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Nitrode Composite

Our revolutionary new welding electrode with all the features of Nitrode but for a lot less cost. The newest cap/tip technology in resistance welding.

What is Nitrode Composite?

  • A hybrid of the two most common RW alloys
  • Non-stick welding surface for ease of start up, as well as, those demanding applications
  • Glidcop® C15760 insert or core (GM Cupal material)
  • Zirconium C15000 jacket (Z-trode)

Why Nitrode Composite?

  • Reduces the overall cost of welding
  • Weld quality is maintained at a high level
  • No adjustments to welding parameters required
  • Can be dressed effectively using line side tip dressing

The engineering that makes it a success!

  • Patented Comp-Lockä technology maintains a compressive load on the Nitrode AL60 core during the cold forming process. 
  • The resulting flow lock prevents the core from pulling out during the most demanding welding applications.
  • Cold formed at room temperature, allowing the body section to be made of fully cold worked anneal resistant, high thermal and electrical conductivity copper.
  • Core is more severely cold worked than a fully body Nitrode cap, allowing for higher hardness, less mushrooming and longer life.
  • Nippert engineering used FEM (finite element modeling) capability for the development of this manufacturing process.

Extensive testing and analysis!

  • The Nitrode Composite has undergone many months of exhaustive testing at Edison Welding Institute, Candid Logic, and OMG Americas.
  • In every case, the new Nitrode Composite has matched the performance of a full body Nitrode.
  • Candid Logic’s GM Specification MDS 487 sticking test shows that the Composite ran to 21m amps, the limit of their equipment, with no severe sticking.
  • Using the full body Nitrode as a benchmark, the Nitrode Composite performed equally in comparative stepper welding life tests.

Development of the "Pull Test"

  • Defines our simulation used to determine if the insert would pull out of the body if the electrode were to stick during welding.
  • The choice of Zirconium copper as the body material for the Nitrode Composite resulted from comparison pull test data analysis made from several different copper alloys.
  • The benchmark was set as the pulling force required to remove a welding electrode off of a new welding adapter.
  • Test #1 in Figure 4 shows an electrode pressed onto a standard welding electrode adapter.
  • A hole was drilled in the nose of the electrode and a screw inserted. It was found from these tests that an average force of 440 pounds was required to pull the electrode off of the adapter.
  • An appropriate plug was inserted into the water hole of the Nitrode Composite electrode to prevent the electrode wall from collapsing in the tensile tester grips. For full length Nitrode Composite electrodes, the average pull out force was 2000 pounds. 
  • The nose of the Nitrode Composite electrodes were then machined down by 2mm to simulate redressing steps. Tests showed that the Nitrode Composite insert pull out pressure after being redressed three times (6mm) was 467 pounds, which is safely beyond the benchmark adapter pull off of 440 pounds.
  • The Zirconium copper body gave the highest test insert retention strength in the pull out tests and given its established anneal resistance and non-stick qualities was selected as the body material.
  • In all tests conducted with the Composite electrode, we experienced no annealing of the body material or insert pullouts.

Luvata offers just-in-time shipments of the RWMA "B" nose/GM MWx-6006 and a slightly modified "A" nose/GM MWx-6008.