Friction Stir welding AL to Brass

[sypoth]

My brother designs not only the bits but also variations on these machines like the industrial pipe version. He explained this as a use of torque and friction to stir the metals together with heat as the byproduct instead of the means to form the weld. The process is not only used to weld Armor onto Navy ships, previously done by either sandwiching or bolting it into place as welding is impossible due to thickness and composition, but also in welding together metals that previously could not.

[craigdtibbits]

what is the maximum thickness two pieces can be welded??

[Penn3Mascot]

@craigdtibbits I have seen aluminum pressure vessels with 3 inch wall thickness friction stir welded the full depth of the wall.

[saltydog45]

Im sure it has it's applications for thin material.But digging around,whats its depth of weld etc?.The setup time and cost for most jobs would make it impractical.Oh,and brass and Ali...bad mix when it comes to electrolysis.

[smellsofbikes]

There's a pin sticking out of the bottom of that tool, and the depth of the pin is the depth of the weld. It works best on sheet. It's how they're welding together the Eclipse business jet, rather than using traditional riveting. You end up with a seamless, smooth weld with minimal heat affected zone and no recesses for corrosion to build up.

[MaterialsScience101]

EB welding is pretty cool and one of the better welds with regard to HAZ and weld integrity, although explosion weld is always fun...

[wombergoose]

this is pretty cool but probably not suitable for most situations

[Mattersmatter]

cool music, cool technology, great idea....i wonder what other weird welds are possible

[agfox1392]

Underwater, in space, explosion, resistance, plasma, laser, electron beam, sonic...Have fun with any of those :)