Based on your component, material and process requirements, various stud welding processes may be implemented.
This research employed K800 (8MnSi7 steel) threaded studs weighing 4.8 and K800 threaded studs welded onto RHS steel tubes and examined for mechanical properties such as weld thickness, Heat Affected Zone thickness and base metal via small punch tests and SPT. Six combinations of tube wall thicknesses and stud diameters were tested.
Electron Beam Welding
Electron beam welding differs from arc welding in that it uses strong electric fields to accelerate electrons at high speeds, producing large amounts of power. This high power density enables studs to be attached to various materials when properly prepared; that includes surfaces free from paint, rust, scale, grease or oil contamination.
Stud welding typically requires less than a second and can often be conducted without using filler material; however, maintaining its structural integrity still requires significant strength; consequently, welding often leaves thermal rear side markings known as tarnish points which vary in visibility depending on material thickness, energy input / stud diameter and other variables.
Image Industries recommends spraying on Weld-Thru Primer before welding to avoid tarnish point formation, designed specifically for use in stud welding applications and protecting metal from corrosion during welding processes. Image’s Smart Weld power supplies also feature an “Hammer Mode,” when activated it lifts and drops special pointed stud allowing its sharp tip to penetrate scaly, rusty or painted surfaces for good weld connections.
Capacitor Discharge Welding
Simply put, this process uses direct current electricity to form an arc between a stud and its parent material – whether threaded, plain, unthreaded – which then melts into a molten pool until its end can be forcibly foreced into it under pressure to complete bonding.
Capacitor discharge welding is one of the cleanest stud welding processes. Due to its minimal output of molten metal, capacitor discharge can be used on thinner materials than Drawn Arc (DA). Furthermore, its quick welding time results in higher tensile strengths of its weld zone than that achieved through DA welding processes.
To use this process, an operator needs only insert a grounding stud into a special quick-connect plug on a stud welding gun chuck, pull the trigger, and the grounding stud welds securely with parent material in less than 1/10 of a second – creating an economical yet strong weld solution.
Gap CD and Contact CD offer two variations of this process for welding studs to base material surfaces; their main difference being that Gap CD initiates the welding process after reaching its weld surface of base material, while Contact CD begins its welding at first contact between stud and workpiece.
Gas Metal Arc Welding
Engineers, manufacturers, and other professionals use stud welding equipment to fasten weld studs securely to a variety of metal items like switches, buttons, cover plates, handles, hatches, machinery guards, pipes and legs. This method allows fast and simple attachment to metals of varying thickness while producing strong welds in under a second – ideal for engineers, manufacturers and other professionals working in engineering, manufacturing or other professional fields.
Spring pressure presses a stud with ceramic ferrule against the workpiece, and then a welder gun triggers an electric arc to melt both ends of the fastener as well as some base metal. A ceramic arc shield helps focus heat for better welding quality.
GMAW welding can successfully join dissimilar metals, such as steel and aluminum, provided both materials have comparable melting points and are metallurgically compatible. Any large differences in thermal properties between materials could result in internal stresses leading to cracking at the weld zone, or the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds in the joint joint itself.
GMAW welding differs from CD welding in that it uses inert gases instead of pure gases such as nitrogen or helium, thus eliminating issues related to sputtering that can arise when employing these pure gases in certain applications. As such, it makes GMAW an excellent option for welding thick sections of metals including aluminum. Furthermore, its higher deposition rates and deeper penetration capabilities make GMAW ideal for thick section welding applications.
Shielded Metal Arc Welding
Shielded Metal Arc Welding, or SMAW, is used for repair welding and field fabrication applications in environments with limited equipment and resources. Stud welding utilizes an electric arc between an electrode stud and ferrous base metal which melts it and allows the weld stud to melt into it without the use of filler material.
Stud welding creates strong welds that provide structural support, yet remain flexible enough to meet various applications. It is an ideal choice for joining CD studs to panels, handles, covers, hatches, machinery guards, pipes and legs as well as various weld stud designs such as threaded, unthreaded and tapped weld studs that meet specific requirements for various items.
Success of welds depends on a combination of factors. These include selecting an appropriate device and gun, as well as configuring the process accordingly for your application. Sunbelt provides all of these solutions so you can produce high quality welds while using minimum energy resources.