A highly corrosion-resistant spot weldment can be produced at low cost without occurrence of prominent protrusions and the like on the surface. The spot weldment is joined by a nugget formed inside stacked sheet materials through bringing a pair of electrodes arranged opposite to each other into pressure contact with the stacked sheet materials from outside and energizing the stacked sheet materials from the electrodes. The nugget has a diameter that is 4t (t: thickness of sheet material) and a flattening level of 3.5 to 8, which is a ratio of diameter to thickness. Both outer surface parts of the sheet materials are free from protrusions formed due to bulging of molten metal. Even when the electrodes are made of a copper alloy, the increased amount of Cu in the outer surface parts is 0.2 mass % or less with respect to the component composition before spot welding.

Methods and devices for joining a composite panel, which may comprise a non-metallic intermediate layer disposed between two external metallic cover layers, to a further component are disclosed. The composite panel and the further component may be disposed so as to at least partially overlap. The object of economically and reliably joining composite panels may be achieved in that by way of a positioning unit, at least one auxiliary joining element is brought to bear on the composite panel and is fixed to the composite panel. The composite panel in a region of the at least one auxiliary joining element may be subsequently joined to the further component.

A battery module includes at least one battery cell array including a cell frame and a plurality of battery cells, each battery cell having electrode terminals disposed at both ends of each battery cell and oriented toward the same direction, the plurality of battery cells being disposed in a lateral direction when mounted in the cell frame; and a plurality of connection members attached to the electrode terminals of a respective battery cell of the at least one battery cell array at an upper portion, a lower portion, or both of the at least one battery cell array, wherein each connection member is a metal plate having at least three vertical slits that are spaced apart from each other and a horizontal slit that crosses at least one of the vertical slits.

A joining apparatus for panel sheets and a joining method for panel sheets using the same are provided. The joining apparatus includes an element punching device which stores and supplies elements according to a specification of a panel sheet and inserts the element into a first panel sheet among different types of panel sheets. Additionally, a welding device resistively welds a part of the first panel sheet into which the element is inserted by the element punching device.

A radially slotted welding electrode is disclosed that may be used in conjunction with a companion second welding electrode to conduct resistance spot welding on a workpiece stack-up assembly that includes a steel workpiece and an overlapping adjacent aluminum workpiece, especially when an intermediate organic material layer is disposed between the workpiece faying surfaces of the steel and aluminum workpieces. The radially slotted welding electrode includes a weld face that has a central upstanding plateau and a convex dome portion that surrounds the central upstanding plateau and which includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced trapezoidal weld face sections that include transverse upstanding arcuate ridges. Together, the central upstanding plateau and the trapezoidal weld face sections of the convex dome portion define an annular channel that surrounds the central plateau and a plurality of radial slots that communicate with and extend outwards from the central channel.

A bonded body is provided that is formed by bonding a metal member formed from copper, nickel, or silver, and an aluminum alloy member formed from an aluminum alloy of which a solidus temperature is lower than a eutectic temperature of aluminum and a metal element that constitutes the metal member. The aluminum alloy member and the metal member are subjected to solid-phase diffusion bonding. A chill layer, in which a Si phase of which an aspect ratio of a crystal grain is 2.5 or less and a crystal grain diameter is 15 m or less is dispersed, is formed on a bonding interface side with the metal member in the aluminum alloy member. The thickness of the chill layer is set to 50 m or greater.

A spot welding method includes a heating step of energizing an electrode in pressure contact with an Al alloy member to heat and melt a join part by resistance heating and a cooling step of cooling the join part after the heating step in a state in which the electrode is in pressure contact with the Al alloy member. The alloy is a wrought alloy of Mg: 0.2 to 1.2 mass %, Si: 0.4 to 1.5%, and Cu: 1.1% or less or a casting alloy of Si: 7 to 11% and Mg: 0.1 to 0.4% with respect to 100% as a whole. The cooling step includes a first cooling process performed with a reduced amount of input energy to the join part as compared with the heating step and a second cooling process performed after the first cooling process at a higher cooling rate than that in the first cooling process.

A die for a terminalized electric wire is provided with a first electrode, a hole forming jig, an electric wire pressing jig which surrounds a periphery of the first electrode, a second electrode and conductor accommodation parts. The conductor accommodation parts are recessed in molded inner wall surfaces at both sides of the electric wire pressing jig which holds a superposed configuration part in which the end side is superposed on the root side of the annular conductor in the vertical direction. A part of a molten conductor of the superposed configuration part flows into the conductor accommodation parts.

The invention relates to the thermal creation of a part, including steps of: using at least one first and one second metal plate (30, 31), hollow-forming the first plate so as to form at least part of said inner wall, and hollow-forming the second plate (31) so as to form at least part of said outer wall. During the forming, the shapes of the first and second plates are adjusted such that they can be placed in contact with each other while leaving a space therebetween inside said periphery, and then the first and second plates are placed in a low-pressure and/or controlled-atmosphere chamber (65), where said plates are brought together and peripherally sealed together such that, in said space, a low-pressure and/or controlled-atmosphere enclosure is created.

Provided is an energy storage device which includes: an electrode assembly where electrodes are layered to each other; and current collector joined to the layered electrodes in a state where the current collector overlaps with the electrodes. The electrode and the current collector are welded to each other or are joined to each other by ultrasonic bonding at a first joint portion. At least one of the electrode and the current collector includes a wall surface which projects from a periphery of the first joint portion or a region adjacent to the periphery along a stacking direction of the electrode and the current collector, and surrounds the first joint portion. The wall surface is disposed on both sides of the first joint portion in the stacking direction.