Developed in 1991 by a British company, friction stir welding (FSW) is a clean and high-productivity metal bonding technology that produces weld seams of uniform quality with little deformation. It is used mainly for large products. Its use has grown dramatically worldwide, for manufacturing products such as shipping, airliners and railway rolling stock. In 2005, CPI signed a licensing agreement with the developer of FSW, and we are now using FSW as a new technology for the Company to help business expansion.
We have already used FSW in a parabolic antenna at a national astronomical observatory, where it was used to help create a ring-shaped aluminum frame of 3 meters in diameter. We have also used it semiconductor/LC substrate manufacturing equipment, and it has been invaluable for manufacturing a wide range of products such as:
· Aluminum vacuum chambers
· Large frames for LC substrate manufacturing equipment
· Aluminum covers and other large casings
· Heater blocks and cooling plates with aluminum-sealed metal pipes
FSW works by pressing down a high-speed rotating pin into the contact point between the two materials to bond. The frictional heat generated between the pin and the material softens and stirs the materials near the pin which leads to an integrated solid-phase bond to be formed after the pin is moved.
The main benefits of FSW are:
1. Unlike arc welding, bonds materials without melting, creating few weld defects such as residual stress or deformation.
2. Can bond aluminum alloys and copper alloys at low temperatures below their melting point.
3. The simple bonding process makes management easy.
4. Requires very low energy consumption.
5. Uses cheaper equipment than laser welding or electron beam welding.