Presentation on FSW of Aluminium by Expert

FSW Presention

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Friction Stir Welding

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World Centre for Materials Joining
TWI’s Mission
To deliver world class services in
joining materials, engineering and
allied technologies to meet the
needs of a global membership and
its associated community
Dedicated to Materials Joining
- Approx. £80m revenue pa
- ~900 staff in 4 main R&D centres
- 5 UK sites and 14 Intl. locations
- Approx. 800 industrial members
in >3000 locations Worldwide
- 65 years track record

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Specialist Areas of Expertise
1. How to join materials effectively
2. How do joints perform in service
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Metals
Plastics
Ceramics
Composites
Welding
Adhesives
Fasteners
Surfacing

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Adhesives, composites and
sealants
Additive manufacture
Electron beam processes
Friction and forge
processes
Laser and sheet processes
Manufacturing support
Specialist materials and
joining
Joining Group

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Welding engineering
Materials performance and
ferrous alloys
Corrosion testing
Polymers and elastomers
Stainless steels and
non-ferrous alloys
Surfacing
Materials Group

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Integrity Management Group
Asset integrity
management
Condition and structural
monitoring
Fatigue and fracture
integrity management
Long range ultrasonic
Non destructive testing
Numerical modelling and
optimisation

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TWI - Industrial Sectors

8. TWI – A Global Membership
~800 industrial members in
>3000 locations globally
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~800 confidential research
projects per year
+150 ongoing industry-led
research projects
~10,000 training and
examinations students pa
~4000 new technical
abstracts per annum
Representation on over
100 standards committees
Output and Impact

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Friction Stir Welding

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Solid state welding

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• A rotating FSW tool is plunged between
two abutted and clamped plates
• Frictional heat causes a soft, plasticised
zone to form around the tool
• The rotating tool moves along the joint
line, mixing the abutted plate materials
• A solid-phase forged joint is formed
behind the tool
Principles of Friction Stir Welding

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Principles of FSW
Example of simple 3mm sheet AA6082 butt weld
Workpiece
Fixture
Abutted plates

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Appearance of a FSW

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Benefits – Aluminium welding
Solid phase joining process
Single pass welding up to
100mm in aluminium
Mechanised, highly repeatable
process
No edge preparation required
No shielding gas or filler wire
required for most materials
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Low distortion and shrinkage
Weld in any orientation
Excellent mechanical
properties in weld
Highly efficient, fast process
Very low energy consumption
Health & Safety benefits:
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No welding fume or spatter
No UV or electromagnetic radiation

21. Process Requirements and Limitations
Process depends on workpieces being rigidly clamped
Force reacting backing bar required
(for ‘conventional’ FSW – self-supporting ‘bobbin’ variant available)
Management of tool exit region at end of weld
(Various exit strategies developed)
Equipment hardware can be expensive
(requires machine stiffness to control weld forces)
Thin section welding speeds can be marginally slower than
some fusion processes(difference is reducing as process develops)
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What’s happening in the ‘weld’?

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FSW Tools

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FSW Aluminium Microstructures

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Materials Weldable by FSW
Al alloys (All)
Mg alloys
Cu alloys
Zn alloys
Pb alloys
Thermoplastics
C-Mn and Alloy steels
Steels
Ti alloys
Ni alloys
Dissimilar alloys/metals
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26. Copyright © TWI Ltd 2019
Joint Types and
Component Geometries
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FSW
1D (spot welding)
2D (X-Y paths)
3D (X-Y-Z robotic)
Circumferential
Multi-lap
Butt welds
Encapsulation
Dissimilar thickness

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FSW Overview at TWI
‘A Global Influence’
7 Specialised
TWI FSW
research
machines
Approx. total global
FSSW welds made
annually
> 2m
FSW users set
to double in
next 10 yrs
Inventors
of FSW process
in 1991
>£63m
FSW TWI
projects delivered
to date
Approx. total
Energy costs saved
£305m
>£0.5m
annual
internal R&D
FSW machines
Worldwide
>550
Approx. total
annual energy
saving vs fusion
welding
4800MWh
16
TWI Staff
dedicated to
friction welding
Approx. total global
weld length annually
2400km
Biennial FSW
Symposium &
users forum

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Service offerings for
Friction Stir Welding
Low
conductivity
Microstructural
processing
Dual-sided
FSW
3D Robotic
FSW
Fillet
FSW
Additive
FSW
Friction Stir
Spot Welding
FSW Process
Variants
Thick Section
High
Temperature
Prototyping
Systems &
Automation
Manufacturing
Process
Modelling
Structural
Integrity
Manufacturing
Services
Numerical
Modelling
Mechanical
Testing
NDTMetallurgy
Heat
Treatment
Advanced
Microscopy
TestingMaterials
Training &
Certification

29. ONGOING
SUPPORT
ON SITE
SUPPORT
MACHINE
PROCUREMENT
Cycle of FSW support
Early Concept to Production support
CONCEPT
DEVELOPMENT
FEASIBILITY
STUDY
PROCESS
DEVELOPMENT
PROCESS
DEMONSTRATION
INDUSTRIAL
APPLICATION
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30. Examples of FSW equipment at TWI
Thicknesses from 1-75mm, bed envelopes up to 8m x 5m
ESAB SuperStir™ dual head gantry machine TTI Precision Spindle
machine
AWEA multi-head gantry milling machine
Kawasaki refill friction spot stir robotCrawford Swift High Force/dual-sided
machine
Friction Stir Link Robotic FSW Arm
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Quality Assurance
Detailed QA weld data recording possible for all
process forces, positions and tool temperatures

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AWS D17.3 / D17.3M-2010
Specification for Friction Stir Welding of
Aluminium Alloys for Aerospace Applications
ISO 25239:2011
Friction stir welding – Aluminium
ISO/DIS 18785
Friction stir spot welding - Aluminium
Standards

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TWI Experience
Worldwide FSW Technology Transfer, Implementation and/or On-Site
support in over 30 nations:
UK, USA, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Portugal, Sweden,
Finland, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Czech Rep, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, Russia, Malaysia, Taiwan,
Brazil, India, China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland …
Over 500 industrial FSW research projects to date
Over 25,000 research welds to date in 20 different materials, from
200 µm to >100 mm thick sections (single pass)
Multidisciplinary team of 16 engineers with over 120 years of
combined FSW experience
Members and Contributors on Standards Committees
FSW production capability
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TWI FSW Training Courses
Standard
Foundation Award
Intermediate Award
Advanced Award
Bespoke
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TWI Members only
Product specific
Technique specific
At TWI or member site

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Recent Advances of
Friction Stir Welding
ESA/AIRBUS/TWI
SSFSW of low-cost cast Ti-6Al-4V
satellite launcher propellant tanks

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Your Questions or Thoughts?