A system managing a polishing state of tips of a welding gun of each welding robot installed in a production line of a vehicle includes: a robot controller storing tip polishing data including the number of polishing of the tips and a polishing amount of the tips generated after each tip dressing of the welding gun; and a server collecting the tip polishing data from the robot controller to store the collected data according to robot identification information of the robot and learning the store data through artificial neural network to generate reference data determining the polishing state of the tips corresponding to the robot identification information. The robot controller sets artificial neural network of the robot based on the reference data and determines whether a polishing state of the tips according to the number of polishing and the polishing amount of the tips is normal.

A controller includes an operating command generation unit for controlling at least one of a first drive source for applying pressure to an electrode, a second drive source for driving a polishing tool for polishing the electrode, and a third drive source for changing the position and/or orientation of one in relation to the other of the electrode and the polishing tool, and changing an operating command for the first drive source or at least one of the third drive source and the second drive source to be peak-shaped and valley-shaped in the course of at least one cycle of operation of the polishing tool.

A welding electrode for an electric resistance welding process. The welding electrode includes a body extending along a center axis and terminating axially at a weld face for contacting a work face. The weld face defines a center along the axis and defines an outer edge spaced radially from the center. A plurality of senates are defined along the weld face. Each of the serrates projects axially away from the weld face and extends radially from the center axis to the outer edge of the weld face. A higher density of the plurality of serrates is formed proximate to the center axis than proximate to the outer circumference of the weld face. Methods for using the welding electrode and forming the senates on the welding electrode are also provided.

An electrode cap and adapter assembly includes a cap having a useful life line inscribed thereon. The cap may be either a circumferentially configured internally finned cap or a self-dressing internally finned cap. The male/female adapter is used to mount a female cap to a male shank.

A welding electrode and a method of using the welding electrode for resistance spot welding are disclosed. The welding electrode includes a body and a weld face. The weld face includes a central dome portion and a shoulder portion that surrounds the central dome portion and extends from an outer circumference of the weld face upwardly and radially inwardly to the central dome portion. The central dome portion has a series of radially-spaced ringed ridges that project outwardly from a base dome face surface. The series of radially-spaced ringed ridges on the central dome portion includes an innermost ringed ridge and an outermost ringed ridge. The outermost ringed ridge on the central dome portion has a radial inner side surface and a radial outer side surface. The radial outer side surface extends below the base dome face surface down to the shoulder portion of the weld face.

A chip scattering prevention cover (1) is attached to a head portion (6b) of a rotary cutter (6). The cover (1) includes an annular portion (1a) configured to be detachably fitted over an outer peripheral edge of the head portion (6b), and a plate portion (1b) extending inwardly of the annular portion (1a) from an inner circumference portion of the annular portion (1a). The plate portion (1b) is configured to cover a region of a cutout gap (6e) of the rotary cutter (6) corresponding to the head portion (6b) with the annular portion (1a) being fitted over the head portion (6b). The annular portion (1a) and the plate portion (1b) are flush with a surface of the head portion (6b) when the annular portion (1a) is fitted over the head portion (6b).

A tip dresser cutter including a circumferential portion having a circular shape rotatable about an axis of rotation, a center portion located radially inward from the circumferential portion proximate the axis of rotation, and a cutting flute extending radially between the center portion and the circumferential portion. The cutting flute including a leading edge, a trailing edge, a radially inward canted surface extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge. The radially inward canted surface includes a first section extending between the center portion and a first location on the cutting flute and a second section extending between the first location on the cutting flute and a second location on the cutting flute. The second section of the radially inward canted surface including a curved portion that is parallel to a plane of rotation of the cutting flute.

The present disclosure reduces equipment failures, decreases maintenance frequency, and stabilizes cutting operation. Specifically, a holder (5) includes a fitting surface (52) capable of fitting a distal end (2a) of an electrode tip (2). A cutting member (6) having a cutting blade (6b) is attached to the holder (5) and the cutting blade (6b) cuts the distal end (2a) of the electrode tip (2) by rotating the holder (5). On the fitting surface (52), a plurality of grooves (52a) extending arcuately around the rotation axis (C1) as the center thereof are consecutively formed adjacent to each other toward the rotation axis (C1).

A series of many electrical resistance spot welds is to be formed in members of an assembled, but un-joined, body that presents workpiece stack-ups of various combinations of metal workpieces including all aluminum workpieces, all steel workpieces, and a combination of aluminum and steel workpieces. A pair of spot welding electrodes, each with a specified weld face that includes oxide-disrupting features, is used to form the required numbers of aluminum-to-aluminum spot welds, aluminum-to-steel spot welds, and steel-to-steel spot welds. A predetermined sequence of forming the various spot welds may be specified for extending the number of spot welds that can be made before the weld faces must be restored. And, during at least one of the aluminum-to-steel spot welds, a cover is inserted between the weld face of one of the welding electrodes and a side of a workpiece stack-up that includes the adjacent aluminum and steel workpieces.

A method of resistance spot welding workpiece stack-ups of different combinations of metal workpieces with a single weld gun using the same set of welding electrodes is disclosed. In this method, a set of opposed welding electrodes that include an original shape and oxide-disrupting structural features are used to resistance spot weld at least two of the following types of workpiece stack-ups in a particular sequence: (1) a workpiece stack-up of two or more aluminum workpieces; (2) a workpiece stack-up that includes an aluminum workpiece and an adjacent steel workpiece; and (3) a workpiece stack-up of two or more steel workpieces. The spot welding sequence calls for completing all of the aluminum-to-aluminum spot welds and/or all of the steel-to-steel spot welds last.