A tool head assembly for a solid state additive manufacturing apparatus includes a tool head having a material passage configured to receive a material therein. The tool head is configured to deposit the material from the material passage onto a substrate of the solid state additive manufacturing apparatus to form at least one layer of the material on the substrate. The tool head includes a shoulder configured to contact the material such that rotation of the tool head frictionally stirs the material. The tool head assembly includes a barrier configured to extend along a side surface of the at least one layer as the at least one layer is deposited onto the substrate such that the barrier is configured to constrain the material from extruding past an edge of the shoulder.

A method of manufacturing a liquid-cooled jacket, includes a preparation step which includes placing a sealing body on a stepped portion to allow a step side surface and a sealing-body side surface of the sealing body to butt each other, and a primary joining step which includes allowing a primary joining rotary tool to move once around the sealing body, while moving the rotary tool along a butted portion formed in the preparation step, to carry out friction stir welding. The primary joining step includes employing the primary joining rotary tool provided with a stirring pin having a length dimension greater than a thickness dimension of the sealing body, and carrying out friction stirring with only the stirring pin being brought into contact with a jacket body and the sealing body.

A method for manufacturing a liquid cooling jacket has a feature of using a primary joining rotary tool provided with a tip side pin and a base side pin having a taper angle larger than a taper angle of the tip side pin and comprising a first primary joining process in which inserting the tip side pin and the base side pin of the rotary tool that is rotating into the sealing body member and moving the rotary tool along the first abutted portion with an outer circumferential face of the base side pin being in contact with a front face of the sealing body member and with the outer circumferential face of the tip side pin being kept off a step side face of the peripheral wall step portion while having a second aluminum alloy of the sealing body member flow into the gap.

A tool includes a friction stir welding (FSW) tool, a first body, a second body, and a plurality of biasing elements. The FSW tool has a rotational axis. The first body is rotationally fixed relative to the FSW tool and the second body is rotational fixed relative to the FSW tool. The plurality of biasing elements is positioned longitudinally between at least a portion of the first body and at least a portion of the second body.

The disclosure provides a friction stir welding tool which can inhibit chipping even if an adhesion matter having high hardness adheres to a tip thereof during friction stir welding of an iron-base alloy and an aluminum alloy. In the tool for friction stir welding made of high-speed tool steel that includes a minor diameter portion and a major diameter portion formed adjacently to the minor diameter portion, hardness of the tool decreases from the minor diameter portion toward the major diameter portion. The hardness of the minor diameter portion may be 65 HRC or more by Rockwell hardness C-scale, and the hardness of the major diameter portion may be 60 HRC or less by Rockwell hardness C-scale.

An object is to provide a friction stir welding method and apparatus that provide sufficient strength and good welding workability by advantageously eliminating plastic flow deficiency generated as a result of insufficient heating of workpieces.

In friction stir welding for steel sheets (3,3) as workpieces, a pair of facing rotary tools (1,15) are inserted into a non-welded part from both one surface side and the other surface side of the steel sheets (3,3), the rotary tools move in a welding direction while rotating, and in addition, a preheating process for heating steel sheets (3,3) is performed by heating means (5) provided in front of the rotary tools (1,15). The configuration of the pair of facing rotary tools (1,15) and the surface temperature, area, position, and so forth of a heated region in the preheating process are strictly controlled.

A friction stir welding tool includes a shoulder having a flat front end surface perpendicular to a rotation axis, and a probe protruding from the front end surface of the shoulder. The friction stir welding tool is configured to rotate the probe about the rotation axis, and embed the probe inside a workpiece during rotation of the probe to weld the workpiece. Protrusions and a recess are formed in the front end surface of the shoulder. The protrusions are positioned remotely from the probe, and configured to guide first softened material of the workpiece softened at the time of performing friction stir welding to the probe. The recess is positioned between the protrusions and the probe.

A friction stir welding tool includes a probe having a front end surface and an outer circumferential surface. The probe has, formed therein, outer circumferential recesses extending to the front end surface along a rotation axis. The friction stir welding tool rotates the probe about the rotation axis and embeds the probe inside a workpiece during rotation of the probe to thereby weld the workpiece. The width of the outer circumferential recesses is increased toward a front end of the probe.

A friction stir welding tool includes a probe having a front end surface and an outer circumferential surface. Outer circumferential recesses are formed in the probe. The outer circumferential recesses extend along the rotational axis of the probe up to the front end surface. The friction stir welding tool rotates the probe about the rotation axis, and embeds the probe inside a workpiece during rotation of the probe to weld the workpiece. A front end recess is formed in the front end surface. The front end recess is positioned at the central part of the front end surface, and connected to the outer circumferential recesses.

A friction stir welding tool includes a probe having a front end surface and an outer circumferential surface. The outer circumferential surface has, formed therein, outer circumferential recesses extending to the front end surface. The friction stir welding tool is configured to rotate the probe about a rotation axis, and embed the probe inside a workpiece during rotation of the probe to thereby weld the workpiece. A front end recess is formed in the front end surface, and the front end recess extends to the outer circumferential surface in a manner that the front end recess does not communicate with the outer circumferential recesses.