Stud welding is an efficient fastening method suitable for many different applications, as it eliminates secondary operations like drilling and tapping to save both time and money.
Once inserted into a suitable stud welding gun, when its trigger is activated, stored energy is released to melt both the base of the stud and some of its parent metal sheet, creating an instant weld with no distortion or reverse side discoloration.
Corrosion Resistance
Choose the appropriate weld stud to ensure optimal performance and longevity of any end product. From stoppers and locators to handles, a weld stud’s material, size and welding process all play an integral part in its load-bearing capacity, corrosion resistance and overall lifespan.
Corrosion is an ongoing and costly problem affecting industries and infrastructure worldwide, estimated at an estimated annual cost of $3 trillion to the global economy. Selecting an effective stud solution is essential to keeping operations running efficiently for businesses that value efficient operations.
Material selection should be the top priority when it comes to weld stud selection. Each alloy offers different properties, each offering their own advantages and disadvantages; mild steel offers low costs while stainless steel boasts superior strength and corrosion resistance; depending on the environment you need your weld stud for, different materials may also be required for optimal use.
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) occurs more commonly in environments that contain low levels of nickel than those containing higher nickel content, like AL6XN alloys, while more severe environments need higher nickel alloys like AL6XN alloys with greater nickel content like AL8XN for optimal performance. Furthermore, welding process temperatures may cause the alloys to oxidize at their weld zone and form chromium carbides which decrease corrosion resistance further.
Strength
Stainless steel weld studs combine the strength of threaded fasteners with full cross sectional welding to provide extra attachment strength and prevent failure. In addition, they eliminate the need for drilling holes during installation time to speed up installation times while increasing accuracy.
Weld studs are manufactured using ASTM-A 164-55 RS or BS-B 308 grade low carbon and/or stainless steel and possessing a minimum tensile strength of 100,000 PSI. Customers may request unthreaded or threaded versions as per customer preference; all are plated with copper for mild steel versions and nickel/zinc plating for stainless steel ones (plated copper for mild steel, nickel/zinc for stainless). They may be annealed if required in order to meet weld base dimensions as specified; additionally they come flux loaded for arc welding applications.
Capacitor Discharge (CD) weld studs can be attached to thin gauge parent metal with the aid of an arc shield (ferrule). After energy storage has been released through a special “timing” tip, which forces it down into a pool of molten metal in the base material and completes the weld cycle in less than one second, the cycle can be complete again.
These weld studs can be used on most steel materials, but are especially well suited for weldable stainless steels and aluminium alloys with higher yield strength, excellent elevated temperature resistance, and immunity to carbide precipitation.
Durability
Material choice of weld studs has a major effect on their load-bearing capabilities and resistance to corrosion, as well as shaping or configuring them to suit specific welding circumstances. Stainless steel studs are particularly durable, offering many different treatments to meet specific applications – drawing arc welding as well as capacitor discharge welding (CD).
Weld stud durability depends heavily upon its type of weld used. A full cross-sectional weld provides more secure connection and is stronger than peripheral welding used on bolts; thus ensuring it can support full loads and also withstand vibration or impact stress.
Durability can be increased when weld studs are made from corrosion-resistant alloys such as stainless weld studs. Mild steel to super duplex stainless steel weld studs can be found here to suit virtually every application.
Weld studs offer numerous advantages over traditional bolts when it comes to installation time. No drilling or tapping of holes are needed on the workpiece base and weld studs can be placed and welded at high rates, increasing production.
Threading
Stainless steel offers superior heat and fire resistance, making it an excellent material to weld with. However, improper preheating, control and monitoring can result in distortion, warping or residual stress in the weld area; to minimize these issues use proper welding technique, preheating control measures and postweld heat treatments as part of postweld heat treatments.
Weld studs offer an alternative to standard bolts that requires drilling to secure its head; their cross-sectional weld secures it from both sides, eliminating leakage risk while eliminating the need for holes which weaken structural integrity of applications. Furthermore, their unique design enables users to achieve a high torque without twisting of fasteners.
Capacitor Discharge (CD) welding is a semi-automatic welding method commonly employed to attach smaller diameter fasteners to extremely thin base metals. Utilizing a ceramic ferrule that retains and captures the weld heat, this welding technique enables dissimilar metals to be joined without distortion or burn-through during weld cycles. CD welding cycle completion occurs within milliseconds to produce strong and consistent welds without noticeable distortion or burn through.
Complete Stud Welding offers both imperial and metric threaded weld studs with coarse thread sizes up to 3.5″, as well as fine thread sizes of up to 3g in both inches and grams. Complete Stud Welding uses only rolled, not cut threads which produce superior thread quality compared to cut type threaded weld studs; both UNC and UNF classes of fit threads can be purchased as well as length specifications before and after welding (for instance: the following are examples:). Lengths before and after welds (for inches: 3.55″, and fine thread sizes available up to 3g in grams) are provided; thread quality exceeds those produced using cut type cut weld studs when considering both dimensions prior to weld, as follows: