# Resistance Spot Welding

https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/welding/resistance-spot-welding

Resistance spot welding fuses overlapping sheets at single points by pressing them between two electrodes while current passes through them, with no filler. K-Display, in Chicago, spot welds steel panels, stiffeners, and brackets, then fits hardware, coats, or assembles them.

## Overview
The current meets the most resistance where the two sheets touch, so the heat builds there and fuses a small region of both into a weld nugget. The electrodes keep pressing while the nugget solidifies. We supply steel panels, stiffeners, and brackets spot welded, then fitted with hardware, powder coated, or assembled. MIG and TIG welding uses an electric arc to lay a continuous bead of filler metal along a joint, and it joins stainless steel and aluminum as well as steel.

## Materials
- Steel

## Production volume
Best fit depends on joint repetition, electrode access, material combination, and quantity.

## Applications
- Hat-section stiffeners on cabinet panels, each a raised crown with a flat foot on each side, held to the panel by spots along the feet.
- Reinforcement channels on sectional door panels, spot welded behind each hardware location to the outer sheet.
- Rails and panels in card cages, spot welded where they overlap to hold the frame together.

## Process
- Form the overlapping foot: We cut the panel and the stiffener or bracket, and form the flat foot or flange that will overlap the panel.
- Seat the overlap: We lay the foot flat on the panel and clamp it between the electrodes at each spot location.
- Weld the spots: We weld the spots one at a time along the foot, and the electrodes hold the sheets together until each nugget sets.
- Fit hardware, coat, and assemble: We press the nuts and studs into the welded part before it is powder coated, fit hinges, latches, and handles after the cure, and ship the part welded, coated, or built into a unit.

## Design considerations
Both faces of an overlap need room for an electrode tip, and a closed box section has no way in for one. Draw the overlap on an open flat flange and we spot weld it; a joint inside a closed section goes to MIG or TIG welding from the open side. Current takes the shortest path, so a spot close to an earlier spot, a bend, or an edge sends current through the metal beside it, and the new weld comes out weaker or the edge deforms. Draw the spots apart from each other and clear of edges and bends, and we weld them at that spacing. Each electrode presses a shallow mark into the outer face it touche…

## FAQ
**Does spot welding create a continuous seam?**
No. Resistance spot welding creates individual weld nuggets at defined locations. A sealed or continuous joint requires a different joint and welding approach.

**Will spot welding leave surface marks?**
Electrode contact can leave visible indentation or marking. Identify critical cosmetic faces and acceptable appearance requirements on the drawing.

**What should a spot-welding RFQ include?**
Send the assembly and part drawings, revision, material and coating, sheet thickness, quantities, spot locations and spacing, access constraints, appearance requirements, and finish specification.

## Related pages
- [MIG & TIG Welding](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/welding/mig-tig-welding)
- [Sheet Metal Forming & Bending](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/cutting-forming/forming)
- [Powder Coating](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/finishing/powder-coating)
- [Tack Welding](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/welding/tack-welding)
- [Custom Sectional Door Panel Components](https://kdisplay.com/products/door-access-systems/door-panels-sections)
- [Custom Chassis & Card Cages](https://kdisplay.com/products/chassis-cabinets/chassis-card-cages)