A friction stir welding method which permits advantageous production of a product which has a sound welded area without joint defects, by joining together two members formed of the same material or respective different materials selected from a cast aluminum alloy and 2000 series, 4000 series, 5000 series and 7000 series aminum alloys which are considered difficult to be joined together by the friction stir welding method. A termination tab member formed of a 1000 series, 3000 series, 6000 series or 8000 series aluminum alloy is disposed in abutting contact with end faces of joining portions of first and second members (in an abutting part), on the side of termination of the welding operation, and the friction stir welding operation is terminated after a probe of a rotary tool is moved from the joining portions of the two members into the termination tab member.

Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed herein that repair and fill exit holes created by welding operations on vehicle components or parts. Methods disclosed herein may include inserting a plug into an exit hole in one or more vehicle parts, where the exit hole is created by a welding operation performed on the one or more vehicle parts.

Methods may also include positioning a shoulder member on the plug such that the shoulder member is contacting an exposed surface of the plug. Methods may further include rotating the shoulder member while contacting the exposed surface of the plug, the rotating generating thermal energy based on a frictional force associated with the shoulder member and the plug. Methods may also include filling the exit hole by heating and plasticizing the plug via the thermal energy, and consolidating a material of the plug with the one or more vehicle parts.

A friction stir spot welding apparatus includes a pin member formed in a solid cylindrical shape, a shoulder member formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, the pin member being inserted in the shoulder member, a rotary actuator that rotates the pin member and the shoulder member on an axis that is in agreement with an axial center of the pin member, and a linear actuator that linearly moves each of the pin member and the shoulder member along the axis. A tip-end part of the shoulder member is formed in a tapered shape.

Apparatus and method for increasing the quality of the weld seam in friction stir welding, with the following features: a) a receiving plate (1) with a drive head (2), the latter having a receiving flange (19) for receiving a holding bell (3) connected by means of a union nut (7) to a welding shoe (4) with a welding pin tip (5), b) the welding shoe (4) has a circular basic shape, on which there is a transverse web running over the cross section and rising at a right angle to said basic shape, said transverse web having a width of approximately 1/4 to 1/5 of the diameter of the basic shape and having an arc-shaped shoe sliding surface and shoe smoothing surface (9), c) the welding pin tip (5) has substantially a surface structure in the form of a tapering thread, this thread-like structure not being arranged in a purely circular manner.

An inertia welding method includes: mounting two workpieces in an inertia welding apparatus; rotating a least one of the workpieces, so as to produce relative rotation of the two workpieces at a predetermined RPM; forcing together the two workpieces with predetermined first weld load so as to cause frictional heating at an interface therebetween; maintaining the first weld load for a first interval; forcing together the two workpieces with a predetermined second weld load greater than the first weld load so as to cause material upset and bonding between the two workpieces, while the rotation brakes to a stop, terminating the weld process; wherein the first and second weld loads are selected so as a produce a specific temperature-distance profile in a selected one of the workpieces, at the termination of the weld process.

A friction stir spot welding apparatus includes a pin member formed in a solid cylindrical shape, a shoulder member formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, the pin member being inserted in the shoulder member, a rotary actuator that rotates the pin member and the shoulder member on an axis that is in agreement with an axial center of the pin member, and a linear actuator that linearly moves each of the pin member and the shoulder member along the axis.

An electric vehicle battery case manufacturing method including a first cycle performing operation of sequentially performing a unit assembly preparing step (S1), a first welding step (S2), a first machining step (S3), and a first inspection step (S4), wherein the step (S1) performs a process of preparing unit parts through aluminum extrusion and machining and then welding each sub-assembly, the step (S2) performs a process of assembling the sub-assemblies produced through the step (S1) and then performing metal inert gas (MIG) welding or friction stir welding (FSW), the step (S3) performs a process of performing machining or hole machining on a welding bead part and a distorted surface of a product assembled through the step (S2), and the step (S4) performs a process of conducting a leak test on the product corrected through the step (S3).

An electric vehicle battery case manufacturing method including a first cycle performing operation of sequentially performing a unit assembly preparing step (S1), a first welding step (S2), a first machining step (S3), and a first inspection step (S4), wherein the step (S1) performs a process of preparing unit parts through aluminum extrusion and machining and then welding each sub-assembly, the step (S2) performs a process of assembling the sub-assemblies produced through the step (S1) and then performing metal inert gas (MIG) welding or friction stir welding (FSW), the step (S3) performs a process of performing machining or hole machining on a welding bead part and a distorted surface of a product assembled through the step (S2), and the step (S4) performs a process of conducting a leak test on the product corrected through the step (S3).

Provided is a method for manufacturing a joined body by performing friction stir welding on a joined member while using a rotating tool including a stirring pin in which a helical groove is formed, the method comprising, in the following order: an insertion step of inserting the stirring pin into the joined member in a state where the rotating tool is rotated in the same direction as a formation direction of the helical groove; a change step of changing a rotation direction of the rotating tool such that the rotating tool is rotated in an opposite direction to the formation direction of the helical groove; and a joining step of joining the joined member in a state where the rotating tool is rotated in the opposite direction to the formation direction of the helical groove.