Title of Invention: Spot Welding Method
Technical Field
[OOOl] The present invention relates to a spot welding
method for joining a plurality of superposed steel
sheets.
Background Art
[0002] In the past, the main welding method in the
automobile field has been spot welding. Steel sheets have
been joined by spot welding to assemble the chassis and
produce parts.
[0003] For example, in an automobile chassis, mild
steel sheet excellent in shapeability and paintability
has been used for outside panel parts with high design
property. High strength steel sheet has been used for
frame parts for ensuring inside strength and rigidity.
Usually, mild steel sheet with a relatively thin sheet
thickness and high strength steel sheet with a relatively
thick sheet thickness are applied.
[00041 Therefore, portions arise where thin mild steel
sheet and thick high strength steel sheet are joined by
spot welding. At this time, sometimes the nugget (weld
metal) is not sufficiently formed at the interface
between the thin sheet and thick sheet.
[0005] PLT 1 proposes joining a plurality of steel
sheets by resistance spot welding during which performing
the resistance spot welding in two stages and performing
the second stage of welding by a higher pressing force,
lower current or same current, and longer conduction time
or same conduction compared with the first stage of
welding.
[00061 However, with the method of PLT 1, the presslng
force at the time of the first stage of welding is low,
so there is a sheet gap between the steel sheets (gap
between steel sheets). Further, if the sheet thickness
ratio (=total sheet thickness (mm)/thinnest sheet
thickness (rnrn)) is large, sometimes a nugget is not
sufficiently formed at the interface of a thin sheet and
thick sheet a.nd the desired joint strength cannot be
5 obtained.
[00071 PLT 2 proposes a resistance welding method of
high strength steel sheet for resistance welding a
plurality of superposed steel sheets including at least
one high strength steel sheet. Specifically, it proposes
10 a resistance welding method of high strength steel sheet
comprising a first step of running current to form a
nugget having a nugget size of 3dt to 5dt (t: smallest
sheet thickness of steel sheets (mm)), a second step of
then lowering the welding current, and a third step of
15 then running a welding current larger than the welding
current of the first step to enlarge the nugget.
[OOOS] In the method of PLT 2, the pressing force is
increased in the second step, but if there is a sheet gap
and the sheet thickness ratio is high, it is difficult to
2 0 secure the desired nugget size.
[0009] PLT 3 proposes a resistance welding method of
steel sheet for resistance welding a plurality of
superposed steel sheets including at least one high
strength steel sheet. Specifically, it proposes a
2 5 resistance welding method of high strength steel sheet
comprising a first step of running current to form a
nugget having a predetermined nugget size, a second step
of then lowering the welding current, and a third step of
then further running a welding current larger than the
30 welding current of the first step and imparting a
pressing force larger than the pressing force of the
first step to enlarge the nugget.
[OOlOl In the method of PLT 3, to enlarge the nugget,
at the third step, a pressing force larger than the
35 pressing force of the first step is imparted, but in the
same way as the method of PLT 2, if there is a sheet gap
and the sheet thickness ratio is high, it is difficult to
secure the desired nugget size.
[ OOll] PLT 4 proposes a method of spot welding three
or more steel sheets having a gap G (<2(mm)) between
steel sheets by multistage conduction comprising
performing first conduction by upslope conduction then
performing second conduction by the required conduction
time and current value.
[OOl2] In the method of PLT 4, the current of the
second stage is made smaller than the maximum current of
the first stage, so the interface between a thin sheet
and thick sheet is insufficiently melted, a predetermined
shape of nugget is not obtained, and the desired joint
strength sometimes cannot be obtained.
[0013] In this way, when superposing a plurality of
steel sheets with a sheet gap and a high sheet thickness
ratio, it is difficult to sufficiently melt the contact
interface of a thin steel sheet and a thick steel sheet
and sufficiently form the nugget and sometimes the
desired joint strength cannot be obtained.
Citation List
Patent Literature
[0014] PLT 1. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-
262259A
PLT 2. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-207909A
PLT 3. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-247215A
PLT 4. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-188752A
Summary of Invention
Technical Problem
[0015] In automobile members, in many cases steel
sheets not only different in sheet thickness, but also
different in strength such as mild steel excellent in
paintability and shapeability and high strength steel are
superposed and spot welded (resistance welded). (The
plurality of superposed steel sheets is called a "set of
sheets".) That is, thin sheets and thick sheets and mild
steel and high strength steel are complicatedly assembled
and welded. In automobile members, steel sheets pressed
into various shapes are used. However, elastic
deformation called "springback" occurs after the pressforming.
In particular, in high strength steel, the
springback is large and the sheet gap becomes large when
5 superposing steel sheets. When superposing and assemblinq
steel sheets, sometimes a sheet gap of as much as 2 mm or
so is formed. In spot welding, if the sheet gap is large
and the pressing force is not sufficient, the contact
area of the steel sheets before conduction becomes
10 smaller. In this case, the conduction path becomes
narrow, that is, the current density becomes high, so
there is the problem that melting rapidly proceeds
locally and expulsion occurs.
[00161 On the other hand, if spot welding a plurality
15 of superposed steel sheets, usually a nugget is formed at
the approximate center in the sheet thickness direction.
The main reason is that the more heat is removed by the
spot welding electrode and the closer to the electrode,
the more the temperature falls. Therefore, if placing a
2 0 steel sheet with a thin sheet thickness at the electrode
side, it becomes difficult to form a nugget at the
interface between the thin sheet and adjoining steel
sheet.
[0017] In the case of an automobile member, there are
25 portions where the thin mild steel sheet is arranged at
the surface. The spot weldability with the high strength
steel arranged adjoining it is becoming a problem. That
is, the problem is the greatest when the sheet thickness
ratio (sum of sheet thicknesses of superposed steel
30 sheets/sheet thickness of thinnest steel sheet) is large
and the steel sheet with the thinnest sheet thickness is
arranged at the electrode side in the spot welding. PLTs
2 and 3 propose a conduction pattern of three steps when
spot welding high strength steel. That is, preliminary
35 conduction (first step) is used to secure the contact
area of the steel sheets and eliminate expulsion at the
initial stage of conduction. Conduction lowering the
welding current (second step) and further conduction
raising the welding current from the first step (third
step) suppress inside expulsion occurring from the
intermediate period to late period of the conduction.
However, the sheet thickness is not recognized as a
problem. The problem in the case of a large sheet
thickness ratio cannot be solved.
[OOlE] PLT 4 proposes a spot welding method when there
is a sheet gap and arranging a steel sheet with a thin
sheet thickness at the electrode side, but the welding
current at the second conduction is lowered, so it is not
possible to secure a suitable nugget size. Also, the
welding time becomes longer, so this is not practical.
[0019] The present invention has as its problem to
solve these problems.
That is, it has as its problem to obtain a suitable
welded joint in spot welding a plurality of superposed
steel sheets even when the gap between steel sheets
(sheet gap) is as much as 2 mm or so and further the
sheet thickness ratio (sum of sheet thicknesses of
superposed steel sheets/sheet thickness of thinnest steel
sheet) is large. In particular, the invention has as its
object application to an automobile member and as its
object provision of spot welding enabling application
even when arranging a relatively thin steel sheet at the
outermost layer (electrode-most side).
Solution to Problem
[0020] The inventors studied in depth the solution to
the prob1em.A~ a result, they obtained the following
discoveries.
[0021] (a) They considered the mechanism of formation
of a nugget in spot welding and discovered a conduction
pattern enabling the suitable formation of a nugget
without expulsion.
Preliminary conduction: Conduction method promoting
contact between steel sheets and reducing sheet gap by
gradually increasing the welding current (for example,
upslope conduction). If rapidly applying current, current
would be locally carried and that part would rapidly melt
resulting in expulsion, so this is a conduction method
gradually running current (for example upslope
5 conduction) to avoid local heating.
First conduction: Conduction method running a high
and constant welding current while using the heat
generated by the electrical contact resistance between
steel sheets to melt a thin sheet and thick sheet so as
10 to suppress expulsion under conditions where preliminary
conduction secures a certain contact area between the
steel sheets and contact resistance remains.
Second conduction: Conduction method making the
current lower than the first conduction to suppress
15 inside expulsion while making the nugget grow mainly in
the diametrical direction.
Third conduction: Conduction method making the
current higher than the second conduction and making the
nugget grow not only in the diametrical direction, but
2 0 also especially in the sheet thickness direction when the
nugget size becomes a certain extent of size at the
second conduction step.
[0022] (b) The inventors conducted numerous
experiments to try to define conduction times and current
2 5 values in the different conductions using the sheet
thicknesses and sheet gaps of the steel sheets as
parameters. As a result, they were able to define
suitable conduction times and welding currents in spot
welding of steel sheets.
30 Note that, the "conduction time" is defined by the number
of cycles corresponding to the frequency of the
alternating current power supply. The amount of input
heat is proportional to the integral of the input current
values. These depend on the frequency of the alternating
35 current power supply. For example, if a 50Hz alternating
current power source, 1 cycle = 1/50 seconds.
[0023] Preliminary conduction
tu>2xTa%Tg
where, Ta: average sheet thickness (mm)
(average sheet thickness Ta is defined by the value
found by divi'ding the sum of the sheet thicknesses by 2)
5 Tg: maximum value of sheet gap (mm)
tu: preliminary conduction time (cycles).
The units of sheet thickness and sheet gap are mm
(same below).
The current value is at the most the same as the
10 current at the first conduction.
[0024] First conduction
lltl17xTa
where, tl: constant conduction time of first conduction
(cycles)
15 11110d(Ta) +2
where, I1 is current value at first conduction, units of
kA .
[0025] Second conduction
lSt2
2 0 where, t2: second conduction time (cycles)
121104 (Ta)
where, I2 is current value at second conduction, units of
kA .
[00261 Third conduction
25 5xTait3115xTa
where, t3: third conduction time (cycles)
10I/(Ta)< 13
where, I3 is current value at third conduction, units of
kA .
30 [0027] (c) When promoting nugget growth in the third
conduction, rapid promotion of growth would be
accompanied with the occurrence of expulsion. Therefore,
in the third conduction as well, the inventors discovered
that by setting a gradually increasing conduction pattern
35 (for example, upslope conduction), it is possible to
suppress the occurrence of expulsion while promoting the
growth of the nugget.
KO0281 (d) The inventors discovered that when growing
the nugget, rather -than by controlling just the current,
it is possible to form a more suitable nugget by changing
5 the pressing force by the electrodes along with the
nugget growth.
In particular, the inventors discovered that by lowering
the pressing force at the time of the third conduction,
it is possible to weaken the cooling by the electrodes
10 and promote nugget growth in the sheet thickness
direction (electrode direction). However, lowering the
pressing force too much leads to the occurrence of
expulsion, so it is preferable to make the pressing force
1/2 or more of the pressing force in the first conduction
15 or second conduction.
[0029] (e) Furthermore, the inventors discovered that
if providing a cooling step (time) between the first
conduction step and second conduction step and/or between
the second conduction step and third conduction step, the
2 0 weld zone as a whole is cooled and nugget growth can be
suppressed once so as to be effective in suppression of
expulsion.
[0030] The present invention was made based on the
above discoveries and has as its gist the following:
2 5 (1) A spot welding method joining a plurality of
superposed steel sheets, the spot welding method
comprising
a preliminary conduction step of gradually applying
current,
30 a first conduction step of running a constant current at
a current value 11,
a second conduction step next running current at a
current value 12, and further
a third conduction step of running current at a current
3 5 value 13, wherein
I1>I2 and I2<13,
where the units of 11, 12, and I3 are kA.
(2) The spot welding method according to (1) wherein a
sheet thickness ratio comprised of a ratio of a total of
the sheet thicknesses of the plurality of steel sheets
and a sheet thickness of the steel sheet with the
5 thinnest sheet thickness among the plurality of steel
sheets is 4.5 or more.
(3) The spot welding method according to (1) or (2)
wherein the plurality of steel sheets are superposed so
that the steel sheet with the thinnest sheet thickness
10 becomes the outermost side.
(4) The spot welding method according to any one of (1)
to (3) wherein the preliminary conduction step makes a
welding current increase by upslope conduction.
(5) The spot welding method according to any one of (1)
15 to (3) wherein the preliminary conduction step is
pulsation conduction.
(6) The spot welding method according to (4) wherein a
conduction time of the upslope conduction of the
preliminary conduction step is 1 to 30 cycles.
2 0 (7) The spot welding method according to (5) wherein a
conduction time of the pulsation conduction of the
preliminary conduction step is 1 to 10 cycles and an
idling time is 1 to 5 cycles.
(8) The spot welding method according to any one of (1)
2 5 to (7) wherein when designating a conduction time of the
preliminary conduction step as tu, designating a
conduction time of the first conduction step as tl,
designating an average sheet thickness of a value found
by dividing the sum of the sheet thicknesses of the steel
3 0 sheets by 2 as Ta, and designating a maximum value of the
sheet gap comprised of the gap between steel sheets as
Tg, the following relationships are satisfied:
t u 2 2 ~ a ~ ~ g ,
l
12) is run during the time
t3. Melting of the steel sheets is further promoted by
conduction by the current I3 and time t3, that is,
enlargement of the nugget (enlargement in both of lateral
direction and sheet thickness direction) is promoted.
Contact and melting of the steel sheets proceed until the
end of the second conduction step, that is, the
conduction area sufficiently increases (current density
falls), so the level of current I3 where expulsion occurs
rises. Therefore, I3 can be made larger than 12.
roo521 Furthermore, the inventors studied 13. That is,
the current I3 should be set in the range where the
nugget shape can be enlarged to the desired shape without
causing expulsion. The inventors discovered that the
current 13 should be set considering the average sheet
thickness si.nce there is an effect. of the tol:al sheet
thickness. As a result, it was learned that preferably
13>10d(~a). The upper limit of I3 does not have to be
particularly limited. It is sufficient to set it so that
no expulsjon occurs in spot welding.
[0053] The sum of the conduction time t2 and the
conduction time t3 (t2+t3) is an important indicator in
terms of the contact between the steel sheets and growth
of the nugget. Usually, in spot welding two sheets, it is
known that at about lOxTa (cycles) or 10xTa+2 (cycles),
the temperature rise tends to become saturated. The
inventors sought the relationship between the average
sheet thickness and the conduction time from this
viewpoint. As a result, they discovered that it is
sufficient to make the total conduction time of t2 and t3
5Ta to 15Ta. If the total conduction time of t2 and t3 is
shorter than 5Ta, since the nugget does not sufficiently
grow, suitable spot welding cannot be obtained. On the
other hand, if the total conduction time between t2 and
t3 is longer than 15Ta, the temperature distribution
becomes substantially steady, the nugget size becomes
saturated, and the productivity ends up falling.
[0054] On the other hand, the second conduction step
may be made longer, but the speed of growth of the nugget
slows by the relatively small amount of the welding
current. For this reason, there is a possibility that the
welding time for obtain suitable spot welding will become
longer. For this reason, t3 may be made longer than t2.
[0055] At the third conduction step, the object is to
make the nugget grow. It is particularly important to
make it grow in the sheet thickness direction. Therefore,
by not rapid heating, but by making the amount of heat
input gradually increase in the same way as the
preliminary heating, it is possible to suppress the
occurrence of expulsion. The method of gradually
increasing the input heat amount is not particularly
limited, but it is preferable to make the welding current
5 increase by upslope conduction. For example, the third
conduction current I3 may be made a function of the
conduction time. For example, by making it a primary
function of the conduction time, a monotonously
increasing upslope conduction pattern is obtained (FIG. 6
10 and FIG. 7) .
[0056] By making the third conduction step upslope
conduction, it is possible to gradually grow a nugget, so
this can also serve as the second conduction step. That
is, in this case, it is possible to make the second
15 conduction step a short time. For example, it is possible
to make t2=1 (cycle).
100571 Furthermore, the inventors discovered that when
making the nugget grow in the sheet thickness direction,
it is sufficient to reduce the cooling effect by the
2 0 electrodes. That is, the electrode itself is watercooled,
so the temperature in the sheet thickness
direction becomes lowest at the parts in contact with the
electrode. For this reason, the nugget is difficult to
grow in the sheet thickness direction.
2 5 [0058] Therefore, the inventors discovered that when
making the nugget grow in the sheet thickness direction
in the third conduction step, by decreasing the pressing
force by the electrodes and decreasing the contact area
between the electrodes and steel sheets to raise the
30 current density and simultaneously weaken the cooling
effect by the electrodes, the nugget grows more
effectively in the sheet thickness direction as well
(FIG. 5 and FIG. 7). The lower limit value of the
pressing force along with the decrease in the pressing
3 5 force is not particularly limited. However, if making the
pressing force decrease too much, expulsion occurs, so
the pressing force is preferably made half (1/2) of
before the decrease or more. That is, if designating the
pressing force before decreasing the pressing force, that
is, at the first conduction step and the second
conduction step, as P1 and the pressing force after
5 decreas~nq it P2, the presslng force should be
1/2PlSP212 and I2<13,
where the units of 11, 12, and I3 are kA.
Claim 2.
The spot welding method according to claim 1
wherein a sheet thickness ratio comprised of a ratio of a
total of the sheet thicknesses of said plurality of steel
2 0 sheets and a sheet thickness of the steel sheet with the
thinnest sheet thickness among said plurality of steel
sheets is 4.5 or more.
Claim 3.
The spot welding method according to claim 1 or
25 2 wherein said plurality of steel sheets are superposed
so that the steel sheet with the thinnest sheet thickness
becomes the outermost side.
Claim 4.
The spot welding method according to any one of
3 0 claims 1 to 3 wherein said preliminary conduction step
makes a welding current increase by upslope conduction.
Claim 5.
The spot welding method according to any one of
claims 1 to 3 wherein said preliminary conduction step is
35 pulsation conduction.
Claim 6.
The spot welding method according to claim 4
wherein a conduction time of the upslope conduction of
said preliminary conduction step is 1 to 30 cycles.
Claim 7.
The. spot welding method according to claim 5
5 wherein a conduction time of the pulsation conduction of
said preliminary conduction step is 1 to 10 cycles and an
idling time is 1 to 5 cycles.
Claim 8.
The spot welding method according to any one of
10 claims 1 to 7 wherein when designating a conduction time
of the preliminary conduction step as tu, designating a
conduction time of said first conduction step as ti,
designating an average sheet thickness of a value found
by dividing the sum of the sheet thicknesses of the steel
15 sheets by 2 as Ta, and designating a maximum value of the
sheet gap comprised of the gap between steel sheets as
Tg, the following relationships are satisfied:
tu>2~a'T~,
iStil7Ta, and
11<10d(Ta) +2
where, the units of tu and tl are the numbers
of cycles of alternating current applied and
the units of Ta and Tg are mm.
Claim 9.
The spot welding method according to claim 8
wherein when designating a conduction time of said second
conduction step as t2, the following relationships are
satisfied:
lit2 and
30 125104 ( ~ a )
where, the units of t2 are the numbers of
cycles of alternating current applied.
Claim 10.
The spot welding method according to claim 8 or
3 5 9 wherein when designating a conduction time of said
third conduction step as t3, the following relationships
are satisfied:
5Ta