Adapt and change

摘要

Traditional AC welding users have proved reluctant to embrace the concept of adaptive welding but, with industry facing relentless cost reduction pressures, that could be about to change, says David Halford, welding product manager at Bosch Rexroth. Adaptive welding remains a small proportion of the UK's welding market, but its ability to improve the quality of weld and drive cost out of the manufacturing process could offer many manufacturers an alternative to traditional methods. AC resistance spot welding is still used in many of the UK's most sophisticated manufacturing processes, most particularly in any metal sheet joining processes. Examples of this include radiator and wire mesh manufacture. It is also still widely used in the automotive manufacturing process. However, as resistance spot welding users will know, the process is prone to weld disturbance. This can include shunting, caused by alternative current paths leading to a loss of energy, bad fitting of sheets and also variations of coating and sheet thickness.