Spot Welding Design Guidelines

Issue XVII, Feb 2016

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 We are pleased to share another issue of DFM Guidebook.

In this issue we will cover some basic design guidelines for spot welding.

Spot welding is the most reliable and economical process for joining together two or more metal
sheets, stampings or assemblies. It is commonly used for parts that are up to 3 mm in thickness.

The designers of spot weldments must consider these simple design guidelines to attain the
desired weld strength and improve the cost and quality of the weld.

Here are some of the guidelines on spot welding you can read in this issue:
.
 Spot Weld Spacing
 Spot Weld Overlap Region
 Spot Weld Tool Clearance
 Spot Weld To Edge Distance
 Weld Nut To Edge Clearance

If you have any feedback or questions on DFM guidebook, please write to us at

info@dfmpro.com

Rahul Rajadhyaksha
Senior Product Manager
Geometric Limited

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 Contents
Spot Weld Spacing .................................................................................................. 6
Spot Weld Overlap Region ...................................................................................... 7
Spot Weld Tool Clearance ....................................................................................... 8
Spot Weld To Edge Distance ................................................................................... 9
Weld Nut To Edge Clearance ................................................................................ 10

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 Spot Weld Spacing

Recommended spacing between two spot welds should be followed to achieve good strength,
stiffness and energy absorption.

Distance between two spot welds depends on the sheet thickness and material. Narrow spacing
between two consecutive spot welds should be avoided to achieve good weld strength.

It is recommended that distance between two spot welds should be a minimum of 10 times the
material thickness.

t = Thickness
P = Pitch

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 Spot Weld Overlap Region
Sufficient overlap of individual sheets being spot welded is necessary to obtain adequate joint
strength and for use of standard electrodes.
Appropriate weld overlap length is necessary to get:
 Good dimensional accuracy and reliable production
 Joining several metallic materials and sheets of different thicknesses together without
large deformations.

It is recommended that spot weld overlap region should be more than 8 mm in diameter.
However it can vary based on material and sheet thickness.

D = Overlap Region
R = Half of overlap Region
C = Minimum Distance

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 Spot Weld Tool Clearance

Sufficient clearance around the spot weld should be maintained to avoid the interference of weld
gun with the parts in the vicinity of the spot weld.

Maintaining this clearance will result in achieving process ability and workability in application of
spot welds.

It is recommended that spot weld tool clearance should be more than 3.0 mm and clearance
should be provided around the shank of the weld tool.

L = Shank Length
D = Shank Diameter
L1 = Tip Length
C= Shank Clearance

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 Spot Weld To Edge Distance

Sufficient spacing between weld to edge of part feature should be maintained so that the
electrodes can make proper contact with the surfaces being joined without shifting to the
adjacent wall.

Inadequate distance may lead to poor-quality in weld and result in distortion of the parts being
joined.

It is recommended that the minimum distance from center of spot weld center to edge = 2 x
Sport Weld Diameter.

Also spot weld to edge distance should be more than 6.0 mm.

D = Distance between center of spot weld to neighboring edges of component

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 Weld Nut to Edge Clearance

Weld nuts are used to weld additional objects, components or assemblies

The distance between the weld nuts to any neighboring edge should be sufficient for the tool to
enter and perform the required weld operation.

It is recommended that the minimum distance between weld nut and neighboring edge should
greater than 3 mm.

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