Resistance spot welding is an important process for joining sheet metal components when watertight or gastight joints are not required. This master’s thesis investigates the influence of arrangement and number of resistance spot welds in the leg structure area of a washing machine on tensile, static, and dynamic properties of the housing structure of washing machine. The main objective of the research was to optimize the weld layout and number of joints to reduce stress concentrations, increase structural stiffness and lower production costs. The study included static simulations performed in Ansys on models of front and rear leg structure, where various configurations of resistance spot weld were analysed. Based on the results, an optimal configuration and number of resistance spot welds was selected, showing lower stress levels and smaller deformations under equal loading conditions. Experimental tensile testing confirmed higher stiffness and lower maximum stresses of the optimized design. Modal analysis demonstrated that changes in weld arrangement and number did not significantly affect the dynamic behaviour of the washing machine housing. A durability test with more than 1200 washing cycles revealed no visible damage or deformation of the welds, confirming the suitability of the optimized configuration for long-term operational use.
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