Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080236720 | Joining polymer workpieces to other components - A shape memory polymer workpiece is attached to a second workpiece. A face of the SMP workpiece is placed against an attachment surface of the second workpiece. The second workpiece has an attachment hole(s). The SMP workpiece is activated (e.g., heated) to a softening temperature and a portion extruded into the attachment hole of the facing surface of the second workpiece. The SMP piece is held while still heated against the second workpiece, the material flowing as result of the shape memory effect to form an attachment. As the SMP material cools while still under load its modulus increases fixing the attachment geometry. Reheating the attached parts without pushing them together reverses the process. | 10-02-2008 |
20090102588 | BRAZE METAL JOINT DESIGN - A copper tube with copper end pieces for a water-cooled secondary winding of a welding transformer is an example of a brazed assembly having a potentially corrodible side, the water-cooled side, and a low-exposure side, the air side or dry side, of the joined pieces. By shaping contacting surfaces of the parts at the brazed joint it is useful to form a barrier, for example, between a special braze material required for the corrosive side and a conventional, easy to apply, braze material for use on the air side of the joint. | 04-23-2009 |
20090127232 | WELD ELECTRODE FOR ATTRACTIVE WELD APPEARANCE - Weld faces of electrodes for resistance spot welding are formed with a suitable area of protrusions and/or intrusions. The size, shape, and elevation or depths of the protrusions or intrusions are determined for the formation of suitable spot welds in and between metal workpieces such as aluminum or steel panels for vehicle bodies. The protrusions or intrusions are also conceived and used to form an image on at least a visible surface of the welded article to produce an attractive appearance on the surface of the welded sheet. | 05-21-2009 |
20090142538 | CORROSION RESISTANT PRECOATED LAMINATED STEEL - Two steel sheets joined face-to-face with a core layer form a laminated workpiece that may be shaped, for example, into automotive components. Depending on the nature of the core layer the laminated workpieces may be used for sound and vibration damping or as light weight structural panels. Before joining of the steel sheets, their facing surfaces may each be provided with a polymeric (organic or inorganic) corrosion resistant film that resists physical degradation such as tearing or scratching as the laminate is formed into a desired component shape. The pre-applied protective layer may also provide a bonding layer for the viscoelastic core or a structural core material. Conductive particles may be incorporated into the viscoelastic layer to assist in electrical resistance welding involving the laminated steel workpiece. | 06-04-2009 |
20090255908 | WELD ELECTRODE FOR ATTRACTIVE WELD APPEARANCE - Weld faces of electrodes for resistance spot welding are formed with a suitable area of protrusions and/or intrusions. The size, shape, and elevation or depths of the protrusions or intrusions are determined for the formation of suitable spot welds in and between metal workpieces such as aluminum or steel panels for vehicle bodies. The protrusions or intrusions are also conceived and used to form an image on at least a visible surface of the welded article to produce an attractive appearance on the surface of the welded sheet. | 10-15-2009 |
20090302009 | ELECTRODE FOR SPOT WELDING - Spot welding electrodes with generally dome shaped welding faces are provided with surface features for welding both aluminum alloy sheet assemblies and steel sheet assemblies. A raised circular plateau is formed on the central axis of the dome and, in one embodiment, a suitable number of round bumps are formed in concentric spacing from adjacent the circumference of the plateau toward the circular edge of the welding face. For welding steel workpieces the plateau mainly serves as the engaging feature of the electrode. Both the plateau and concentric bumps are used in penetrating light metal surfaces for suitable current passage. In another embodiment, the domed surface is shaped with concentric terraces for engagement with the workpieces. | 12-10-2009 |
20100035080 | Corrosion resistant laminated steel - Outer steel sheet-viscoelastic core laminates are often subject to corrosion in moisture-containing environments. Zinc-based alloys of aluminum, or of aluminum and magnesium, may be beneficially applied to the inner faces of the steel sheets or to both the inner and outer sheet faces. Substantially pure zinc coatings may be applied over the zinc-based alloys or over an otherwise bare outer steel sheet surface. Combinations of such zinc-based alloy coatings and substantially pure zinc coatings improve the corrosion resistance of the steel sheet-polymer core laminates while maximizing weldability and paintability. | 02-11-2010 |
20100258536 | FORMING AND RE-FORMING WELDING ELECTRODES WITH CONTOURED FACES - A method is disclosed for using welding electrodes with a spherically-domed welding face having concentric contoured features formed into the face for better contact with workpiece surfaces. The concentric contoured features may be initially formed by rotating a cutting tool with a contoured cutting edge, the cutting edge being in engagement with the electrode face. A similar practice may be followed to re-create the weld face surface geometry if it becomes eroded or malformed during welding use. A suitable tool may have a blade-like geometry, with a mounting portion for supporting and positioning the tool in a rotating holder and a cutting edge. The cutting edge may have a contour complementary to that of the weld face and extend at least from the center of the weld face to at least the radial extent of the concentric contoured features. | 10-14-2010 |
20100258537 | WELDING LIGHT METAL WORKPIECES BY REACTION METALLURGY - Aluminum alloy workpieces and/or magnesium alloy workpieces are joined in a solid state weld by use of a reactive material placed, in a suitable form, at the joining surfaces. Joining surfaces of the workpieces are pressed against the interposed reactive material and heated. The reactive material alloys or reacts with the workpiece surfaces consuming some of the surface material in forming a reaction product comprising a low melting liquid that removes oxide films and other surface impediments to a welded bond across the interface. Further pressure is applied to expel the reaction product and to join the workpiece surfaces in a solid state weld bond. | 10-14-2010 |
20110094999 | APPLICATION OF SURFACE RELIEF TO SPOT WELDING ELECTRODES - The workpiece-contacting surface of the spot welding electrode may be suitably modified to incorporate a desired shape or form, generally comprising a depressed region outlining a recognizable shape, to form aesthetically-pleasing or functional features in the surface of a workpiece during resistance spot welding. Methods for creating the desired form in the spot welding electrode including abrasion, upsetting, and electrical discharge machining are disclosed. Preferably the electrode face is shaped and subsequently redressed during welding operations at the welding station. | 04-28-2011 |
20110188952 | STABILIZER FOR DRESSING ELECTRODES AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME - One embodiment includes an electrode dressing apparatus having a rotatable dressing blade including a first cutting face, an electrode comprising an electrode body and a weld face, and an electrode guide positioned absolutely relative to the rotatable dressing blade to position the weld face of the electrode at a designated location over the first cutting face. | 08-04-2011 |
20110266260 | Welding Electrode With Contoured Face - A method for welding a plurality of aluminum to aluminum welds and a plurality of steel to steel welds using the same welder includes providing a resistance spot welder with a pair of weld electrodes having an electrode face radius of curvature in the range between 20 mm and 40 mm. The series of aluminum to aluminum welds is first made, and then, after completing the aluminum to aluminum welds, the series of steel to steel welds are made. After completing the steel to steel welds the weld electrodes are cleaned by an abrasive to remove any buildup or contamination of aluminum on the electrodes. In the event the electrodes have mushroomed, then dressing of the electrodes is provided and then the abrasive cleaning is performed to restore the surface texture. | 11-03-2011 |
20110303736 | BATTERY TAB JOINT BY REACTION METALLURGY - Copper metal or metal alloy workpieces and/or aluminum metal or metal alloy workpieces are joined in a solid state weld by use of a reactive material placed, in a suitable form, at the joining surfaces. Joining surfaces of the workpieces are pressed against the interposed reactive material and heated. The reactive material alloys or reacts with the workpiece surfaces consuming some of the surface material in forming a liquid-containing reaction product comprising a low melting liquid that removes oxide films and other surface impediments to a welded bond across the interface. Further pressure is applied to expel the reaction product and to join the workpiece surfaces in a solid state weld bond. | 12-15-2011 |
20120000964 | BATTERY TAB JOINTS AND METHODS OF MAKING - A method of soldering battery cell tabs to a conductor is provided. The battery cell tab and the conductor are made of a material independently selected from aluminum, copper, or nickel-plated copper. The method include preparing an assembly of the battery cell tabs and the conductor with a first joining surface of one battery cell tab face-to-face with a first joining surface of the conductor, at least one joining surface having a layer of solder thereon; pressing the assembly so that the facing joining surfaces engage the solder, and heating the solder to a temperature above a melting temperature of the solder in the absence of a fluxing agent while limiting the displacement of the joining surfaces to a predetermined value; and holding the joining surfaces against each other and solidifying the solder to form a soldered joint between the battery cell tabs and the conductor. | 01-05-2012 |
20120181890 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR JOINING STATOR WIRES - A method and system is provided to join the wire ends of a stator by immersing a wire end portion of the stator in a molten solder bath to form a solder joint in each of a plurality of wire end pairs to provide an electrical connection between the respective wire ends of each wire end pair. The stator may be configured as a bar pin stator including a plurality of bar pins defining the wire ends. The solder joint may be defined by a portion of solder between the proximate surfaces of the wire ends of each wire end pair, and may be defined by a coating of solder in proximate contact with the perimeter surface of each respective wire end pair, wherein the portion of solder and the coating of solder each may provide an electrical connection between the respective wire ends. | 07-19-2012 |
20120204412 | METHOD OF JOINING BY ROLLER HEMMING AND SOLID STATE WELDING AND SYSTEM FOR SAME - A method of joining a first and a second work piece, such as automotive closure panels, includes supporting the work pieces on a fixture, and then joining the work pieces to one another by a first solid state weld with a vibrating roller head of a tool assembly, such as a robotically-controlled ultrasonic seam welder. Next, a flange of the second work piece is hemmed about an outer periphery of the first work piece using the same or a different roller head with the work pieces supported by the fixture. The hemmed flange is then joined to the first work piece by a second solid state weld with the vibrating roller head of the robotically-controlled ultrasonic seam welder. A system for joining a first and a second work piece is also provided. | 08-16-2012 |
20120225313 | COMPOSITE MANUFACTURE - A composite manufacture includes a first steel substrate, a second steel substrate disposed in contact with the first steel substrate to define a faying interface therebetween, and a spot weld joint penetrating the first steel substrate and the second steel substrate at the faying interface to thereby join the second steel substrate to the first steel substrate. The first steel substrate has a heat-affected zone adjacent the spot weld joint having a boundary, wherein the boundary and the faying interface define an angle therebetween of greater than about 75°. | 09-06-2012 |
20120228272 | WELDING APPARATUS FOR INDUCTION MOTOR AND METHOD OF WELDING INDUCTION MOTOR - A welding apparatus for an induction motor includes a fixture operable to support a rotor and rotate the rotor about an axis of rotation of the motor, and a welding head supported adjacent the fixture and operable to weld conductor bars located about the surface of the rotor to the first shorting ring when the fixture supports the rotor. A controller controls the fixture to selectively rotate the rotor. The controller moves the welding head, the fixture, or both, so that the welding head is in a welding position, and causes the welding head to weld the conductor bars to the first shorting ring while remaining in the welding position, with the rotor rotating to create a substantially circular weld path along the first shorting ring. In some embodiments, the conductor bars are welded to both shorting rings simultaneously. A method of welding an induction motor is also provided. | 09-13-2012 |
20120234799 | WELDING ELECTRODE AND METHOD OF FORMING A RESISTANCE SPOT WELD JOINT - A welding electrode includes an electrode holder and an electrode cap removably attached to the holder and having a central longitudinal axis. The cap includes a body having an end, and a welding surface that is substantially smooth and free from any grooves defined therein, and has a first diameter of from about 7 to 10 mm, a first radius of curvature, and a second radius of curvature that is different from the first radius. The cap includes a skirt portion extending away from the body and configured to bear against the holder. The skirt portion has a first face that is substantially parallel to the axis and spaced apart from the surface. The body has a second face interconnecting the first face and the surface, and the body tapers from the first face to the surface. A method of forming a resistance spot weld joint is also disclosed. | 09-20-2012 |
20120273557 | METHOD OF JOINING COPPER CONDUCTORS - Copper conductor members or other copper-base workpieces are welded using a suitable copper alloy material that is reactive with the joining surfaces of the copper members. The reactive metal material may be applied as a thin metal strip between assembled facing joining surfaces. The members are pressed together against the reactive material and heated. The combined pressure and heat enable the reactive material to react with facing workpiece material, to liquefy and remove oxides or the like that might inhibit the formation of a welded interface. The liquid, containing original reactive metal and byproducts, is squeezed from the interface of the workpieces to enable the formation of a solid-state weld between them without melting of un-reacted workpiece copper material. | 11-01-2012 |
20130008295 | CUTTING TOOL FOR FORMING AND RE-FORMING WELDING ELECTRODES WITH CONTOURED FACES - A cutting tool that can cut concentric ringed features (e.g. protruding ridges or intruding grooves) onto a weld face of an electrical resistance welding electrode is disclosed. The cutting tool includes a cutter blade that can be rotated about the electrode weld face. The cutter blade has at least one cutting surface configured to cut the concentric ringed features onto the weld face when the cutting surface is rotated relative to the weld face while engaged therewith. | 01-10-2013 |
20130015164 | RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING OF ALUMINUM TO ALUMINUM AND STEEL TO STEEL - A method for welding a plurality of aluminum to aluminum welds and a plurality of steel to steel welds using the same welder includes providing a resistance spot welder with a pair of weld electrodes having an electrode face radius of curvature in the range between 20 mm and 40 mm. The series of aluminum to aluminum welds is first made, and then, after completing the aluminum to aluminum welds, the series of steel to steel welds are made. After completing the steel to steel welds the weld electrodes are cleaned by an abrasive to remove any buildup or contamination of aluminum on the electrodes. In the event the electrodes have mushroomed, then dressing of the electrodes is provided and then the abrasive cleaning is performed to restore the surface texture. | 01-17-2013 |
20130056447 | AUTOMATION OF REACTION METALLURGICAL JOINING FOR COPPER CONDUCTORS - Copper conductor members or other copper-based workpieces are welded using a suitable copper alloy material that is reactive with the joining surfaces of the copper members. The reactive metal material may be applied as a thin metal foil strip between assembled facing joining surfaces. The members are pressed together against the reactive material and electrical resistance heated in forming the weld. Practices are adapted for forming many such welds in the pairs of facing ends of conductor bars or wires assembled, for example, in slots in a stator for a vehicle traction motor. Practices are disclosed for shaping and automated placement of suitably sized and shaped foils of reactive metal. Practices are also disclosed for use of a resistance welding tool in aligning and heating the many pairs of conductors to be welded. | 03-07-2013 |
20130168367 | WELDING ELECTRODE WITH CONTOURED FACE - A welding electrode for resistance spot welding includes a weld face comprising rings of ridges that project outwardly from a base surface of the weld face. The rings of ridges are positioned on the weld face to contact and impress into a sheet metal workpiece surface during resistance spot welding. If the welding electrode is used during resistance spot welding of light metal alloy workpieces, such as those of aluminum alloy or magnesium alloy, the rings of ridges on the weld face can contribute to improved welding performance. | 07-04-2013 |
20130200048 | WELD FACE DESIGN FOR SPOT WELDING - A welding electrode for use in engaging an aluminum alloy workpiece during a spot welding process has a weld face that includes a base surface and a plurality of circular ridges that project outwardly from the base surface. The circular ridges are blunted, and their presence on the weld face provides the first welding electrode with several useful capabilities, including the ability to establish better mechanical and electrical contact with the aluminum alloy workpiece. | 08-08-2013 |
20130306604 | ELECTRODE FOR SPOT WELDING - Spot welding electrodes with generally dome shaped welding faces are provided with surface features for welding both aluminum alloy sheet assemblies and steel sheet assemblies. A raised circular plateau is formed on the central axis of the dome and, in one embodiment, a suitable number of round bumps are formed in concentric spacing from adjacent the circumference of the plateau toward the circular edge of the welding face. For welding steel workpieces the plateau mainly serves as the engaging feature of the electrode. Both the plateau and concentric bumps are used in penetrating light metal surfaces for suitable current passage. In another embodiment, the domed surface is shaped with concentric terraces for engagement with the workpieces. | 11-21-2013 |
20140076859 | METHOD OF RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING ALUMINUM ALLOY WORKPIECES - A method of resistance spot welding aluminum alloy workpieces together includes several steps. In one step a welding electrode is provided. The welding electrode has a weld face. In another step, the weld face of the welding electrode is shaped to have a desired radius of curvature. The shaped weld face is then textured to a desired surface roughness, and resistance spot welding using the welding electrode is performed to the aluminum alloy workpieces. In yet another step, the weld face is dressed to an extent sufficient to remove contamination build-up that may have accumulated on the weld face from the aluminum alloy workpieces. | 03-20-2014 |
20140231396 | METHOD FOR RESISTANCE WELDING WITH PRE-CHILLING - A method for improving a resistance spot weld includes stacking two or more metal sheets and positioning first and second opposed electrodes on opposite sides of the metal stack. At least one of the metal sheets is chilled in the region where the weld is to be made. Weld current is applied to the electrodes and passes through the metal sheets to create the electric resistance spot weld only after the chilling of the at least one metal sheet reduces the temperature at the faying interface at least 5° C., thereby improving the formation of the weld nugget and quality of the weld joint. The chilling can be obtained by flowing chilled gas onto the surface of one or both of the outermost metal sheets, or by contacting the outermost metal sheets with the chilled electrode for a period of time prior to applying the weld current. | 08-21-2014 |
20140251961 | PROGRAMMABLE POLARITY MODULE FOR DC RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING - A programmable polarity module that permits rapid on-demand control of the polarities assigned to the welding electrodes retained on a welding gun is disclosed. The programmable polarity module is electrically connectable to the welding gun and a direct current power supply unit to provide direct current to the welding electrodes for exchange during spot welding. A first interchangeable polarity output lug and a second interchangeable polarity output lug of the programmable polarity module permit the polarities of the welding electrodes to be switched without having to electrically disconnect the module from the welding gun. | 09-11-2014 |
20140319105 | WELDING ELECTRODE AND METHOD OF FORMING A RESISTANCE SPOT WELD JOINT - A welding electrode includes an electrode holder and an electrode cap removably attached to the holder and having a central longitudinal axis. The cap includes a body having an end, and a welding surface that is substantially smooth and free from any grooves defined therein, and has a first diameter of from about 7 to 10 mm, a first radius of curvature, and a second radius of curvature that is different from the first radius. The cap includes a skirt portion extending away from the body and configured to bear against the holder. The skirt portion has a first face that is substantially parallel to the axis and spaced apart from the surface. The body has a second face interconnecting the first face and the surface, and the body tapers from the first face to the surface. A method of forming a resistance spot weld joint is also disclosed. | 10-30-2014 |
20140360986 | RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING OF STEEL TO PRE-COATED ALUMINUM - Resistance spot welding of a steel workpiece to an aluminum or an aluminum alloy workpiece can be facilitated by replacing the refractory aluminum oxide-based layer(s) on at least the faying surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece with a protective coating that is more conducive to the spot welding process. The protective coating may be a metallic coating or a metal oxide conversion coating. In a preferred embodiment, the protective coating is a coating of zinc, tin, or an oxide of titanium, zirconium, chromium, or silicon. | 12-11-2014 |
20140367368 | RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING THIN GAUGE STEELS - Resistance spot welding of a thin-gauge steel workpiece to another steel workpiece is achieved by through the combined use of specific spot welding electrodes and a pulsating welding current. Each of the spot welding electrodes has a weld face that is smaller in diameter than a typical steel spot welding electrode. And the pulsating welding current that is used in conjunction with the smaller-sized spot welding electrodes includes at least two stages of electrical current pulses. | 12-18-2014 |
20150053654 | RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING STEEL AND ALUMINUM WORKPIECES USING ELECTRODE WELD FACE COVER - A method of resistance spot welding a steel workpiece and an aluminum or aluminum alloy (“aluminum”) workpiece together includes several steps. One step involves providing a workpiece stack-up with a steel workpiece and an aluminum workpiece. Another step involves attaching a cover over a weld face of a welding electrode. The cover is made of a metal material with an electrical resistivity that is greater than an electrical resistivity of a material of the welding electrode. Yet another step involves performing multiple individual resistance spot welds to the workpiece stack-up. The cover abuts the aluminum workpiece while the individual resistance spot welds are performed. And another step involves removing the cover from the welding electrode after the individual spot welds are performed. | 02-26-2015 |
20150053655 | MULTI-STEP DIRECT WELDING OF AN ALUMINUM-BASED WORKPIECE TO A STEEL WORKPIECE - A workpiece stack-up that includes at least a steel workpiece and an aluminum-based workpiece can be resistance spot welded by employing a multi-stage spot welding method in which the passage of electrical current is controlled to perform multiple stages of weld joint development. The multiple stages include: (1) a molten weld pool growth stage in which a molten weld pool is initiated and grown within the aluminum-based workpiece; (2) a molten weld pool solidification stage in which the molten weld pool is allowed to cool and solidify into a weld nugget that forms all or part of a weld joint; (3) a weld nugget re-melting stage in which at least a portion of the weld nugget is re-melted; and (4) a re-melted weld nugget solidification stage in which the re-melted portion of the weld nugget is allowed to cool and solidify. | 02-26-2015 |
20150083693 | RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING STEEL AND ALUMINUM WORKPIECES WITH HOT WELDING ELECTRODE AT ALUMINUM WORKPIECE - A method of resistance spot welding a steel workpiece to an aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece is disclosed. One step of the disclosed method involves providing a workpiece stack-up that includes a steel workpiece and an aluminum workpiece. Another step involves preheating the welding electrode that is meant to contact the aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece. Yet another step of the disclosed method involves pressing the preheated welding electrode and another welding electrode against opposite sides of the workpiece stack-up, with the preheated welding electrode abutting the aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece, and passing an electrical current between the two welding electrodes at a weld site to initiate and grow a molten weld pool within the aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece. | 03-26-2015 |
20150083694 | WELD ELECTRODE FOR ATTRACTIVE WELD APPEARANCE - A welding electrode for use in resistance spot welding an assembly of overlying metal workpieces that includes an aluminum alloy workpiece is disclosed. The welding electrode includes a body, a convex weld face at one end of the body, and ringed protrusions that project outwardly from the convex weld face. The ringed protrusions are positioned to make contact with, and indent into, a surface of the aluminum alloy workpiece when the convex weld face is pressed against the aluminum alloy workpiece during a spot welding event. When brought into contact with the surface of the aluminum alloy workpiece, the ringed protrusions disrupt the oxide film present on the aluminum alloy workpiece surface, which improves the spot welding process. | 03-26-2015 |