Abstract
Spot welding is one of the important welding processes for the construction of thin metal sheet. Because of low investment cost, alternating welding current is widely applied for power source. Direct current type could be, however, recommened for high quality weldment. In this study, the effect of welding current type on the weldability and the electrode life in spot welding of aluminium alloy were investigated. Various welding tests were done by using three phase direct and alternating welding current, respectively. In spite of high variation of welding force, weld quality and electrode life with alternating welding current were shown better results than those with direct current for 2mm thick alumininum alloy sheets. This was due to excessive erosion of the positive electrode in direct welding current compared with the negative one. On the contrary to 2mm sheets, the welding parameters of alternating current for 1mm sheets must be carefully selected.