ABSTRACT
Resistance welding is a joining process belonging to the pressure welding sector. With its locally applied heat and pressure it has an obvious relationship with the forge welding technique practised by blacksmiths when joining metal. The resistance welding process was invented in 1877 by Professor E. Thomson of Philadelphia, USA, when an accidental short circuit gave him the idea for what was originally termed short circuit welding. From the beginning of the twentieth century it was used on a small scale in industry, but it was only after the Second World War that resistance spot welding had its real beginning in the automobile industry. It has since grown to be the most important method of welding used in the construction and mass production of vehicle bodies.
