A resistance welding tip assembly having a welding tip support to which a welding
tip is secured. A sleeve is constructed of an electrical insulating material, such
as ceramic, and the sleeve includes a throughbore along a preset axis. The sleeve
is slidably mounted to the welding tip support along the preset axis between an
extended position and a retracted position relative to the welding tip support.
A compression spring disposed between the welding tip support and the sleeve urges
the sleeve towards its extended position. The welding tip extends through the sleeve
throughbore and is of the same size and cross-sectional shape as the sleeve. Furthermore,
when the sleeve is in its extended position, a free end of the welding tip is recessed
within the sleeve throughbore. Conversely, when the sleeve is in its retracted
position, the free end of the welding tip is adjacent a free end of the sleeve
and accessible for a welding operation. In practice, the sliding movement of the
sleeve between its extended and retracted position between sequential welding operations
maintains the integrity of the free end of the welding tip by shearing off any
flash or mushroom of the welding tip as the sleeve moves from its retracted and
to its extended position.
