Provided are a friction stir welding apparatus and a friction stir welding method that achieve highly accurate and highly reliable joining while minimizing an effect of bending of a pressing force receiving portion (carrying table) as a result of a press by a joining tool unit. The friction stir welding apparatus joins joining target members by friction stir welding. The friction stir welding apparatus is characterized by including: an apparatus main body; a control device that controls an operation of the friction stir welding apparatus; a C-shaped frame connected to the apparatus main body via a first vertical movement drive mechanism unit; a holder unit connected to one end of the C-shaped frame via a second vertical movement drive mechanism unit; and a joining tool held by the holder unit. The C-shaped frame includes a held portion connected to the apparatus main body via the first vertical movement drive mechanism unit, a holder unit holding portion connected to the holder unit via the second vertical movement drive mechanism unit, and a pressing force receiving portion connected to the other end of the C-shaped frame and receiving a pressing force from the joining tool. The control device includes a first joining mode that performs friction stir welding based on a joining command signal that determines a joining condition of the joining tool, and a first holding position determining signal that determines a first holding position of the first vertical movement drive mechanism unit, and a second joining mode that performs friction stir welding based on the joining command signal and a second holding position determining signal obtained by correcting the first holding position determining signal such that a depth or a range of a joined portion becomes constant in accordance with a state of the pressing force receiving portion. The first joining mode and the second joining mode are included in one joining pass from insertion of the joining tool into the joining target members to extraction of the joining target members.

A set of fittings for an FSW tool (friction-stir-welding tool) includes an adapter that can be inserted into a tool-receiving element and is designed to receive a welding rod, and a shoulder cap that includes a through-opening for the welding rod and the adapter. The shoulder cap includes a welding shoulder region adjacent to the through-opening on the outer surface. The adapter can be rotated in relation to the shoulder cap, about a longitudinal axis extending concentrically to the through-opening. The inner contour of the through-opening and a radial outer contour of the adapter have a conical shape at least on the end facing the welding point. In this way, a conical annular gap is created between the adapter and the shoulder cap, the width of which is adjustable by positioning the adapter along the longitudinal axis.

A method for operating a double-action friction stir welding device including a welding tool having a pin member and a shoulder member, a projection/retraction mechanism for causing the pin member to project/retract relative to the shoulder member, a rotation mechanism for rotating a welding tool, and an advancing/retracting mechanism for advancing/retracting the welding tool, the method including cleaning at least one of the outer circumferential surface of the pin member and the inner circumferential surface of a through hole of the shoulder member on the basis of the level of an adhesion parameter correlated with the degree of adhesion of the material of a welding object, caused by friction stir welding, on the outer circumferential surface of the pin member and the inner circumferential surface of the through hole of the shoulder member.

A method for loading feedstock bars into an additive friction stir deposition machine (AFSD) is described. The method comprises containing a plurality of feedstock bars in a container disposed adjacent to a spindle of the additive friction stir deposition machine. The method further comprises moving one feedstock bar of the plurality of feedstock bars into axial alignment with the spindle of the additive friction stir deposition machine.

Embodiments of the present invention relates to an apparatus (1) for friction stir spot welding and a method of friction stir spot welding providing a keyhole free welding. The method comprises placing an intermediate piece (5) between at least one first workpiece (3) and at least one second workpiece (4) for forming a sandwich structure (S); pressing the sandwich structure (S) such that the intermediate piece (5) is trapped between the second workpiece (4) and an embossing (E) formed on the first workpiece (3); pressing the embossing (E) by a rotating tool comprising a substantially flat end (6.1) for pressing so as to plasticize the intermediate piece (5), at least one part of each of the first workpiece (3) and the second workpiece (4).

The presently disclosed technology includes a friction stir welding apparatus comprising a frame, a moving platform and a parallel mechanism composed of three branch mechanisms, wherein a first branch mechanism comprises a first sliding pair, a first revolute pair, a telescopic rod and a first spherical pair connected in sequence. A second branch mechanism and a third branch mechanism both comprise a third sliding pair, a second revolute pair, a third linkage and a second spherical pair connected in sequence. The friction stir welding apparatus has high stiffness, low inertia, high dynamic performance and high accuracy, which can achieve precision welding with high requirements on processing quality and accuracy for jointing annular seams of large-scale rocket fuel storage tank barrels in the aviation field, for example. The presently disclosed technology also includes a corresponding friction stir welding system.

A production method of a joint material includes a tab installation step of installing an end tab on a pair of workpieces to be joined at a joining line therebetween by friction stir welding, a tool installation step of installing a probe of a tool for friction stir welding at a cutout portion; an approach step of moving the tool while rotating itself from an opening into the cutout portion; a waiting step of causing the tool for friction stir welding to standby in the cutout portion at an extension line; and a joining step of starting movement of the tool along the joining line at a time at which a temperature of the workpieces at a joining portion in front of the tool in an advancing direction of the tool in the waiting step is a predetermined temperature or more and joining the workpieces with each other.

A friction stir spot welder includes a controller configured to: drive a rotary actuator and an advancement/withdrawal actuator to cause a pin to press workpieces while rotating; after the pressing, drive the rotary actuator and the advancement/withdrawal actuator to cause the pin and a shoulder to press the workpieces while rotating; and after the pressing, drive the rotary actuator and the advancement/withdrawal actuator to cause the pin and/or the shoulder to plunge into a weld region of the workpieces while rotating and stir the weld region to weld the workpieces together.

A component is formed by welding a plurality of sheets of metal to form a blank with a number of weld nuggets, placing the blank between a die section and a lid section, heating the die section to heat the blank, and introducing a pressurized gas between the lid section and the die section to press the blank into a mold in the die section to form a component. The number of weld nuggets has a desired thickness ratio between about 1.1 to about 1.25 such that the plurality of sheets of metal and the component formed have a number of characteristics that are substantially the same.

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.