A method of installing a friction element includes driving the friction element through a top panel and friction welding the friction element to a bottom panel. At least one additional panel may or may not be between the top panel and the bottom panel. Also, at least one key friction element weld (FEW) parameter is controlled during installing of the friction element, at least one key FEW parameter is monitored during installing of the friction element, and the at least one key FEW controlled parameter is adjusted in real-time as a function of and in response to the at least one key FEW monitored parameter exhibiting completion of at least one key FEW process characteristic. Non-limiting examples of the at least one key FEW controlled parameter include RPM of the friction element and insertion force applied to the friction element.

Provided is a joining method that can prevent a plastic flowing material from flowing out from a butt section and that can reduce the thickness and weight of metal members. The joining method is for joining a first metal member and a second metal member by using a rotary tool comprising a stirring pin, and is characterized in that: the stirring pin comprises a flat surface perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotary tool and comprises a protruding section protruding from the flat face; and in a friction stirring step, the flat surface is brought into contact with the first metal member and the second metal member, and a front end face of the protruding section is inserted deeper than an upper overlapping section to join an upper front butt section and the upper overlapping section.

A method of securing an insert in a preselected region of a workpiece. An opening wall is formed in the workpiece with an opening wall surface defining an opening to produce a remainder segment of the workpiece. The opening encompasses or coincides with the preselected region. An insert is provided to fit in the opening. An insert heated portion and a remainder segment heated portion are heated to a hot working temperature, at which they are plastically deformable. While the insert is subjected to an engagement motion, to move the insert relative to the remainder segment, an insert engagement surface of the insert is pressed against the opening wall surface, for plastic deformation of the insert heated portion and of the remainder segment heated portion, creating a metallic bond between the insert and the remainder segment. The insert and the remainder segment are allowed to cool, to bond them together.

A system includes a tool configured to be positioned proximate to respective welding surface of separate components. The tool includes a tool head and an actuator configured to drive rotation of the tool head. The tool also includes a controller having a memory operatively coupled to a processor. The processor is configured to provide a command signal to the actuator to apply a pulsed torque to drive rotation of the tool head to facilitate joining the respective welding surfaces of the separate components to one another.

The present invention discloses an electromagnetic pulse-aided friction stir lock welding processing device and method, which comprises an upper die body and a lower die body. The upper end of the lower die body is provided with a frustum-shaped settling tank. The lower end of the upper die body is provided with a tip inserted into the settling tank, an outer wall of the tip is fitted with an inner wall of the settling tank, a gap for placing parts to be processed is arranged between the upper die body and the lower die body.

A friction stir spot welding apparatus according to the present invention includes: a rotary tool; and a perpendicular-to-plane detector, which detects whether or not the rotary tool is positioned to be in a perpendicular-to-plane state relative to a joining target portion of workpieces. The perpendicular-to-plane detector measures distances to at least three measurement positions set around the joining target portion by means of, for example, position sensors. The measurement positions are set to be positioned at the vertices of a polygon on a reference plane to which forward and backward movement directions of the rotary tool are normal. The perpendicular-to-plane detector detects that the rotary tool is positioned to be in the perpendicular-to-plane state relative to the joining target portion of the workpieces if all the distances to the measurement positions are equal to each other.

A machine tool and a control method for the machine tool, which determine the degree of misalignment during friction joint, are provided. The machine tool (an automatic lathe 1) includes: a first spindle 10 rotatably holding a first workpiece (a workpiece W1); a second spindle 20 arranged to face the first spindle and rotatably holding a second workpiece (a remaining workpiece W2); and a controller 40a, while rotating at least one of the first workpiece or the second workpiece, relatively moving the first spindle and the second spindle so as to get closer to each other and pushing a rear end portion of the second workpiece against a front end portion of the first workpiece to frictionally join the first and second workpieces. The controller has a misalignment amount detector detecting a misalignment amount s of the second workpiece with respect to the first workpiece during the friction joint.

A friction stir spot welding apparatus includes a pin member, a shoulder member, a rotation driver, a forward/backward movement driver, and a controller. The controller controls the forward/backward movement driver, such that the pin member and/or the shoulder member press workpieces before a clamp member presses the workpieces, and then controls the rotation driver and the forward/backward movement driver, such that the pin member and the shoulder member stir the workpieces.

Provided is a joining method that can prevent a plastic flowing material from flowing out from a butt section and that can reduce the thickness and weight of metal members. The joining method is for joining a first metal member and a second metal member by using a rotary tool comprising a stirring pin, and is characterized in that: the stirring pin comprises a flat surface perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotary tool and comprises a protruding section protruding from the flat face; and in a friction stirring step, the flat surface is brought into contact with the first metal member and the second metal member, and a front end face of the protruding section is inserted deeper than an upper overlapping section to join an upper front butt section and the upper overlapping section.

A friction stir spot welding device includes a pin member, a shoulder member, a rotation driving unit, a tool driving unit, a position detector, and a controller, wherein the controller sets as reference position of the tip end surface of the pin member or shoulder member at a time point when the pin member tip end surface or shoulder member contacts an obverse surface of an object and controls the tool driving unit reducing a pressing force to the object by the pin member and pressing force to the object by the shoulder member in a next welding process, and/or controls the rotation driving unit reducing the pin member rotational speed and shoulder member rotational speed in the next welding process, in case where a first position is the position of the tip end surface of the pin member or the shoulder member is within a first region.