Butt Seam Welding

Butt Seam Welding

 

a type of resistance welding for joining the edges of sheets in a butt joint, used mainly in the manufacture of welded pipe. The metal in the weld zone is heated by an electric current in resistance pipe-welding machines, and the butt joint is then pressed by steel rollers. With steel pipe of small diameter (10–50 mm), the stock (a steel band) is first heated in a gas-fired furnace and formed into pipe; the lengthwise seam is welded by drawing through a mandrel rod at speeds up to 1,200 m per minute. Such units can produce up to 70 km of welded pipe per hour.