Experimental work on the spot welding of Maraging Steels revealed a surprisingly low level of strength - both in the as welded and in aged conditions. This appeared unusual since in the welding of these materials by other welding processes (TIG,MIG) the strength level is almost that of the base material. The maraging steel C250 investigated had the composition: 18wt%Ni, 8wt%Co, 5wt%Mo and additions of Al and Ti. It has a nominal tensile strength of 250 KSI. The heat treated structure of maraging steel is lath martensite the final high strength is reached by aging treatment at 485°C for 3-4 hours. During the aging process precipitation takes place of Ni3Mo and Ni3Ti and an ordered solid solution containing Co is formed.Three types of spot welding cycles were investigated: multi-pulse current cycle, bi-pulse cycle and single pulsle cycle. TIG welded samples were also tested for comparison.The microstructure investigations were carried out by SEM and EDS as well as by fractography. For multicycle spot welded maraging C250 (without aging), the dendrites start from the fusion line towards the nugget centre with an epitaxial growth region of various widths, as seen in Figure 1.
