Patent ID: 8393521

Claim:
A method for producing a single welded assembly from a first metal part and a second metal part comprising: bringing the first metal part and the second metal part into contact with one another at a joint region; providing a flash ring separator adjacent the joint region configured to intercept and notch flash impinging upon the flash ring separator; heating metal in the joint region to a temperature such that the metal in the joint region becomes plastic; and forcing the first metal part and the second metal part together at the joint region to join the first metal part to the second metal part and thus extruding metal flash from the joint region to impinge on the flash ring separator, forming a flash ring having at least one notch formed radially through the flash ring by the flash ring separator such that as the flash ring is cut from the joint region, it breaks at the at least one notch such that it no longer forms a ring about the joint.