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Abstract
Mash seam welding involves the rapid production of a continuous weld seam by means of overlapping resistance spot welds. The applicability of the process is known to be dependent on the properties and structure of the welded materials, and for steel can production, is almost always applied to tin coated steels. In the present work, the authors report on an experimental investigation of the influence of welding conditions on tin distribution at and close to the bond interface and discuss the role of the tin coating in the welding process. It is shown that for acceptable welding conditions, tin is either intermittently present on the bond line at lower currents in the range of acceptable welding currents and is absent at higher currents within this range; the majority of tin being extruded to the side of the joint during welding. The tin layer acts both as a protection against corrosion and as an electrical contact medium during the initial stages of the welding process. It is concluded that the displacement of the tin during welding is a sufficient but not a necessary condition for acceptable joint formation.