02-12-2021, 07:18 PM
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MetalShaper of the Month October '14 , April '16, July 2020, Jan 2023
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Western Sierra Nevadas, Badger Hill, CA
Posts: 4,388
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bibbt
Bob,
You were right on the money about my tips having too small a contact area. I went back to my standard pointed tips which had an estimated contact surface of about 5/32" and I ground them down to where they now have an approximate contact area of 3/8". It made all the difference in the world! Weld time is about 1/4 second. I have attached 2 photos of my test strip showing front and back. Per your instructions I did a test to see if I could tear the weld apart and I couldn't. I think with a little more fine tuning I can make them even better. In the end, this will all be worth it because being able to spot weld this part together instead of using a hollow eyelet will be fewer steps and less labor and is also stronger.
I will have to say that setting this up is more tedious than I expected. Getting a really nice, symmetrical weld nugget or "spot" isn't easy on this thin material. I think I'm used to seeing spot welds on high production items that are done with sophisticated/automated spot welding equipment. In the photos, there are 3 welds near the left edge that were my final welds. The one on the far right edge was my first one that I tried to tear apart. Please take a look at my latest attempt and tell me what you think.
Thanks,
Bibb in San Antonio
, Attachment 58775
Attachment 58776
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Getting better.
__________________
Kent
http://www.tinmantech.com
"All it takes is a little practical experience to blow the he!! out of a perfectly good theory." --- Lloyd Rosenquist, charter member AWS, 1919.
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