1. Home
  2. ⚡ Welding Forums
  3. How do they do it?

How do they do it?

I am going to be working with small diameter rod and square steel. I see shopping carts that have incredibly even and strong joints on them.

How do they weld them together?

Do they put the wires on there, squeeze them together, then hit them with a jolt of electricity?

Is there an iron powder or flux in there like CadWeld?

Do they power them up, and the welding take place when contact is made?

Is there machinery available for the hobbyist to do this on a small basis, or do I need to use a TIG with a fine tip?

STeve

Reply to
SteveB
Loading thread data ...

most of your wire products are resistance welded with a clamping force to squeeze the weld

the clamps squeeze and electricity is applied , when the wire is of sufficient temprature the clamps squeeze just a bit more to fuse them together

resistance welders on the order of 200 to 600 kva are normal

i worked on one that had 12 2000kva welders on the machine to weld mats out of 2 inch rebar like material

very cool when these babies fired off

Reply to
williamhenry

Yes, I believe he is right. However the high voltage also enforces a magnetic field into the baskets making them attract to parked cars, especially new unscratched ones. :)

Scott

Reply to
Scott

I love to watch a cart start to tremble, start out from a dead stop, gain speed, and then the radar homing device kicks in drawing it at an ever faster speed towards the driver's door on that new YuppyMobile. I don't know where that homing device is located, but just as Desert Storm movies of the "smart bombs", they are fascinating to watch work.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Thanks, that explains were the dents in my door came from. I would have never thought the baskets to be magnetic.

Glenn

Reply to
m5bmw

Have you considered braze welding?

Bob S.

Reply to
Robert Scibienski

I have seen that trembling before. It is the anticipation of something FUN and EXCITING:)

Reply to
Young

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.