Joining Methods 1 Welding 2 Adhesive bonding 3

Joining Methods: 1. Welding 2. Adhesive bonding 3. Mechanical fastening

Spot Welding – Form of resistance welding done with a spot welder. – High current at a low voltage passes through a spot on two pieces of metal (usually sheet metal) for a short period of time. – Resistance to the flow of current through the metal at the spot causes heat, which melts the metal and makes a spot weld. – Most frequently used to weld metal joints but sometimes used to weld sheet metal to small diameter rods or small flat bars.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process that uses a nonconsumable tool to join two facing workpieces without melting the workpiece material. [1] Heat is generated by friction between the rotating tool and the workpiece material, which leads to a softened region near the FSW tool. While the tool is traversed along the joint line, it mechanically intermixes the two pieces of metal, and forges the hot and softened metal by the mechanical pressure, which is applied by the tool.

Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding MIG welding is an arc welding process in which a continuous solid wire electrode is fed through a welding gun and into the weld pool, joining the two base materials together. A shielding gas is also sent through the welding gun and protects the weld pool from contamination.

Adhesive bonding involves the formation of a load-carrying element connecting the joined components. The material in the cured adhesive bond (plastic or rubber) is not as strong as aluminium. In practice, however, this can be easily compensated by providing a larger contact surface. An optimal joint design for adhesion is therefore an overlap configuration of sufficient width.

[3] Blake, D. M. : Cold Working Effects on Mechanical Properties in Sheet Metal Joining for Automotive Applications. Master Thesis, Washington State University, School of Engineering and Computer Science, 2006.