A retaining device (3) is provided for a workpiece (7), which is machined by an industrial robot (2), including a machining tool (4), along a machining path (16). The retaining device (3) includes a clamping tool (5) for clamping tool parts (13, 14) on the machining path (16) and a multi-axis guiding device (6) for the clamping tool (5) and for the independent movement thereof relative to the workpiece (7) during the machining process.

Disclosed is a vision unit. The vision unit according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may recognize a workspace for assembling components as a virtual vision coordinate system using reference pins at one side as reference coordinates by using a camera which is operated on a frame in six axial directions by multiple linear rails and multiple motors, may create position coordinates of the components, a welder, and the like in the workspace, and may ensure accurate positions of the components and the welder in the workspace recognized by the camera by converting the accurate positions of the components and the welder into numerical values, that is, position coordinates of the vision coordinate system so that multiple hanger robots and one or more welding robots may accurately perform operations of holding the components, correcting the positions, coupling the components, and performing welding and product inspection.

A welder assembly includes a welding mechanism; a carriage plate, the welding mechanism fixedly coupled to the carriage plate; a translation assembly, the carriage plate fixedly coupled to the translation assembly, the translation assembly comprising a force sensor; a ball screw, the translation assembly moveably coupled to the ball screw; and, an axial drive motor coupled to the ball screw, wherein the ball screw is movably coupled to the translation assembly such that rotation of the axial drive motor forces linear translation of the translation assembly.

This disclosure relates to a friction stir welding (FSW) tool holder comprising a nickel-chromium based alloy.

Solid-state joining of preformed features, such as bosses, flanges, gaskets, centralizers and other features to substrates or cast parts by a solid-state additive manufacturing process is disclosed. Joining can be between same or different materials using same, similar or dissimilar filler material than the materials of the feature and the part that need to be joined.

A friction stir welding attachment includes a body configured to be attached to a spindle supported by a spindle head of a machine tool, a metalworking shaft rotatably supported by the body wherein a welding tool is attachable to the metalworking shaft, a plurality of air motors provided in the body, and a transmission mechanism configured to transmit a rotation of each of the plurality of air motors to the metalworking shaft. A fixing portion is provided to supply external air to the plurality of air motors. A drive air distributor is provided to distribute drive air to the air motors. A rotation sensor for detecting a rotation state is provided to the metalworking shaft.

A double-acting friction stir spot welding apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a pin member (11) formed in a cylindrical shape, a shoulder member (12) formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and into which the pin member (11) is inserted, a rotary drive (57) that rotates the pin member (11) and the shoulder member (12) on an axis (Xr) coaxial with the pin member (11), and a linear drive (53) that reciprocates each of the pin member (11) and the shoulder member (12) along the axis (Xr). Oil solution (70) is disposed at at least one circumferential surface among an outer circumferential surface (11c) of the pin member (11), an inner circumferential surface (12b) of the shoulder member (12), an outer circumferential surface (12c) of the shoulder member (12), and an inner circumferential surface (13b) of a clamp member (13).

The invention provides a retractable friction stir welding spindle, aims at the deficiencies and defects of the existing friction stir welding spindle technology, that is, when the welding is finished, the stirring needle leaves a keyhole at the end of the weld seam, which affects the forming performance of the workpiece, the overall structure design of the spindle is complicated with many transmission chains and low reliability which is difficult to realize modularization. The retractable friction stir welding spindle includes an electric spindle system and a retracting mechanism. The electric spindle system includes stirring shaft shoulder, hilt, front end cover, hollow spindle, motorized spindle shell, motor rotor, motor stator, tail end cover, etc. The retracting mechanism includes stirring needle, connecting ball head and electric cylinder. The invention has the advantages of simple structure and can be mainly divided into two modules to improve reliability and integrity. The invention can also avoid the generation of friction stir welding keyhole.

An additive friction stir fabrication method and system is described which may be used to fabricate and join a rib to a metallic substrate or to repair a defect in a metallic substrate through extrusion. The method may be carried out with or without the addition of preformed ribs. One such method involves feeding a friction-stir tool with a consumable filler material such that interaction of the friction-stir tool with the substrate generates plastic deformation at an interface between the friction-stir tool and a metallic substrate to bond the plasticized filler and substrate together and extrude this material through a forming cavity to form a rib joined to the metallic substrate. Further described is a system for fabricating a rib joined to a metallic substrate through extrusion.

A device for friction stirring a workpiece material includes a body, a spindle, a driver, and a biasing element. The spindle is configured to rotate around a rotational axis. The driver is rotationally coupled to the spindle. The biasing element supports the driver and is configured to apply a biasing force in an axial direction, wherein the biasing element axially overlaps the spindle.