Patent ID: 6933458

Claim:
A method of locating and welding a weld stud on a target surface of a workpiece having an adjacent side surface, wherein the weld stud is mounted in a stud welding head having a position recognition device mounted on a programmable multiaxial operating mechanism, said method comprising the following steps: moving the stud welding head axially in a feed direction, bringing the stud welding head to the workpiece; actuating the programmable multiaxial operating mechanism to move the stud welding head laterally in a first direction perpendicular to the feed direction to contact the side surface of the workpiece; actuating the programmable multiaxial operating mechanism to move the stud welding head laterally in a second direction generally opposite to the first direction a predetermined distance to a predetermined start weld position; and moving the stud welding head axially in the feed direction to bring the weld stud into contact with the target surface of the workpiece.