metals joining Archives - Taber Extrusions

Friction Stir Welding Services Spotlight: End Applications

jane2023-12-29T22:02:52+00:00December 29th, 2023|

Friction stir welding is a solid-state process where a non-consumable tool generates heat through friction, softening the workpiece near the tool. The softened metal is mixed and forged under mechanical pressure, creating a steel-strong bond. It’s akin to a sculptor shaping and uniting metal like clay or dough.

FSW was invented in 1991 by The Welding Institute (TWI) in the United Kingdom, and it has since become one of the most versatile and widely used welding processes in the world. This blog delves into the realm of FSW, covering the process, its advantages over traditional methods, and its applications across industries.

Unlocking the Hidden Benefits of FSW — Your Ultimate Guide!

An infographic about the advantages of FSW and which industries benefit most from friction stir welding.

FSW has revolutionized the welding process and changed the way we join metals. It is a versatile and efficient process that offers several advantages over traditional welding processes.

High weld quality: FSW is a solid-state welding process that produces robust, flexible, tough welds without melting the metal and eliminating defects.

Low distortion: This localized welding technique minimizes distortion in welded components by concentrating heat near the weld area.

Wide range of materials: FSW can weld various materials like aluminum, magnesium, copper, and steel alloys

Versatility: It can effectively join components of different thicknesses and configurations and is capable of welding dissimilar materials, such as aluminum and steel.

Environmental Benefits: FSW is more environmentally friendly than other welding processes, such as arc and laser welding. FSW produces less fumes and smoke and does not require shielding gas.

In addition to these advantages, FSW is a reliable and repeatable welding process. This makes it ideal for high-volume production applications.

A vector compilation of trains, buses, helicopters, subways, and airplanes in blue tones.

FSW Services Have Revolutionized Joining Metals (particularly in U.S. aluminum extrusions)

The industries that use the most FSW are:

Aerospace

Due to the need for aircraft fuselages to act as engine components, the aerospace sector has embraced FSW services for their lightweight, high-strength characteristics and their ability to maintain optimum structural integrity after being welded.

Automotive and rail

FSW finds its application in producing aluminum-intensive cars, where robust and reliable joints are paramount. By utilizing FSW technology, automotive manufacturers can reduce weight while maintaining structural integrity, improving performance and safety.

Marine

The marine industry widely employs FSW for welding aluminum structures that need high strength and corrosion resistance. It produces high-quality welds and is more environmentally friendly than other welding processes. Its use in the maritime industry has led to significant cost savings, improved efficiency, and better-quality welds.

Electronics

The electronics industry uses FSW to produce heat sinks and join dissimilar metals, such as copper and aluminum. It offers improved thermal performance, reduced weight, and reliable and repeatable welds, making it an attractive option for electronic device manufacturers.

General fabrication

FSW provides a solid-state welding process that results in high-quality, defect-free welds. It is also ideal for welding various materials, such as aluminum, magnesium, copper, and steel alloys, and has less distortion and fumes than traditional welding processes.

Various other sectors, such as energy, construction, and medical devices, also utilize FSW in addition to these industries. The FSW process is a great partner for demanding applications because it creates seamless and defect-free welds in large aluminum extrusions.

Taber Extrusions Expands Capabilities with Friction Stir Welding

Watch the “Taber: Advanced Friction Stir Welding Capabilities” video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw5sxgHSn7I

If your company is in need of friction stir-welding services, consider the leading American aluminum extrusion company—Taber Extrusions.

Taber’s FSW capabilities allow them to create panel assemblies that are very large (up to 200 inches wide by 65 feet long). They can also make double-walled hollow extrusions up to 6.5 inches tall, 32 inches wide, and 65 feet long. The FSW production cell carries out all of this through a unique production process, which also trims the profiles of the panels before joining them.

Taber’s in-house FSW capabilities provide its customers with a more comprehensive suite of services, meeting the ever-increasing demand for FSW across various industries.

More About Taber Extrusions:

Founded in 1973, Taber Extrusions originally pioneered a process for extruding rectangular billet which enables the company to extrude solid profiles up to 31 inches wide or hollows up to 29 inches. Taber expanded with a facility in Gulfport, MS., in 1995, which houses a state-of-the-art cast house and two additional presses, micro-extrusion capabilities, and the fabrication area has been expanded multiple times – with the most recent being the addition of the new larger machining center.

Taber continues to extrude billet in a wide range of alloys and sizes, and has diversified its markets beyond military since its inception to include aerospace, automotive, marine, infrastructure, and sporting goods, among many others. For these markets, the company supplies cast and extruded products in a variety of soft and hard alloys.

Today, Taber Extrusions is proud of its friction stir welding capabilities, and full offering of extruded aluminum components, value-added machining services and raw material supply to the North American market.

Taber Extrusions is here to make your dreams a reality. Taber’s team of experts will guide you through the entire process, from selecting the perfect custom shape to choosing the suitable alloy. And their award-winning extrusion process will bring your project to life.

Follow Taber Extrusions:

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/taberextrusions/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/taberextrusions/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/taberextrusions

Are you interested in becoming a part of the Taber team? Submit your resume to careers@taberextrusions.com.

What is Friction Stir Welding?

Nathalia and Jorge2019-09-12T18:36:18+00:00September 12th, 2019|

This image depicts a friction stir-welding machine joining two large, cylindrical aerospace vehicle components.

What is friction stir welding?

As the name suggests, “friction stir welding” (FSW) is a metal joining technique that uses friction heat to unite metal structures. In traditional welding, high levels of heat are applied thereby melting two metal parts into one another. By contrast, FSW is a solid-state joining technique that takes advantage of metal atom’s cohesive forces that cause them to diffuse into each other. The friction generates temperatures below the melting point, but high enough where the plasticized material can move around.

How does friction stir welding work?

The key in FSW is the non-consumable rotating tool. The tool, that looks similar to a drill bit, is made up of two components: a probe, a small cylinder which will penetrate into the width of the metals at their joint; and a shoulder, a larger cylinder which will spin along the surface of the metal pieces. The rotating tool supplies both the heat and the pressure needed for the weld.

The metal pieces are clamped tightly in a butt or lap joint configuration, and the mechanical rotating tool is programmed to run along the joint. The spinning tool inserted between the tightly clamped metal creates enough friction heat for the atoms of the two metals to move around. The plasticized metal moves around the probe and then fills the cavity behind the tool before coalescing into a single piece of metal.

Close up image of the drill bit-like rotating tool on a friction-stir welding machine.

What are the advantages of friction stir welding’s solid state joining for aerospace, shipbuilding, rail, aerospace, automotive industries?

There are various advantages to using FSW for metal joining:

Flexibility: FSW allows efficient welding for difficult projects. FSW can be used on high-strength aluminum that can be difficult to join using conventional welding. Companies such as Taber use FSW to create aluminum extrusions in a wide array of profiles and sizes ranging from micro extrusions to 65-foot long extrusions.
High strength welds: Traditional welding can introduce corruption into metals during the welding process, as it can manifest solidification cracks and porosity problems. Solid-state joining creates joints that are as strong as the metal from which they are created and are a good choice for high-strength aluminum.
High quality welds: Characteristics of FSW welded metal include low distortion, reduced weight (no filler material), and excellent bonding properties.
Green welding: Traditional welding consumes electrodes, energy, shielding gas, and produces noxious fumes. FSW with its non-consumable rotation tool eliminates waste.

Limitations of friction stir welding for metal joining:

The FSW spin tool must resist heat and corrosion as it moves the metal around it. Therefore, FSW best works with malleable materials with low welding temperatures.

Four, large cross-sectional profiles of aluminum parts with different patterns, shapes, and widths, and underneath an aluminum tablet with micro-aluminum profiles.

Therefore, aluminum continues to be one of the most important metals used in FSW. Aerospace, shipbuilding, rail, aerospace, automotive industries all look to aluminum FSW for high-precision aluminum extrusions and aluminum welds of high strength and quality. Aluminum FSW is particularly important because high-strength aluminum can be difficult to join using traditional methods and FSW precision allows almost infinite variety in shape and size in aluminum extrusions.

More on Taber Extrusions

Founded in 1973, Taber Extrusions originally pioneered a process for extruding rectangular billets which enables the company to extrude solid profiles up to 31 inches wide or hollows up to 29 inches. Taber expanded with the purchase of an extrusion facility in Gulfport, MS in 1995 which houses a cast house and two additional presses, with a fabrication area that has been expanded multiple times. Besides their recently expanded capabilities to include micro-extrusions and 7” billet molds, Taber Extrusions is proud to announce friction stir-welding technology. The addition of in-house FSW capabilities creates a vertically integrated supplier of FSW panels and assemblies never before seen in North America.

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