Abstract: In performing friction element welding of a sheet set constituted by two or more metal sheets, an element is press penetrated into the sheet set. The element may include a round columnar mandrel; a disc-shaped collar provided at an upper end face of the mandrel; and a conical pin extending from a lower end face of the mandrel. The element has a plurality of fluidized-metal discharge grooves arranged spirally in a flat area of the lower end face of the mandrel, the flat area excluding the pin. Alternatively, the element may include a round columnar mandrel having a lower end face that forms a conical face with an apical angle ?m, the conical face having one or more pairs of chippings discharge grooves or having a plurality of cutting edges, the chippings discharge grooves each extending in a curved manner from an apex of the conical face.

Abstract: A method for producing a flared or lap joint including a steel sheet and an aluminum-based sheet material through brazing, wherein a preceding laser beam irradiates ahead of a steel sheet joining position and the aluminum-based sheet material in the joining direction to preheat a joining position, an electrically-heated aluminum-based filler wire feeds to the joining position, a following laser beam is irradiated behind the filler wire so the wire melts performin brazing, and the filler wire is fed with a tilt ranging from 0°?D?19° to a front or rear side in the joining direction with respect to a line passing through a groove center of the flared joint and is perpendicular to the joining direction, so that a flared joint or lap joint including a steel sheet and aluminum-based sheet material is produced without appearance defects of a bead and with a sufficient joint strength.

Abstract: Resistance spot welding includes a first process of performing energization by pressurizing two or more metal plates superposed by sandwiching a pair of electrode tips, and a second process of stopping energization in the first process and pressurizing two or more metal plates by a pair of electrode tips. The estimation method for the nugget diameter includes: a thickness estimation process of estimating the nugget thickness using the amount of expansion in the thickness direction of two or more metal plates in the first process and the electric resistance value between the pair of electrode tips in the first process; and a diameter estimation process of estimating the nugget diameter using the expansion amount and the electric resistance value when the nugget is estimated to have reached the interface between two adjacent metal plates using the respective thicknesses of the two or more metal plates and the estimated nugget thickness.

Abstract: Provided are a resistance spot welding method and a method for manufacturing a resistance spot welded joint. At least one of the steel sheets used is a high strength steel sheet. The method includes a main current application step in which current is applied with a current Iw and a tempering post-heat treatment step. The tempering post-heat treatment step includes a cooling process and a heating process and can include at least one of a transition process and a holding process. In the heating process, a current is applied at a current value It, shown in formula (2), for a current application time tt. 0.8×Iw?It?1.

Abstract: Provided is a resistance spot welding method wherein main current passage includes two or more electrode force application steps including a first electrode force application step and a second electrode force application step following the first electrode force application step, an electrode force F1 in the first electrode force application step and an electrode force F2 in the second electrode force application step in the main current passage satisfy a relationship F1>F2, and an electrode force switching point Tf from the first electrode force application step to the second electrode force application step in the main current passage is set to satisfy predetermined relational formulas.

Abstract: Provided is a resistance spot welding method wherein main current passage includes two or more electrode force application steps including a first electrode force application step and a second electrode force application step following the first electrode force application step, an electrode force F1 in the first electrode force application step and an electrode force F2 in the second electrode force application step in the main current passage satisfy a relationship F1<F2, and an electrode force switching point Tf from the first electrode force application step to the second electrode force application step in the main current passage is set to satisfy predetermined relational formulas.

Abstract: Proposed is a resistance spot welding method to join parts to be welded which are a plurality of overlapping metal sheets, including: dividing a current pattern into two or more steps for welding; before actual welding, performing test welding; and subsequently, as actual welding, performing adaptive control welding, in which the two or more steps for welding include a step of securing a current path between the sheets directly below the electrodes and a subsequent step of forming a nugget having a predetermined diameter, and a welding interval time is provided between these steps. This method thus yields a good nugget without causing splashing even under special welding conditions.

Abstract: Provided is a resistance spot welding method by which a desired nugget diameter can be stably obtained without expulsion even when the effect of a disturbance is significant. An electrode force FA of a main current passage after an intermediate welding time Ta is set based on an average value or time integration value RA of a resistance between electrodes from the start of main current passage to the intermediate welding time Ta.

Abstract: A high-strength galvanized steel sheet is excellent in the external appearance of plating and the hydrogen brittleness resistance, and has a high yield ratio, and a method for manufacturing the same. The high-strength galvanized steel sheet including a steel sheet having a specific component composition and a specific steel structure, the amount of diffusible hydrogen in the steel sheet being 0.20 mass ppm or less; and a galvanizing layer provided on a surface of the steel sheet, the galvanizing layer having a content amount of Fe of 8 to 15% in mass %, and an attachment amount of plating per one surface of 20 to 120 g/m2, wherein the amount of Mn oxides contained in the galvanizing layer is 0.050 g/m2 or less; and the high-strength galvanized steel sheet has a yield strength of 700 MPa or more and a yield strength ratio of 65% or more and less than 85%.

Abstract: A high-strength galvanized steel sheet includes a steel sheet having a steel composition having a specific component composition, a steel structure containing martensite and bainite at more than or equal to 70% (including 100%), ferrite at less than 20% (including 0%), and retained austenite at less than 5% (including 0%) in terms of area ratio, the amount of diffusible hydrogen in steel being less than or equal to 0.20 mass ppm; and a galvanizing layer provided on a surface of the steel sheet, having a content amount of Fe of 8 to 15% in mass %, and having an coating weight per one surface of 20 to 120 g/m2, wherein the amount of Mn oxides contained in the galvanizing layer is less than or equal to 0.050 g/m2, and a tensile strength is more than or equal to 1100 MPa and a yield ratio is more than or equal to 0.85.

Abstract: A hot-pressed member is formed using a tailored blank material obtained by butt joining respective ends of two or more coated steel sheets. The hot-pressed member has two or more sites formed by the respective coated steel sheets and at least one joining portion between the sites. Depending on a type of a coated layer of each of the coated steel sheets, tw/t0 is appropriately controlled where tw is a thickness of a thinnest portion in the joining portion and t0 is a thickness of a thinnest site of the sites. A tensile strength of each of the sites is 1180 MPa or more.

Abstract: A welding process used in a method of manufacturing a steel sheet assembly includes spot welding steel sheets performed for a heat time of 0.08 seconds or more using a convex electrode with a tip radius of curvature of 20 mm or more or a flat electrode such that the weld force F (kN) for initial 0.03 seconds of the heat time satisfies formula: F<0.00125×(1+0.75×tall)+3 where TS (MPa) denotes an average strength of the steel sheets and represents a weighted mean value of a thickness of each of the steel sheets, and tall (mm) denotes a total thickness of the steel sheets (the sum of the thicknesses of the steel sheets).

Abstract: A high-strength galvanized steel sheet includes a steel sheet having a steel composition having a specific component composition, a steel structure containing martensite and bainite at more than or equal to 70% (including 100%), ferrite at less than 20% (including 0%), and retained austenite at less than 5% (including 0%) in terms of area ratio, the amount of diffusible hydrogen in steel being less than or equal to 0.20 mass ppm; and a galvanizing layer provided on a surface of the steel sheet, having a content amount of Fe of 8 to 15% in mass %, and having an coating weight per one surface of 20 to 120 g/m2, wherein the amount of Mn oxides contained in the galvanizing layer is less than or equal to 0.050 g/m2, and a tensile strength is more than or equal to 1100 MPa and a yield ratio is more than or equal to 0.85.

Abstract: There is provided a high-strength galvanized steel sheet excellent in the external appearance of plating and the hydrogen brittleness resistance, and has a high yield ratio suitable for building materials and automotive collision-resistant parts, and a method for manufacturing the same. Provided is a high-strength galvanized steel sheet including a specific component composition and a specific steel structure, the amount of diffusible hydrogen in the steel being 0.20 mass ppm or less; and a galvanizing layer provided on a surface of the steel sheet, having a content amount of Fe of 8 to 15% in mass %, and an attachment amount of plating per one surface of 20 to 120 g/m2, wherein the amount of Mn oxides contained in the galvanizing layer is 0.050 g/m2 or less, and a yield strength is 700 MPa or more and a yield strength ratio is 65% or more and less than 85%.

Abstract: A resistance spot welding device for welding at least two overlapping steel sheets held between a pair of welding electrodes is provided. The resistance spot welding device includes the pair of electrodes, an electrode force gauge that measures an electrode force, and a controller that controls an electric current supply to the electrodes according to the electrode force measured by the electrode force gauge. The controller controls the electric current such that the electrode force F measured by the electrode force gauge after the start of the electric current supply is adjusted to a prescribed value.

Abstract: Provided is a laser-arc hybrid welding method that can considerably suppress spatter formation by controlling the transfer mode of droplets and that can reduce thermal effects and/or thermal deformation associated with welding by setting to a low welding current. The present invention is directed to a laser-arc hybrid welding method, where: a minimum diameter DMIN (mm) of droplets that are transferred from a steel welding wire to a molten pool generated by the gas-shielded arc welding satisfies DMIN?(P/15)+(1/2) relative to a power (kW) of a laser beam generated by the laser welding; and a maximum diameter DMAX (mm) of the droplets satisfies M?4DMAX/3 relative to a length M (mm) of an arc generated by the gas-shielded arc welding.

Abstract: Provided is a method for resistance spot-welding at least two overlapping steel sheets. When an electrode force F after an electric current supply is started changes from an initial electrode force Fi to an electrode force Fh(1) while a lapse from the start of the electric current supply is between 20 ms and 80 ms inclusive, a suspension of the electric current supply of from 20 ms to 60 ms inclusive is started. Then the electric current supply is resumed when the electrode force F reaches an electrode force Fc(1).

Abstract: The resistance spot welding method includes performing actual welding to squeeze, by a pair of electrodes (14), a sheet combination with a sheet thickness ratio of more than 3 in which a thin sheet (11) is overlapped on at least one face of two or more overlapping thick sheets (12, 13), and passing a current while applying an electrode force to join the sheet combination, wherein in the actual welding, a pattern of the current and the electrode force is divided into two or more steps including a first step and a second step to perform welding, and an electrode force F1 in the first step and an electrode force F2 in the second step satisfy a relationship F1>F2.

Abstract: A method of resistance spot welding to join a plurality of overlapping metal sheets, including: dividing a current pattern into two or more steps for welding; before actual welding, performing test welding to store, for each step as a target value, a time variation of an instantaneous amount of heat generated per unit volume and a cumulative amount of heat generated per unit volume; and subsequently, as actual welding, starting welding using, as a standard, a time variation curve of the instantaneous amount of heat generated per unit volume obtained by the test welding, and when a time variation amount of an instantaneous amount of heat generated deviates during any step from the time variation curve by a difference, performing adaptive control welding to control a current passage amount in order to compensate for the difference during a remaining welding time in the step.

Abstract: A resistance spot welding device that joins predetermined parts to be welded includes: a storage configured to store a time variation of an instantaneous amount of heat generated per unit volume and a cumulative amount of heat generated per unit volume in test welding that precedes actual welding; and an adaptive controller and an electrode force controller configured to, in the case where the time variation of the instantaneous amount of heat generated per unit volume in the actual welding differs from a time variation curve stored as the target value, respectively control the current or a voltage during current passage and the electrode force to the parts to be welded to compensate for the difference within a remaining welding time so that the cumulative amount of heat generated per unit volume in the actual welding matches the cumulative amount of heat generated per unit volume stored in the storage.