Spot welding
How does spot welding work?
Quick answer
Spot welding (resistance spot welding): two copper electrodes clamp sheet metal and a burst of current makes a localized weld nugget. It's the production process for sheet metal — one squeeze, one nugget.
What's happening at the arc
In Spot welding (resistance spot welding), an electric arc (or, for laser, a focused beam) delivers intense localized heat that melts the base metal and, where used, the filler. The flux system generates its own shielding, which is why the process works outdoors and on imperfect metal.
Where it fits in Australian workshops
Handheld and bench spot welders in Australia run from $250 portable units to $2,000+ pneumatic bench machines; auto-body quality usually needs a proper pneumatically-assisted unit.