What skills does a spot welder need?

A spot welder needs 19 essential skills including spot welding machine parts, electric current, types of metal, quality standards, prepare pieces for joining. Core competencies include .

Will AI replace spot welder jobs?

The AI disruption score for spot welder is 45/100 (moderate risk). Some tasks may be automated but the role will evolve rather than disappear entirely.

Manufacturing & ProductionMetal, machinery and related trades workersISCO 7212

spot welder

Spot welders set up and tend spot welding machines designed to press and join metal workpieces together. The metal resistance to the passage of electrical current and the subsequent heat created in the process allows for the local melting and joining of the parts.

European Skills Framework

Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.

Essential (19)

spot welding machine partsspot welding machine partsParts of a machine designed to perform spot welding practices on metal workpieces, such as the air or hydraulic cylinder, welding head, spot welding electrodes, upper platen, lower platen, flexible ba...electric currentelectric currentFlow of electric charge, carried by electrons or ions in a medium such as an electrolyte or a plasma.types of metaltypes of metalQualities, specifications, applications and reactions to different fabricating processes of various types of metal, such as steel, aluminium, brass, copper and others.quality standardsquality standardsThe national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.prepare pieces for joiningprepare pieces for joiningPrepare metal or other material workpieces for joining processes by cleaning the workpieces, checking their measurements with the technical plan and marking on the pieces where they'll be joined.monitor gaugemonitor gaugeOversee the data presented by a gauge concerning the measurement of pressure, temperature, thickness of a material, and others.operate welding equipmentoperate welding equipmentUse welding equipment to melt and join together pieces of metal or steel, wearing protective eyewear during the working process.remove inadequate workpiecesremove inadequate workpiecesEvaluate which deficient processed workpieces do not meet the set-up standard and should be removed and sort the waste according to regulations.troubleshoottroubleshootIdentify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.spot metal imperfectionsspot metal imperfectionsObserve and identify various kinds of imperfections in metal workpieces or finished products. Recognise the best fitted manner of fixing the problem, which could be caused by corrosion, rust, fracture...remove processed workpieceremove processed workpieceRemove individual workpieces after processing, from the manufacturing machine or the machine tool. In case of a conveyor belt this involves quick, continuous movement.apply spot welding techniquesapply spot welding techniquesApply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of welding metal workpieces under pressure exercised by electrodes, such as projection welding, radius style electrodes spot welding, concent...perform test runperform test runPerform tests putting a system, machine, tool or other equipment through a series of actions under actual operating conditions in order to assess its reliability and suitability to realise its tasks, ...wear appropriate protective gearwear appropriate protective gearWear relevant and necessary protective gear, such as protective goggles or other eye protection, hard hats, safety gloves.ensure equipment availabilityensure equipment availabilityEnsure that the necessary equipment is provided, ready and available for use before start of procedures.apply precision metalworking techniquesapply precision metalworking techniquesComply with precision standards specific to an organisation or product in metalworking, involved in processes such as engraving, precise cutting, welding.supply machinesupply machineEnsure the machine is fed the necessary and adequate materials and control the placement or automatic feed and retrieval of work pieces in the machines or machine tools on the production line.ensure correct metal temperatureensure correct metal temperatureEnsure the necessary, usually constant, temperature of processed metal workpieces during metal fabrication processes.set up the controller of a machineset up the controller of a machineSet up and give commands to a machine by dispatching the appropriate data and input into the (computer) controller corresponding with the desired processed product.

Optional (34)

non-ferrous metal processingnon-ferrous metal processingVarious processing methods on non-ferrous metals and alloys such as copper, zinc and aluminium.manufacturing of cutlerymanufacturing of cutleryThe manufacture of different cutlery items, such as forks, spoons, knives, razors or scissors.metal joining technologiesmetal joining technologiesThe various technologies used for the joining and assembling of fabricated metal workpieces.ferrous metal processingferrous metal processingVarious processing methods on iron and iron-containing alloys such as steel, stainless steel and pig iron.welding techniqueswelding techniquesThe different methods of welding together pieces of metal using various equipment, such as oxygen-acetylene welding, gas metal arc welding and tungsten inert gas welding.electrical dischargeelectrical dischargeThe qualities and applications of electrical discharge, including voltage and electrodes.manufacture of small metal partsmanufacture of small metal partsThe manufacture of metal cable, plaited bands and other articles of that type, uninsulated or insulated cable not capable of being used as a conductor of electricity, coated or cored wire as well as b...manufacturing of metal containersmanufacturing of metal containersThe manufacture of reservoirs, tanks and similar containers of metal, of types normally installed as fixtures for storage or manufacturing use. The manufacture of metal containers for compressed or li...metal thermal conductivitymetal thermal conductivityThe property of metals to conduct heat.manufacturing of heating equipmentmanufacturing of heating equipmentThe manufacture of electrical ovens and water heaters by metalworking processes.types of metal manufacturing processestypes of metal manufacturing processesMetal processes linked to the different types of metal, such as casting processes, heat treatment processes, repair processes and other metal manufacturing processes.manufacturing of doors from metalmanufacturing of doors from metalThe manufacture of metal doors, windows and their frames, shutters and gates, and the metal room partitions for floor attachment.manufacturing of weapons and ammunitionmanufacturing of weapons and ammunitionThe manufacture of heavy weapons (artillery, mobile guns, rocket launchers, torpedo tubes, heavy machine guns), small arms (revolvers, shotguns, light machine guns), air or gas guns and pistols, and w...manufacturing of toolsmanufacturing of toolsThe manufacture of knives and cutting blades for machines or for mechanical appliances, hand tools such as pliers, screwdrivers etc. The manufacture of non-power-driven agricultural hand tools, saws a...manufacturing of steam generatorsmanufacturing of steam generatorsThe manufacture of steam or other vapour generators, the manufacture of auxiliary plant for use with steam generators: condensers, economisers, superheaters, steam collectors and accumulators. The man...apply electrolytes to cathodes and anodesapply electrolytes to cathodes and anodesImmerse the components anode and cathose of an electric circuit in a electrolyte solution safely, consisting of metal salts, acids, bases, and other ions that facilitate the flow of electricity.operate oxy-fuel welding torchoperate oxy-fuel welding torchOperate a cutting torch fueled by oxyacetylene gas safely to perform welding processes on a workpiece.supply machine with appropriate toolssupply machine with appropriate toolsSupply the machine with the necessary tools and items for a particular production purpose. Monitor the stock and replenish when needed.apply arc welding techniquesapply arc welding techniquesApply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of arc welding, such as shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, submerged arc welding, flux-cored arc welding, and others.record production data for quality controlrecord production data for quality controlKeep records of the machine's faults, interventions and irregularities for quality control.apply preliminary treatment to workpiecesapply preliminary treatment to workpiecesApply preparatory treatment, through mechanical or chemical processes, to the workpiece preceding the main operation.perform product testingperform product testingTest processed workpieces or products for basic faults.operate precision measuring equipmentoperate precision measuring equipmentMeasure the size of a processed part when checking and marking it to check if it is up to standard by use of two and three dimensional precision measuring equipment such as a caliper, a micrometer, an...perform metal active gas weldingperform metal active gas weldingWeld metal, mostly steel, workpieces together using active gas mixtures such as concotions of argon, carbon dioxide and oxygen.monitor conveyor beltmonitor conveyor beltMonitor the flow of the work pieces on the conveyor belt as they are processed by the machine to ensure optimal productivity.monitor automated machinesmonitor automated machinesContinuously check up on the automated machine's set-up and execution or make regular control rounds. If necessary, record and interpret data on the operating conditions of installations and equipment...perform machine maintenanceperform machine maintenancePerform regular maintenance, possibly including corrections and alterations, on a machine or machine tool to ensure it remains in a proper productive state.advise on machinery malfunctionsadvise on machinery malfunctionsOffer advice to service technicians in case of machinery malfunctions and other technical repair tasks.ensure correct gas pressureensure correct gas pressureEnsure the necessary, usually constant, pressure of gas which is part of a machine or tool, such as torching equipment, used to process metal workpieces during metal fabrication processes.consult technical resourcesconsult technical resourcesRead and interpret technical resources such as digital or paper drawings and adjustment data in order to properly set up a machine or working tool, or to assemble mechanical equipment.smooth burred surfacessmooth burred surfacesInspect and smooth burred surfaces of steel and metal parts.keep records of work progresskeep records of work progressMaintain records of the progress of the work including time, defects, malfunctions, etc.perform metal inert gas weldingperform metal inert gas weldingWeld metal workpieces together using inert gasses or gas mixtures such as argon and helium. This technique is usually used for welding aluminium and other non-ferrous metals.adjust temperature gaugesadjust temperature gaugesOperate temperature gauges to maintain food and drink items at appropriate temperatures.