A Stud Welding Overview

What is Stud Welding

Stud Welding, more correctly termed drawn arc stud welding, is an electric arc process that rapidly joins a fastener to a base metal or substrate. The fastener can take many forms: threaded, unthreaded, tapped etc. Both the fastener and the substrate can be of various materials including: steel, stainless steel, aluminum etc.

See below for our stud welding solutions and how easy the stud welding process can be!

Image Industries Stud Welding Solutions

The Stud Welding Process

Stud welding is a process by which a metal stud, also referred to as a weld stud, is joined to a metal workpiece by heating both parts with an arc. A key factor that differentiates stud welding from other fastening processes is that the fastener is attached to the workpiece without marring the other side.

The arc stud welding method provides highly reliable fastening for a wide variety of applications. This method allows almost any size or configuration of a metal stud to be welded quickly to a workpiece, while providing maximum weld penetration and reliability.

Arc stud welding permits strong, one-sided welds on base metals with thicknesses starting at 0.048″ (1.2 mm). It produces welds in as little as 0.06 seconds.

Arc stud welding utilizes a DC power supply to create the arc, a stud welding tool, metal fasteners, and in some cases, ferrules. There are three common techniques of Arc stud welding:

• Drawn arc stud welding
• Short arc stud welding
• Gas arc stud welding

Equipment Needed For Stud Welding

Stud welding requires four essential pieces of equipment:

• Power supply
• Stud welding gun
• Cabling
• Weld studs

In addition to the welding equipment above, there are many stud welding accessories that help make the process easier such as grips, ferrule holders, and spark shields.

Need stud welding equipment? Request a quote today!

The Benefits of Stud Welding

Stud welding has many advantages over other joining processes:

• It is fast. Welding a 3/4” fastener will take less than one second.
• It is single sided. This means that access to the other side of the work piece is not required.
• It is secure. Unlike the peripheral weld that would be used to weld a bolt in place, a stud weld is a full cross sectional weld. This means the full face of the fastener is welded in place providing a strong, worry-free weld.
• It is cosmetically superior. As a single sided fastener there are no indicators that a fastener is attached.
• It is welded and will not work free like a press-in fastener
• It requires no special skills and little training to install.

What is Stud Welding Used For

Stud welding, because of its single sided nature, often goes unnoticed. However, stud welding is a widely used process. The following are a few examples of where stud welding is used:

• Buildings and Bridges (Image has some products in the new World Trade Center)
• Cable Management (managing wires around equipment)
• Power Distribution Equipment (Those green transformers in neighborhoods)
• Food Service (used in coffee makers, griddles at fast food restaurants, salad bars etc)
• Moving Vehicles (automotive, construction, agriculture, trailers etc)
• Ship Building and Military applications

Common Misunderstandings about the Stud Welding Process

Stud welding is often confused with other processes including resistance welding and spot welding. Resistance welding and spot welding use electric current (not an arc) and high pressure to form a bond between two items. There is no high pressure requirement in drawn arc stud welding.

Contact Image Industries Today For Help With Your Stud Welding Project?

Image Industries is a family-owned weld stud manufacturer. If you are considering a stud welding project or are in need of a quick bid, contact us today.