A method and an apparatus detects pressure changes at servo gun tips of a robotic welding system having a servo gun with a movable tip and an opposed fixed tip configured to weld a part. The method and apparatus observe a tip deflection value and convert the value to a current pressure value using a pressure estimator. The current pressure value is compared to a benchmark pressure value to detect any difference.

An apparatus includes a housing, a mechanism and a sensor. The housing may be configured to receive a weld head. The mechanism may be attached to the housing and configured to convert a position of a location pin relative to the housing into an angular rotation. The sensor may be coupled to the mechanism and configured to generate a value representative of the position of the location pin based on the angular rotation.

Disclosed are weld electrode plugs with polymeric inserts for loss-of-cooling detection, methods for making or for using such weld electrode plugs, and electric welding systems equipped with loss-of-cooling detection plugs. A disclosed loss-of-cooling detection assembly includes a plug that attaches to the weld shank of a welding system such that the plug fluidly couples to a coolant bore within the shank. The plug includes a plug body with a clearance hole extending therethrough. An insert detachably mounts to the plug such that the insert fluidly seals the clearance hole. This insert is fabricated from a polymeric material, such as a shape memory polymer, that alters a physical property, such as shape/size, of the insert responsive to changes in temperature and/or pressure of coolant fluid in the shank's bore. When this physical property is altered, the insert unseals the clearance hole causing a detectable leak of fluid from the shank.

A resistance spot welding method of squeezing a predetermined sheet combination by a pair of electrodes and passing a current while applying an electrode force to join the sheet combination includes: performing test welding; and performing actual welding after the test welding, wherein in each of the test welding and the actual welding, a current pattern is divided into two or more steps including a first current passage step and a second current passage step subsequent to the first current passage step, and, in the actual welding, a current that causes no expulsion is selected to perform welding by constant current control in the first current passage step, and adaptive control welding is performed from the subsequent second current passage step onward.

To provide a spot welding system capable of shortening a cycle time of spot welding. A robot controller measures a time between a transmission time of a welding command signal to a welding machine and a reception time of a welding completion signal, after determining completion of pressuring by a spot welding robot, and subtracts a predetermined welding time from the measured time, thereby calculating a communication delay time between the robot controller and the welding machine. A spot welding system advances transmission timing of the welding command signal and the welding completion signal by the calculated communication delay time.

A welding installation with a calibration tool is provided in a device for producing container shells. The force exerted by the container shells on the calibration tool is measured and evaluated as information for the overlapping width of the respective container shell. This allows adjusting the calibration tool during configuration of the device and allows the removal of container shells welded with too large or too small overlapping during production of container shells.

A resistance spot welding method comprises: performing test welding; and performing actual welding after the test welding, wherein the test welding is performed under each of two or more welding conditions. In the test welding, for each of the welding conditions, an electrode force parameter from when electrode force application to parts to be welded starts to when a set electrode force is reached before start of current passage and a time variation curve of an instantaneous amount of heat generated and a cumulative amount of heat generated are stored. In the actual welding: electrode force application to the parts to be welded is performed under each of the same conditions as in the test welding before start of current passage, and a corresponding electrode force parameter and the parameter stored in the test welding are compared for each of the welding conditions to set a target of a time variation curve of an instantaneous amount of heat generated and a cumulative amount of heat generated in the actual welding; and adaptive control welding is performed to control a current passage amount according to the target.

An apparatus includes a housing, a pin, a mechanism and a sensor. The housing is configured to receive a weld head. The pin is configured to move linearly relative to said housing. The mechanism is configured to convert a position of said pin into a displacement. The sensor is configured to generate a value representative of said position of said pin based on said displacement.

A power supply unit for a resistance welding apparatus, said power supply unit comprising a converter circuit adapted to convert an alternating power supply current, AC, applied via a residual current protection circuit to an input of said converter circuit into a pulsed electrical current supplied from an output of said converter circuit to a primary coil of a transformer of said resistance welding apparatus, and at least one switching element provided between the output of said converter circuit and protective earth.

A welding cell for a resistance spot welding, its use for resistance spot welding, and a welding method performed therewith are disclosed. The welding cell includes a system for implementing resistance spot welding technology, a data collecting system, a system for improving efficiency of data collection, and a processing, monitoring, and control system. The welding cell includes a data transmission priority manager for adjusting digit capacity, transmission rate and transmission frequency of the digitized signal, separately, for signals of each sensor, and a digital twin controller, which, based on the digitized signal, provides a control signal to the control unit for controlling the electromechanical actuators and moving the electrodes of the welding cell. The welding cell provides for resistance spot welding with predictable and controllable quality, increased performance and reduced requirements to the computing unit performance of the welding cell, and reduced costs for equipping the welding cell.