The quintessential image of manufacturing is the automotive body assembly line equipped with a legion of robots busily spotwelding components and creating cascades of sparks. And why not? According to ASSEMBLY’s annual Capital Equipment Spending Survey, welding is second only to screwdriving as the most popular method for joining parts. That trend should continue for years to come, and in fact, uses for welding are increasing. Welding is encroaching on applications once thought strictly the province of mechanical fasteners. In the auto industry, for example, OEMs are assembling large plastic components, such as instrument clusters and bumpers, not with screws but with technologies such as hot-plate welding and vibration welding. The biggest advantage of welding is that it creates a permanent joint. Indeed, welded parts are, by definition, one entity. A welded joint can be as strong or stronger than the parent materials.

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