I have a project where i need to projection res weld an 18 gauge electroless nickel plated copper wire to a 1mm thick copper tab that has a weld bump. i have been told that welding copper to copper can be very challenging. does anyone have any info on welding profiles or cooling requirements? any info would be appreciated.

Also, i have tried welding the same parts with a electroplating on the wire. i was told that electroplating might help because it is more uniform. the weld was terrible. both parts were deformed, but the plating was still intact. plating was electrolytic nickle sulfamate.

thanks rob rice

-- rob rice (robrice@iag.net), February 04, 2000

Answers

The main problem with welding copper to copper is the extremely low resistance between the two pieces when making a weld. A refractory faced electrode should be used being either Molybdenun or Tungtsen. With this type of electrode face you can begin to develope a heat zone between the electrodes and allow the copper to weld to each other. Sometimes the electrode is a solid instead of the silver soldered on materials. I would estimate that around 5k-7k amps would accomplish this weld at approximately 4-7 weld cycles, based on previous welding processes similar to this. I recommend using a good dependable weld control that will deliver consistant weld times and amperages.

-- Spot (spotweld@juno.com), February 09, 2000.