Technology file
Micro Friction Stir Welding
Technology
Friction stir welding is a solid-state joining process, which can be used to join traditionally difficult materials such as aluminium. In the past, there has been a drive towards joining thicker materials. Now TWI is responding to a market need for thin sheet joining in a range of industries.
Advantages
- Uses existing machine tool technology
- Low cost
- No fusion, no fume, no spatter - clean room compatible
- Minimum distortion
- Suitable for automation
- Ambient joining conditions
- Tolerant to imperfect edges
- Can join dissimilar materials
- Environmentally friendly
Expertise
- Variety of Al alloys
- Butt welds, lap joints and spot welds down to 0.3 mm thickness
- Aluminium to copper welds
- Thermoplastic polymers
Applications so far
- Innovative thin-wall piping solutions
- Aerospace thin casings
- Aluminium bus-bars
The future
- Thinner welding
- Hermetic sealing for electronics packaging
- Copper cable joints
- Low distortion flexible sheets
For further information, please email your request to micro@twi.co.uk.
