The article discusses the assessment of electrode consumption during spot resistance welding processes. The process was performed using a manipulator provided with a welding head. During the process, welding parameters, environmental conditions and the material subjected to welding remained unchanged. The tests involved the performance of five welding cycles including the making of 100, 500, 1 000, 2 000 and 4 000 welds. Afterwards, to compare the consumption of six sets of electrodes, both used and not used in individual cycles, it was necessary to perform metallographic tests and hardness measurements. The tests revealed that the consumption of electrodes, leading to the lack of penetration in the central area of the weld, resulted from progressive recrystallization in the work area and from physical failure manifested by discontinuities having the form of intercrystalline cracks.

doi: 10.17729/ebis.2017.5/4