Flash welding, also called flash butt welding, is a resistance welding process in which a butt joint weld is produced by a flashing action and by the application of pressure. The flash welding process consists of preweld preparation, flashing, upsetting (forging), and postweld heat treatment. This article provides an overview of both flash welding and upset welding and describes the various process and failure origins of flash welding as well as the equipment used. It also explains the characteristics and advantages of solid-state upset welding.

Upset welding (UW) is a resistance welding process utilizing both heat and deformation to form a weld. A wide variety of shapes and materials can be joined using upset welding in either a single-pulse or continuous mode. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of upset welding, as well as the types of welds. The advantages include speed, ease of control, fewer defects, enhanced weld properties, simplicity of equipment, less-strict composition requirements, and ability to join difficult-to-weld materials. The article reviews the role of a homopolar generator as an alternative method for supplying the electrical current for upset welding.

This article describes the mechanism, advantages and disadvantages, fundamentals, capabilities, variations, equipment used, and weldability of metals in solid-state welding processes, including diffusion bonding, explosion welding, friction welding, ultrasonic welding, upset welding, and deformation welding.

Forge welding is a solid-state joining process in which the workpieces are heated to the welding temperature and then sufficient blows or force are applied to cause permanent deformation and bonding at the faying surfaces. Coextrusion welding is a solid-state process that produces a weld by heating two or more workpieces to the welding temperature and forcing them through an extrusion die. This article illustrates typical joint configurations used for manual and automatic forge welding applications. It provides information on the common metals welded by coextrusion welding, such as low-carbon steel, aluminum, copper, and copper alloys. The article also explains the common coextrusion behaviors.

This article reviews forge welding and illustrates the typical joint configurations used for manual and automatic forge welding applications.

Resistance welding (RW) encompasses a group of processes in which the heat for welding is generated by the resistance to the flow of electrical current through the parts being joined. The three major resistance welding processes are resistance spot welding (RSW), resistance seam welding (RSEW), and projection welding (PW). This article addresses the considerations for using these processes to join specific types of materials. It discusses the process variations, applicability, advantages, and limitations of these resistance welding processes. The article provides information on flash welding, high-frequency resistance welding, and capacitor discharge stud welding. It concludes with a discussion on resistance welding of stainless steels, aluminum alloys, and copper and copper alloys.

The resistance welding processes commonly employed for joining aluminum are resistance spot welding, resistance seam welding, resistance roll welding, upset and flash welding for butt joining welding, and high-frequency resistance welding. This article discusses the general factors affecting resistance welding: electrical and thermal conductivities, rising temperature, plastic range, shrinkage, and surface oxide. It reviews the weldability of base materials such as Alclad alloys and aluminum metal-matrix composites. The article describes the joint design and welding procedures for resistance spot welding, as well as the joint type, equipment, and welding procedures for seam and roll spot welding. It concludes with information on flash welding, high-frequency welding, and cross-wire welding.

This article briefly reviews the general causes of weldment failures, which may arise from rejection after inspection or failure to pass mechanical testing as well as loss of function in service. It focuses on the general discontinuities observed in welds, and shows how some imperfections may be tolerable and how the other may be root-cause defects in service failures. The article explains the effects of joint design on weldment integrity. It outlines the origins of failure associated with the inherent discontinuity of welds and the imperfections that might be introduced from arc welding processes. The article also describes failure origins in other welding processes, such as electroslag welds, electrogas welds, flash welds, upset butt welds, flash welds, electron and laser beam weld, and high-frequency induction welds.