7/14/2023 0 Comments Flux core welding auto body panelsTypically a technician can produce quality GMA (MIG) welds after only a few hours of instruction and practice. It produces a relatively small heat-affect zone, is a faster process than gas welding, welding equipment is compact and easy to move, and the process is not difficult to master. The GMA (MIG) welding process has many advantages for collision repair. Access for the welding tips to both sides of the panels being welded also was not possible in all areas.īecause of these issues, a new welding process was needed for collision repairs and GMA (MIG) welding soon became the recommendation of the vehicle makers. The first STRSW welders available to the collision repair industry were small hand-held units that typically did not have the power necessary to produce quality welds in all areas and applications. STRSW welding equipment was typically industrial and not geared for collision repair. The STRSW welding equipment used by the vehicle maker is very large and not practical for use in a collision repair facility. Unibody vehicles are typically constructed at the factory with squeeze-type resistance spot welds (STRSW). The large heat-affect zone created by gas welding caused warping of thinner panels, and worse yet, compromised the strength of the newer high-strength steels being used. Thinner, higher-strength steels also began to be used. Fuel mileage became a design consideration for vehicles in the 1970s and to address this, unibody construction became the norm. However, changing technologies in the way vehicles were built led to a change in the welding process used to repair them. This welding process produced a large heat-affect zone, but worked well on vehicles whose body panels were constructed of the heavier gauge mild steel that was used at the time. Exterior body panels were welded with a steel rod and gas torch. The first welding repairs were done with oxyacetylene welding equipment. However, the process for doing this has continuously evolved and changed throughout the history of collision repair. The repair of collision-damaged vehicles has always involved the welding of sheet metal. Collision repairers need to know all the methods used as welding technology continues to evolve
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