Friction Stir Welding 2009

14 Friction Stir Welding
14.1 Process Description Although very successful at welding metals, espe-

cially aluminum alloys, conventional rotational FSW
14.1.1 Rotational Friction Stir Welding presents the following problems when welding plastics:
Friction stir welding (FSW), developed by and pro- • Difficulty in retaining the material at the joint
prietary to TWI Ltd in the UK, is an advanced tech- line, resulting in voids in the welded joint
nique for joining materials in a continuous operation. • Low speed of welding
In conventional FSW, a cylindrical, shouldered tool • Difficulty in creating an even polymer mixing at
with a profiled probe is rotated and slowly plunged into the joint line
the joint line between two pieces of sheet or plate mate-
rial, which are butted together (Fig. 14.1). The parts are • A nonuniform crown or weld bead
clamped to prevent the abutting joint faces from being To solve these problems, Brigham Young Univer-
forced apart during the welding process. Frictional heat sity developed a hot shoe tool (Fig. 14.2) through which
is generated between the wear resistant welding tool the rotating probe passes. With this arrangement, heat
and the materials to be joined. This heat causes the is not produced by frictional heating from the shoulder,
latter to soften or melt, and allows traversing of the but by the hot shoe that also constrains ejection of mol-
tool along the joint line. The plasticized material is ten material from the joint line [2, 3].
transferred from the leading edge to the trailing edge of
the tool probe and is forged by the intimate contact
14.1.2 Vertical Reciprocating FSW
of the tool shoulder to produce a weld between the
two pieces. The process can be regarded as a keyhole The principle of vertical reciprocating FSW is
welding technique since a hole to accommodate the shown in Fig. 14.3. It consists of a blade that recipro-
probe is generated, then filled during the welding cates in the vertical direction. Frictional heat is gener-
sequence [1]. ated between the blade and the plastic material. The
Sufficient downward
force to consolidate
the weld Mill spindle sleeve
clamp
Retreating side
of weld
Leading edge Advancing
of the shoulder side of weld
Shoe stop
Thrust bearing Threaded tool
Trailing edge Resistive heater

of the shoulder
Probe Heated shoe
Figure 14.1. Principle of rotational friction stir welding Figure 14.2. Heated shoe system for rotational FSW of
(Source: TWI Ltd). thermoplastics (Source: Ref. [2]).
131
132 JOINING PROCESSES
Figure 14.5. Viblade weld in 9 mm (0.35 inches) thick PP

sheet (Source: TWI Ltd).
Figure 14.3. Vertical reciprocating FSW (Source: TWI Ltd).
main problem with this technique is that there is no 14.2 Advantages and Disadvantages
mechanism for retaining molten material in the joint,
which results in voids in the weld area and associated The potential advantages of Viblade welding over
low weld strength. existing fabrication welding techniques, such as hot gas
and extrusion welding, include: increased productivity,
14.1.3 Viblade Welding
especially for thicker sections (>10 mm; >0.39 inches);
continuous welding possible; ability to weld almost all
Another variant of FSW is the reciprocating motion thermoplastics; simple joint design; practically flash-
of a blade in the direction of the weld, as shown in free welds; and the fact that it is an automated process,
Fig. 14.4. This technique has the benefit that the blade resulting in improved QA and a reduction in weld
remains fully within the joint at all times, making it failure.
easier to contain the melt in the weld. In addition, heat The limitations of the FSW process at present are
losses are reduced, and the mean temperature should that it has only been proven for producing linear welds,
be higher when compared with vertical reciprocating and it is not currently commercially available for join-
motion [4]. ing plastics.
A photograph of a Viblade weld is shown in
Fig. 14.5.
14.3 Applications
Downwards The increased use of plastics in manufacturing and
force fabrication has highlighted the need for new joining
techniques to be developed to improve productivity
and achieve more consistent welds with greater integ-
Vibrating rity. The current techniques used for welding thick sec-
tion thermoplastic sheets for the manufacture of large
Direction of constructions, such as chemical storage vessels and
travel
tanks, are extrusion, hot gas, and butt-fusion welding.
Both hot gas and extrusion welding rely on the skill
and consistency of the operator to ensure that a quality
weld is made. Automated FSW could potentially
Blade
replace these manual techniques for fabricating large
thermoplastic structures and vessels, whilst ensuring
that a weld of high quality is maintained. The FSW of
thermoplastics has not yet been commercially exploited;
Figure 14.4. Schematic illustration of Viblade welding however the FSW process could have a significant
(Source: TWI Ltd). impact for continuous welding of plastic sheet.
14: FRICTION STIR WELDING 133
14.4 Materials sheets, whilst a downward force is applied. The blade

and shoulder vibrate at a frequency of around 200 Hz
FSW can be used for joining many types of materi- and with an amplitude of approximately 1.15–1.3 mm
als, if tool materials and designs can be found that allow (0.045–0.05 inches). The reciprocating blade generates
the material to melt and flow. Joint strengths of over frictional heat, causing the sheet material at the inter-
95% of parent strength have been obtained in the labo- face to melt and form a weld behind the blade.
ratory for ABS, PP, and HDPE. Other materials suc-
cessfully welded include PVC and PVDF [2].
14.6 Welding Parameters
14.5 Equipment There are a number of process and material vari-
ables for all the FSW techniques detailed in this section
14.5.1 Rotational FSW which can affect the quality of FSW of thermoplastics.
These include:
Rotational FSW can be carried out on simple
machinery, such as a modified vertical milling machine. • Tool design
The machine frame needs to be robust, avoiding any • Tool rotation speed
significant deflection during welding. Ample power is • Tool temperature
needed to ensure a steady rotation of the welding tool.
The parts to be welded should be manipulated by a lin- • Travel speed
ear or X–Y table. A hydraulic force system can also be • Vertical load
incorporated into the machine to provide the downward • Horizontal load
welding load.
• Plunge depth
• Tilt angle
14.5.2 Vertical Reciprocating FSW
• Welding gap
The principle of vertical reciprocating FSW is that • Plate thickness variation
a specially profiled metallic tool (or probe) is moved
For Viblade welding, since thermoplastics have a
relative to the joint to generate heat by friction. The
very low thermal conductivity, the heat produced by
tool can be either cylindrical in shape or an aerofoil-
the shoulder is not enough to melt the material near the
shaped, blade-type probe. The tool is reciprocated with
root of the joint. A blade that produces enough heat
predetermined amplitude before being traversed along
input on the faces of the butt-joint is required. The fric-
the length of abutting sheet materials.
tional heat is proportional to the pressure, so the down-
A machine can be used that allows for the creation of
ward force directly acts on the heat input produced by
reciprocating stroke movement. This type of movement
the shoulder, and indirectly on the heat produced by the
is created by means of a Scotch-yoke mechanism.
blade. The pressure between the blade and the faces of
The Scotch-yoke is a mechanism for converting the
the sheets is due to a horizontal load applied to the
linear motion of a slider into rotational motion or vice
sheets, and also the penetration of the blade between
versa. The piston or other reciprocating part is directly
them. The horizontal load can be applied to the abut-
coupled to a sliding yoke with a slot that engages a pin
ting sheets either pneumatically or mechanically. The
on the rotating part.
vertical load of the shoulder also helps to prevent the
This type of system, combined with a mechanism
gap between the sheets (caused by the advancing blade)
for applying horizontal load and manipulating the
to expand. This results in a high pressure on the blade
polymer parts or blade can be used for vertical recipro-
faces and a frictional heat input enough to melt the
cating FSW.
material through the full thickness.
14.5.3 Viblade Welding

References
Currently, a commercial linear vibration machine
is used for Viblade welding. The welding process con- 1. Thomas WM, Nicholas ED, Needham JC, Murch
sists of a blade (made of titanium) and a shoulder (made MG, Temple-Smith P, Dawes CJ: Friction welding.
of PTFE) that run between the abutted thermoplastic United States Patent 5,460,317, October 1995.
134 JOINING PROCESSES
2. Sorensen CD, Nelson TW, Strand S, Johns C, Chris- ANTEC 2003, Conference proceedings, Society
tensen J: Joining of thermoplastics with friction of Plastics Engineers, Nashville, May 2003.
stir welding. ANTEC 2001, Conference proceedings, 4. Scialpi A, Troughton M, Andrews S, De Filippis
Society of Plastics Engineers, Dallas, May 2001. LAC: In-line reciprocating friction stir welding of
3. Strand SR, Sorensen CD, Nelson TW: Effects of plastics. Joining Plastics—Fügen von Kunststoffen,
friction stir welding on polymer microstructure. 1, 2007.

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14 Friction Stir Welding

14.1 Process Description Although very successful at welding metals, espe-

Thrust bearing Threaded tool

Trailing edge Resistive heater

Probe Heated shoe

Figure 14.5. Viblade weld in 9 mm (0.35 inches) thick PP

Figure 14.3. Vertical reciprocating FSW (Source: TWI Ltd).

14.4 Materials sheets, whilst a downward force is applied. The blade

14.5.3 Viblade Welding

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