A friction stir welding tool includes a stir pin, a pin holder, and a housing. The pin holder supports the stir pin to rotate with the stir pin around a rotation axis of the stir pin and has a front portion and a rear portion opposite to the front portion along the rotation axis. A tip end of the stir pin projects from the front portion. The housing houses the pin holder such that the pin holder is rotatable relatively to the housing. The tip end of the stir pin projects from the housing. The housing includes an engaging portion engageable with a spindle frame of a machining head such that the rear portion of the pin holder is attached to a rotation spindle of the machining head to rotate the pin holder. The rotation spindle is rotatable relatively to the spindle frame.

The invention relates to a device and a method for changing the welding direction of the welding shoulder of a system for a friction stir welding process virtually without delay when required by the geometric arrangement of the joint partners to be welded or by a material unevenness, having the following method features: a) a main part (1) with a horizontally movable bridge support (5) has a friction welding head (12) which can be vertically adjusted together therewith and which has a pin receiving area (13) for mounting and driving a welding pin tip (14), wherein the welding shoulder (18) has a welding shoulder receiving area (17) which is supported at multiple points, and b) the welding shoulder receiving area (17) can be adjusted to any angle of attack relative to the joint partners by means of different push-pull rods (16) during the welding process.

A friction stir welding tool includes a housing and a stir pin. The housing includes a first surface, a housing hole formed in the housing and having a housing hole opening on the first surface, and a discharge hole through which the housing hole is in communication with an outside of the housing. The stir pin includes a pin holder and a pin body. The pin holder has a first end portion and a second end portion. The first end portion is configured to be connected to a rotation spindle. The pin body is provided in the housing hole, is detachably attached to the second end portion, and is rotatable together with the pin holder around the rotation axis. The pin body includes a stir portion that protrudes from the first surface via the housing hole opening.

A rotary tool used in a joining device that performs friction stir welding of a joint member. The rotary tool includes: a main body having a fixed unit attached and secured to the joining device, and a rotary shaft for transmitting a rotary force from the joining device; a stirring member that has a stirring pin inserted into the joint member to perform friction stirring on the joint member, that is arranged so as to be rotatable by receiving the rotary force from the rotary shaft, and that is provided on the main body so as to be movable relative to an axial direction of the rotary shaft; and an elastic member that biases the stirring member toward a distal-end side relative to the axial direction of the rotary shaft.

The present invention aims to provide a joining method that can prevent poor joining. The present invention provides a joining method including: a measuring step that measures a height near a joint portion, which serves as a part for joining formed by a first metal member and a second metal member placed in a positional relationship for joining by abutting or overlapping, and obtains measured values; a setting step that sets a height position of a rotating tool based on the measured values obtained by the measuring step; and a friction stir step that relatively moves the turning rotating tool along the joint portion based on the height position set by the setting step.

The abutment portion touches with a shoulder surface of a joiningtool for friction stir welding. The tip portion is freely movable in a first direction connecting a surface of the workpiece and the shoulder surface in a state of contacting the surface of the workpiece. The detector is configured to detect a position of the tip portion in the first direction. The output unit is configured to output a data of the position of the tip portion in the first direction detected by the detector. The controller is configured to calculate a position of the tip portion to the abutment portion from the data of the position output from the output unit, and to calculate a distance between the shoulder surface of the joiningtool and the surface of the workpiece.

Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for the mobile friction stir welding of two tubular structures as joining partners, said apparatus having the following features: a) an annular main body (2) which can be unfolded using a hinge (4) and can be fixedly connected for operation opposite the hinge (4) using a locking mechanism (1); b) a plurality of lifting elements (3) which are distributed along the circumference of the main body (2), can be moved radially by a drive unit (5), and each include a retaining jaw (15) for securing the tubular structures, one retaining jaw (15) being mounted so as to be horizontally movable by a drive unit (6); c) a ring gear (21) which is connected to the main body (2) and on which a spindle head (11) can be moved by a drive unit (20) in an orbital movement about the tubular structures in order for a weld seam to be applied; d) a welding shoe (27) having a sliding surface (27) which is adapted to the curvature of the surfaces of the joining partners.

There is provided a friction stir welding method in which, when double-sided friction stir welding is performed, enough plastic flow to obtain a welded state uniform in the thickness direction of metal sheets can be obtained, in which an increase in welding speed is achieved while the occurrence of defects during welding is prevented, and in which sufficient strength and improvement in welding workability can be achieved. There is also provided a friction stir welding device suitable for the friction stir welding.

A clamp member, for a double-acting friction stir spot welding device, is provided for the double-acting friction stir spot welding device to perform friction stir spot welding of a workpiece by using a rotary tool, and presses a surface of the workpiece while the workpiece is supported. The rotary tool has a pin member and a shoulder member. The clamp member includes an end face that comes into surface contact with the surface of the workpiece to press the surface and a protruding portion protruding from the end face in an axial direction and extending around an axis. The protruding portion is configured to press the workpiece, the clamp member surrounding an outer periphery of the shoulder member.

A blind riveting apparatus (1) comprises a motor (3), and a clamp (31) for gripping the mandrel of a blind rivet, the clamp being movable substantially along the axis of the rivet. The apparatus further comprises a first transmission (51) configured to transfer rotary motion of the motor (3) to the clamp (31) when engaged; and a second transmission (52) configured to convert rotary motion of the motor (3) to linear motion of the clamp (31), and thereby retract the clamp (31) to pull on the mandrel, when engaged. A transmission control apparatus is arranged to selectively adjust the degree of engagement of at least one of the first (51) and second (52) transmissions, the transmission control apparatus comprising a variable-influence brake or clutch (58). Methods of blind riveting, and further pieces of blind riveting apparatus, are also disclosed.