seam welds must be designated as the

minimum acceptable shear strength in pounds per linear inch and must
be shown to the left of the weld symbol.
 Length of Resistance Seam Welds

 The length of a resistance seam weld, when indicated on the welding

symbol, must be shown to the right of the welding symbol.

 When resistance seam welding extends for the full distance between
abrupt changes in the direction of the welding, no length dimension
need be shown on the welding symbol.
 When resistance seam welding extends less than the distance between
abrupt changes in the direction of the welding or less than the full
length of the joint, the extent must be dimensioned.
 Pitch of Resistance Seam Welds

 The pitch of intermittent resistance seam welding shall be designated

as the distance between centers of the weld increments and must be
shown to the right of the length dimension.