Some examples include welding a first workpiece to a second workpiece. For instance, the first workpiece may be secured adjacent to the second workpiece. At least one of the first workpiece or the second workpiece includes a channel or a portion of a channel in a respective surface such that a complete channel is presented when the first workpiece and the second workpiece are secured adjacent to each other. A rotating tip of a welding tool is inserted into the complete channel for welding the first workpiece to the second workpiece. A surface burr resulting from the welding is located within the complete channel.

A friction stir welding (FSW) tool includes a head, a tool holder and a body between the head and the tool holder and attached to the head and the tool holder. The body may include a plurality of cooling fins. An interior of the body may include a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a torque sensor, and a communication node in electronic communication with the pressure sensor, the temperature sensor, and the torque sensor. The communication node may be in Bluetooth communication with a computing device.

A friction stir welding device includes a pair of workpiece surface plates between which a gap extending along a welding line between workpieces is formed; a welding device body including a rotatable friction stir welding tool protruding upward from the gap; and a linear guide mechanism and a moving device for the welding device body. The moving device has a configuration in which a pair of pin racks extending in a direction along the gap are disposed at symmetrical positions on both sides in a width direction with a position immediately below a tool movement path of the friction stir welding tool as a symmetrical axis, and pin gears that individually mesh therewith are provided in the welding device body so as to be rotatably driven. Respective sets of a pin rack and a pin gear are alternately brought into a strong meshing state during the movement of the welding device body by causing the locations of pins and teeth thereof to deviate from each other by a half pitch.

In a double-acting friction stir spot welding device or a double-acting friction stir spot welding method, a pin member and a cylindrical shoulder member that rotates around the axis of the pin member are used as rotary tools, and a clamp member that has a cylindrical shape positioned so as to surround the outside of the shoulder member and is configured to press a workpiece from an obverse surface with an annular pressing surface of the distal end is used as a holding jig. The clamp member has an inclined surface that is adjacent to the inner edge portion of the pressing surface and inclined so as to reduce the inner diameter of the clamp member toward the back side as viewed from the pressing surface.

In a friction stir welding method, a pair of plate materials is arranged opposing one another such that the ends thereof are butted together, after which friction stir welding is performed. A first shoulder is arranged at one surface of the pair of plate materials and a second shoulder is arranged at the other surface of the plate materials to sandwich therebetween a joint to be formed by friction stirring of the end parts of the plate materials, and the first shoulder and the second shoulder are rotated, thereby friction stirring the joint of the pair of plate materials. As the joint is friction stirred, the first shoulder and the second shoulder are moved from the other surface toward the one surface of the plate materials, thereby forming at the joint a protruding part protruding from the one surface of the plate materials as the friction stir welding is performed.

A friction spot joining device configured to carry out friction spot joining of a pair of plates includes an advance-retreat drive configured to advance and retreat a tool to/from the plates a rotation drive configured to rotate the tool, and a controller configured to control the advance-retreat drive and the rotation drive. The controller executes a joining control in which the tool is caused to give pressure to the plates while the tool is rotated so that the tool is pushed into the plates, and a separating control in which the tool is separated from the plates when an integrated value (P=I.sub.DT) calculated using a current value (I.sub.D) of the rotation drive during the joining control and a driving period of time (T) during the joining control is determined to be reached a target value.

A process that uses friction stir welding to connect a tube, for example a thin gauge tube having a wall thickness of about 2.54 mm (0.100 inch) or less, to another element, such as a tube sheet of a heat exchanger. The process employs a tubular anvil that is installed into the end of the tube and which, in one embodiment, can provide material during the friction stir welding process. After the weld is complete, the weld zone between the tubular anvil and the tube is machined away and the anvil tube removed.

A friction stir welding equipment according to an embodiment includes a spindle unit, a holder, and a moving part; the spindle unit is capable of rotating a tool; the holder is connectable to the tool via a radial bearing and is capable of holding at least one of a side surface of a processing member or a rim of an upper surface of the processing member; and the moving part is capable of changing relative positions of the tool and the holder with respect to the processing member.

Provided is a double-side friction stir welding method of metal sheets or metal plates to each other, and a double-side friction stir device for performing the double-side friction stir welding. According to the present invention, a pair of rotating tools facing each other is respectively arranged on a top-surface side and a bottom-surface side of a butted portion or an overlapping portion, which comprises a joint portion of two metal sheets or two metal plates, the pair of rotating tools is moved in a welding direction while being rotated at the butted portion or the overlapping portion, and while the metal sheets or the metal plates are softened by frictional heat generated between the rotating tools and the metal sheets or the metal plates, softened parts are stirred by the rotating tools to produce a plastic flow to join the metal sheets or the metal plates to each other.

Method for connecting components arranged on top of one another using friction stir welding. The components are clamped using a clamping device having an opening, and connected via a friction stir welding tool protruding through the opening and rotating about an axis. To connect the components, of which at least one has a small cross section, an upper component arranged on top of a lower component protrudes into the opening along an insertion direction through a groove on an underside of the clamping device and is fixed at least partially via the groove during the friction stir welding. Further, a composite component includes a lower component and an upper component which are connected using friction stir welding. Additionally, a device for connecting two components using friction stir welding, includes a friction stir welding tool that can be rotated about an axis and a clamping device having an opening.