Welding

Should I use stitch welds or full welds?

Stitch welds (short welds with gaps in between) are faster, use less wire and put less heat into the job, which means less distortion. And they're often all you need. When we design a joint, we work out the governing force it has to carry, then check what the welds can take. If the stitch welds' capacity comes out comfortably above that force, running a full weld just adds cost, time and distortion for strength that's never used.

Strength isn't the only check, though. Every stitch has a start and a stop, and those ends are stress concentrations. On anything that vibrates or sees repeated loading, like trailers, chassis, cranes and machinery, fatigue can govern instead of static strength, and the stitch ends are exactly where cracks start. The gaps between stitches also trap water and dirt, so on anything exposed to the weather the joint can rust from the inside where you can't see it.

So the answer comes from the calculations and the conditions, not from habit. If the numbers show the stitch welds have plenty of capacity, and fatigue and corrosion aren't an issue, stitch welds are the smarter, cheaper choice. If the part vibrates, carries cyclic load or lives outdoors, continuous is usually the way to go. Either way, it should be decided at the design stage and shown on the drawing, not changed on the shop floor to save time.