Method and apparatus for making a printing screen

A method of making a rotary printing screen from a substantially rectangular sheet of woven rigidized wire mesh screen material by making a welded seam with a resistance welder wherein the welder includes a fixed lower electrode and a movable upper electrode, said method comprising the steps of cutting the screen material into a sheet to form a predetermined size to form a screen, forming the sheet of screen material into a generally cylindrical shape to abut two edges together, mounting the screen material onto a support bar having the lower electrode in the form of an elongated welding electrode, wherein the electrode is received in a slot on the bar and includes a tip having a width of 0.010 to 0.040 inches, aligning the lower sides of the abutting edges along the tip, applying the upper electrode to the upper sides of the abutting edges to weld the edges together and form a butt weld seam and a completed rotary printing screen.

Apparatus for butt welding woven metal printing screen material to define a cylindrical printing screen for a rotary screen press, said apparatus comprising a resistance welder having a pair of electrodes, an elongated support bar having an upper substantially flat surface, an elongated slot in the flat surface for receiving the lower one of the electrodes and holding the electrode stationary, said electrode in the bar having a tip of 0.010 to 0.040 inch width, means on the bar for holding the abutting edges of a cylindrically formed sheet of woven screen material together on the support arm so the abutting edges have sufficient metal to form the butt weld aligned with said electrode tip, means electrically insulating the screen material from the support bar, means supporting the upper one of the electrodes above the screen material and opposite the bar electrode and driving the electrode along the edges to resistance weld the edges together and form a butt weld, said upper electrode being substantially wider than said tip.