An introduction to friction stir welding

By Jeff Defalco, Contributing Writer

September 15, 2009

A relatively new joining process, friction stir welding (FSW) produces no fumes; uses no filler material; and can join aluminum alloys, copper, magnesium, zinc, steels, and titanium. FSW sometimes produces a weld that is stronger than the base material.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new joining process that has been used for high production since 1996. Because melting does not occur and joining takes place below the melting temperature of the material, a high-quality weld is created. This characteristic greatly reduces the ill effects of high heat input, including distortion, and eliminates solidification defects. Friction stir welding also is highly efficient, produces no fumes, and uses no filler material, which make this process environmentally friendly.

History

Friction stir welding was invented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in December 1991. TWI filed successfully for patents in Europe, the U.S., Japan, and Australia. TWI then established TWI Group-Sponsored Project 5651,”Development of the New Friction Stir Technique for Welding Aluminum,” in 1992 to further study this technique.

The development project was conducted in three phases. Phase I proved FSW to be a realistic and practical welding technique, while at the same time addressing the welding of 6000 series aluminum alloys. Phase II successfully examined the welding of aerospace and ship aluminum alloys, 2000 and 5000 series, respectively. Process parameter tolerances, metallurgical characteristics, and mechanical properties for these materials were established. Phase III developed pertinent data for further industrialization of FSW.

Since its invention, the process has received world-wide attention, and today FSW is used in research and production in many sectors, including aerospace, automotive, railway, shipbuilding, electronic housings, coolers, heat exchangers, and nuclear waste containers.

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

This expression makes absolutely no sense if you’re in the profession of welding.

#1:  If you can’t stand the heat, why the heck are you a welder?

#2:  There is no kitchen.  What kitchen?  If you’re welding in a kitchen, get out of that kitchen. Right now! There are gas mains!

#3:  If you can stand the heat, and you’re not in a kitchen, then why would you move?  Stand right there!

In fact, let’s add some more heat.  Let’s add some… friction.

That’s right, you heard me. Friction, as in friction stir welding. FSW. It’s all the rage in… in…

Just read.

An introduction to friction stir welding

By Jeff Defalco, Contributing Writer
September 15, 2009

A relatively new joining process, friction stir welding (FSW) produces no fumes; uses no filler material; and can join aluminum alloys, copper, magnesium, zinc, steels, and titanium. FSW sometimes produces a weld that is stronger than the base material.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new joining process that has been used for high production since 1996. Because melting does not occur and joining takes place below the melting temperature of the material, a high-quality weld is created. This characteristic greatly reduces the ill effects of high heat input, including distortion, and eliminates solidification defects.

Friction stir welding also is highly efficient, produces no fumes, and uses no filler material, which make this process environmentally friendly.

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Look what I found as I was browsing through the wonderful world of the Miller discussion boards!  If you haven’t read these already, you’re in for a treat, and if they’re not already up in your shop, well then… I don’t know what to tell you.

So, without further ado,

The 10 Welding Commandments

1. Thou shalt not weld on an unpurged tank, for the noise will be very loud when the tank explodes and thy friends will console thy widow in ways generally unacceptable to thee.

2. Thou shalt secure thy tanks, lest one fall on thy foot and transform thee into less than a graceful dancer when called upon by thy wife or other female friend.

3. Thou shalt clean thy work carefully, lest thy gaze upon thy work falling apart as it passeth out of thy sight.

4. Thou shalt place thy work in jigs, or other holding fixtures, for the eye is a poor instrument for the measurement of angles and great will be the wrath of thy leader as thou art doing thy task a second time.

5. Thou shalt not weld near batteries, compressed gasses, or flammable materials lest a spark from thy labors would cause thee to continue thy chosen profession in an open field or other such drafty place.

6. Thou shalt take great care of thy tools and equipment, lest thy friend who is in charge of such things smites thee about thy head and shoulders for being a wastrel and a knave.

7. Thou shalt not perform thy art without proper ventilation, for the smell of toxic gasses produced by the heating of primers, and plated or painted sufaces is worse than a bad cigar and will remain with thee until the end of thy days.

8. Thou shalt not weld without goggles, nor shalt thou allow others to gaze upon thy labors, lest thy employment, or the employment of others be changed to sitting on cold and rainy streets while selling pencils.

9. Thou shalt wear sturdy gloves, for burns upon thy hands are a source of great pain when thou art attempting to raise thy bowling average.

10. Thou shalt ground thy work, when thou weldeth with a machine of arcs, for thou art a poor conductor of electricity and the shock which thou shalt receive shall ruin thy plans for thy weekend.

Looking to go back to school for welding? Where better to learn the tricks of the trade than from good ol’ Lincoln Electric?

The Lincoln Electric Welding School Announces Its 2010 Schedule

Cleveland – The Lincoln Electric Welding School, which has instructed more than 120,000 students since its inception in 1917, announces its 2010 schedule.

The Lincoln Electric Welding School is the oldest and one of the most respected arc welding schools in the United States. Classes are taught by the school’s seven full-time instructors who have more than 100 years of combined industry experience. Courses are designed to teach the arc welding skills that employers need. Lincoln-trained students are in high demand by welding fabricators at pay levels that tend to exceed the industry average.

Classes range from a six-week basic course to an advanced 15-week comprehensive course, as well as one-week classes on specific welding processes, certification and customized programs. Students spend 80 percent of their time in the booth learning to weld. Additionally, Lincoln limits class sizes to 15 students per class in order to maximize learning and guarantee one-on-one instruction time.

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Today is the start of the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California.  This weekend, Jim Watson, aka Joe Welder, will be joining more than 40,000 other hot rod aficionados for a weekend of cars, cars, and more cars!

But Jim has a bit more on his mind — he just learned that one Glen Dennee has bought his Uncle Ben’s old racing car and is working on restoring it!
He’ll get a chance to meet up with Glen during the show and and discuss how best to go about restoring Farmer Ben’s V8 60  Midget!

The Grand National Roadster Show
January 29 – 31, 2010

GNRS Supports Haiti Relief

Come to the 2010 Kragen O’Reilly Grand National Roadster Show this weekend and support the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund! We are donating proceeds from the sales of GNRS programs to this fund, and as this year’s theme is “Mardi Gras,” we’ll be having a good time handing out Mardi Gras beads to showgoers in exchange for small donations. Make a difference – come on out and join 40,000 other hot rodders for Haiti!

MORE INFORMATION ->

My first motorcycle was a Mini Bike – a Taco 44 kit that my neighbor and his dad decided was too much of a hassle to build. I traded my electric guitar for it.

My dad and I worked together to collect all the parts needed to build it.

Centrifigal chain drive clutches were popular then but a bit unreliable and noisy, so we engineered a belt drive system with a double pulley jackshaft, and chain drive to the rear sproket.

It was connected to a variable speed clutch, which was installed on a polished and chromed out, performance tuned Briggs & Stratton 5HP engine complete with a Tecumseh down draft carburator and straight pipe exhaust!

We turned the flywheel all the way down to the magnets, milled the head and made our own copper head gasket, as the OEM one was a thick layered sandwich design.

My dad organized a trip to Tijuana Mexico to have our 1969 Dodge Dart reupolstered. I invited two of my grade school buddies, Steve Maxwell and Eddie Fagg from Vista de Valle Elementry School in Claremont CA. Each of us brought our mini bike seats to have them reskined with custom material, button-tucked and finished off with some nice edge piping. The last thing we did before painting the frame gloss black was to redesigned the friction rear brake and custom foot pegs, which we had heliarc welded at Foothill Welding in Claremont, California.

When we picked up the parts from the shop, I was intrigued by the heliarc welds the guy had laid down, so I asked him a couple of questions, and he showed me how to make a few myself!

My friends thought it was all so cool – the bike – the welding. Before long, they had started calling me “Joe Welder”, and I guess it stuck !

I had a lot of fun on that old bike – it was the first time I really learned about engine modifications.

One night my Dad came home and saw me doing a trophy run down the alley behind the workshop. He said there was a long white flame streaming from the exhaust and it smelled like it was burning up.

When I explained how I had added some nitro to the high-octane AvGas, he knew I was ready to move up to a real motorcyle.

It was the day after Larry Dorsey’s 54th birthday when Katrina hit.  He spent the next week just trying to survive.  Now, 4 years later, Larry is not just surviving; he is thriving, thanks in part to a shiny new welding certificate.

Hurricane survivor, KCC student earns premier welding certification

NICOLE FINKBEINER • READER SUBMITTED • OCTOBER 6, 2009

Larry Dorsey (Kellogg Community College)

Larry Dorsey, 58, received notification on Wednesday, September 30, that he pass the American Welding Society’s 6G Pipe Welding Certification.

The national certification means that the Air Force veteran can make approximately $25-30 per hour inspecting and supervising welding projects.

The certification is rare, and opens up a broad range of employment prospects.

Dorsey arrived in Battle Creek after surviving seven days of flooding from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. It was the day after his birthday when the flood waters came and he thought, like all of the other times, the waters would subside.

Within two days, the food he had ran out so he used a refrigerator door as a flotation device to find food for him and his neighbors. When he realized the waters were not receding, he knew it was time to leave.

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If this class was offered at my old high school, who knows – I might actually consider going back!  Automotive restoration?  Welding, painting, and metal fabrication?  Sponsored by the local car museum?  Wait – are you sure this is for high school?

Gilmore Car Museum starts high school auto restoration program

READER SUBMITTED • OCTOBER 15, 2009

An innovative pilot program that matches adult mentors with high school students interested in the automotive arts is the newest educational step being taken by the Gilmore Car Museum, near Kalamazoo, MI to fulfill its mission of becoming a resource to the community.

(Gilmore Car Museum)

Beginning its first full week as an after-school course in automotive preservation, conservation, and restoration, the “Gilmore Garage Works” project selected eight seniors from Hastings High and Delton-Kellogg High, the two high schools in its home Barry Intermediate School District, to be part of the initial class.

Students and their adult mentors, primarily Museum members with long histories in the auto restoration hobby, will use a 1931 Willys-Knight donated to the Museum in 2005 as their first restoration project.

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If you’re afraid of heights then this is not the job for you… but check out this video clip of fabricators high atop a skyscraper…

…and this video clip features Lincoln Electric’s flux-cored welding technology. Pretty impressive stuff!

Aims Community College of Colorado is reaching out to its welding students with a newly established memorial scholarship.  It commemorates the late Dale Majors, a welder himself, and a member of the college’s Board of Trustees.

New scholarship to aid Aims welding students

Staff Reports
Thursday, July 30, 2009

Dale Lee Majors 1936-2009

Family and friends of the late Dale Majors have established a memorial endowment scholarship for welding students at Aims Community College.

Majors, an early and longtime supporter of Aims and a welder, played a significant role in the development of vocational programs at Aims. He served on the Aims Board of Trustees for 16 years and was presented with the Honorary Aims Fellows Award in 2009.

He owned and operated Majors Welding Supply & Equipment Co. for 25 years, Gateway Self Storage and other commercial properties. Dale was also active on numerous boards in the community, including president of the Greeley Rotary Club.

“Dale loved the welding industry, had thoughtful business practices, and was committed to the community,” family spokesman Jeff Engelman said in a statement. “The scholarship is a way to pass these traits on to future generations.”

For more information about scholarships at Aims, call Julie Buderus at (970) 339-6583.

Check out this video showcasing a technique known as explosion welding…. Explosion welding also produces high quality welds on almost any combination of metals, not only is it a surprisingly dangerous type of welding but surprisingly effective as well.