Can Sheet Aluminum be Spot Welded?

Tom Wesenberg

Tom Wesenberg

Well-known member
I don't recall seeing spot welded aluminum, but was wondering if it can be done? It would work nice to build a lightweight speedster.:)
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
I don't recall seeing spot welded aluminum, but was wondering if it can be done? It would work nice to build a lightweight speedster.:)
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It can just like steel panels but, it would work best for a hobbiest, to use a mig welder and an aluminum gun. You could use a high frequency tig but that is expensive. The aluminum gun is because the wire won't stand being pushed through the housing so you use a gun that attaches to the end of the housing and the wire roll is mounted on it with a small advance motor. Miller carries these.
 
Aluminum has always had reliability problems with spot welding due to the near instantaneous formation of a thin invisible surface oxide layer that becomes imbedded in the fused weld and provides a shear layer. Simply put, they tend to snap apart in time.

GM recently solved the problem through a patented re-design of the geometry of the electrode tips. I suppose you could get an extra set of tips and try their method. Here's a press-release link from GM that explains what/ how/ why. LINK Watch the 42 second video for a close up of the tip cutting and resultant welds.
 
Lazzi has a video showing how to spot weld aluminum with a regular pinch? spot welder. You sandwich the aluminum with strips of crs and pinch and pull the trigger as normal. the weld seems strong. The problem would be making a whole car this way. I had a Marine Corps Mity-Mite that was made that way and that was a ton of welds. A neat trick when you need it but not a construction choice I would make. Norm
 
Hey Mike,
Thanks for that! Hm, using aluminum rivets on a speedster, IMO, adds to the looks/beauty and probably less expensive that welding ?
 
Just saw the video from GM. bet you could make a manual dresser for a pinch? welder to match that welding face. hmmm?
 
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