This is a comprehensive practical resource for automotive engineers and technicians who work with modern spot welding equipment and automotive materials.

The early chapters of this book provide thorough coverage of resistance spot welding fundamentals and principles. Topics covered include lobe and current range curves, contact resistance vs. electrode force, dynamic resistance, heat balance, nugget growth, etc. Equipment issues such as machine types, power supplies, and electrodes are addressed. Subsequent chapters focus on specific spot welding challenges to modern automotive manufacturing. Approaches to welding modern materials including advanced high-strength steels, coated steels, and aluminum alloys are covered in much detail. The final chapters focus on many common production and quality control issues, such as electrode wear, monitoring and testing, computational modeling, and welding codes.