Resistance welding electrode

A resistance welding electrode, comprising:

• a substantially cylindrical barrel shaped body having an end surface and having an axial cooling water passage extending substantially to said end surface thereof, the peripheral wall of said barrel shaped body being free of axially distributed ridges and grooves;
• means on said barrel shaped body for preventing deformation of said end surface of said barrel shaped body into a mushroom-like formation, said means comprising a reduced diameter, wearable cylindrical portion integrally formed on the central portion of said end surface of said barrel shaped body and projecting coaxially out therefrom and terminating at a free end for welding engagement with a work piece, the diameter of said cylindrical projection being substantially less than the diameter of said barrel shaped body, said cylindrical projection having axially distributed ridge portions axially separated by groove portions which successively cut off the mushroom-like spread of said free end of the cylindrical projection as said cylindrical projection wears during welding contact with work pieces;
• said cylindrical projection having means preventing changes in the cross sectional area thereof during welding despite wearing down of said cylindrical projection axially past successive ones of axially aligned ones of said ridge and groove portions, with said wearing continuing substantially through the length of said cylindrical projection, said change preventing means comprising:
• at lesat one helical groove winding around the periphery of said cylindrical projection from said end surface of said barrel shaped body to said free end of said cylindrical projection, said helical groove defining at least one corresponding helical ridge similarly winding around the periphery of said cylindrical projection, such that said free end of said cylindrical projection as it wears during welding always includes and exposes the end of at least one said helical ridge and the end of at least one said helical groove, wherein the exposed helical groove and ridge ends in effect are rotated around the perimeter of said cylindrical projection free end as the latter axially wears away during welding contact with work pieces, wherein said cylindrical projection free end is axially wearable to limit radially outward mushroom-like spread of its work piece contact area but without periodic contraction of said contact area, and such that said contact area remains substantially constant during axial wearing away of said cylindrical projection, said helical ridge and groove being structured like threads on a bolt wherein the radial depth of said helical groove is small compared to the radial thickness of material separating said helical groove from the central axis of said cylindrical projection, said helical groove being entirely offset axially from said water passage such that no part of said helical groove surrounds said water passage, the outside diameter of said helical ridge being substantially less than the outside diameter of said barrel shaped body.