PROFS - New Approach for Weldability and Process Robustness Testing for spot welding

Important results from the project

The goal was to map the extent to which important factors in spot welding differ between the lab and production environment, as well as their impact and interaction. The goal has also been to use existing equipment and increase its usability. The goals have largely been achieved: several important factors that disrupt production have been identified and a new way of working has been developed. At the same time, the complexity of the production environment has shown that a larger study is required to find all sources of interference. A planned full project will make this possible.

Expected long term effects

The planned full project will enable reduced environmental impact as joining of new, advanced and thinner materials is made possible with higher quality. This reduces the climate footprint through reduced material usage and product weight. Increased productivity is enabled as fewer welds are needed and less time and resources are needed for repairs. The results link to Agenda 2030 objectives No. 9 and 12 and promote collaboration between institutes, industry, suppliers, OEMs and SMEs. The news value is great - nothing has been published on new evaluation methods with this scope.

Approach and implementation

The feasibility study was conducted 2020-10-20 to 2021-07-19 with 4 work packages. In WP1, experiences of the spot-welding process in production was gathered. Selected important factors were compiled in a test matrix that was examined in WP2 and evaluated in WP3. WP4 handled project management, dissemination and reporting. The work showed that the developed methodology with statistical analysis of production data can identify where the welding process has disturbances. COVID-19 affected the opportunities for joint workshops.