1. Industrial Sectors

• Ships, trains, aerospace
• Automotive, especially eMobility
• Air- and water-cooled heat exchangers and battery trays

2. Gantries, CNC-Machines and Robots

• One upgraded CNC-machine is faster than two robots
• FSW head maintains a constant force in aC NC machine

3. Financial Risk and Technical Success 

• The efforts for clamping are often underestimated

4. Market Analysis

• FSW machines und FSW tools by region
• SWOT, PESTEL and DROC analyses

5. FSW Standards

• ISO 25239, AWS 17.3 and ASME IX
• DVS guidelines

Aluminium Panels for Shipbuilding and Oil Platforms

• Typical width 2,5 m (100 in) for road transport by lorries 
• Installation of complete modules by crane on shipyards

Shorter Throughput Times in the Ship Yards

• Extruderes make and deliver prefabricated panels
• Painting is not required

High-Quality Extrusions are Required

• Smaller tolerances (e.g. banana shape) than standard
• 10% scrap at the start and stop of the extrusions
• No thick salty oxides: Store profiles inside the factory 

Design with High Safety Factor

• Choose wall thickness according to MIG weld strength
• Main advantage: Less distortion and excellet tolerances

Classification Societies 

• ABS, Bureau Veritas, DNV, Lloyd‘s Register, RINA etc. 
• WPS qualification with several societies simultaneously  

Aluminium Panels for Passenger Trains and Trams

• FSW of extruded aluminium hollow profiles 
• Very low distortion, no 'hungry horse appearance'

Excellent Crashworthiness

• More strength required after Ladbrook Grove accident
• Pendolino: Only one fatality at the Cumbria derailment

Import of Trains from Asia

• Japan exports trains to Europe and manufactures in UK
• China builds many FSW high speed trains 

FSSW – Friction Stir Spot Welding of the Roof

• FSSW of aluminium roofs due to the patent situation
• Weight saving is particularly beneficial in the roof

Goods Waggons 

• Aluminium tanks for rail tankers in South Africa
• Spinforming of domes for rail tankers in Russia 
• Side walls for coal and ore transport hoppers

Eclipse 500

• 270 business jets Eclipse 500 were FSWed, of which 266 were still in service in July 2009
• Hydraulically operated FSW gantry maschine MTS ISTIR 1.25 with six degrees of freedom and 12,5 kN

AJT: Loading Ramp and Cargo Floor of Boeing C-17

• Toe Nails of the loading ramp of AA7050-T7451, which cannot be fusion welded by conventional methods
• A titanium casting was replaced by FSWed 7000 alloy under the slogan „better, lighter, faster and cheaper“

Competition of Aluminium versus Carbon Fibre

• Carbon fibre reduces the weight at increased strength

Next Trend

• Liquid hydrogen tranks for CO2 neutral aircraft
• H2 has at -253°C a 4 times larger volume than kerosine

Boeing was FSW Pioneer with Delta II and IV Rockets

• Return of machine investment by repairing one VPPA welded Delta II rocket (Start im August 1999)
• A total of  2100 m defect free FSW seams for Delta II  rocket and 1200 m for the larger Delta IV by July 2001
• FSW design of Delta IV enabled cost savings of 60 % and reduced the manufacturing time from 23 to 6 days

Sophisticated FSW Machines and Fixtures

• Trends: Bobbin tools or umbrella like fixtures for tanks

Spinforming of recently developed Al-Li Alloys 

• Initially: 2219-O/T62 
• Then: Al-Li alloys 2195 and 2050 in O/T62 with 5 % less densitiy and 5 % higher Young’s modulus
• Finally: 2050-T84 with 27 % higher tensile properties and 17 % higher ductility than 2219-T87

Satellites and Military Rockets

• Space exploration, commercial satellite launchers and the defence industry work hand in hand

Mainly by Tier 1 and Tier 2 Automotive Suppliers

• Fertigungstiefe gering halten: Wenig Schweißprozesse
• Roboter-FSW mit 23 Robotern bei Honda, Ohio

Trend: Water Cooled Housings for Electric Cars

• Absolutely watertight and gastight seams in Al castings
• Chinese suppliers with more than 50 FSW machines

Tailor Welded Blanks

• FSW of sheets with dissimilar thickness before stamping
• Non-linear seams

FSSW – Friction Stir Spot Welding of Doors

• FSSW of doors and closures without thick RSW cables
• Cycle time of approx. 1 sec is desired and possible

Challenges 

• Tool wear: More than 1400 m weld per tool are possible
• Welding speed: Faster than laser MIG hybrid
• Complicated fixtures

CNC Milling before and after FSW

• Tailor made aluminium cooling plates or heat exchangers with excellent thermal performance and high versatility at low development cost
• Atherm uses FSW both for small batch production during prototyping (A and B samples), and for large volumes in the serial production

Rotation Speeds during CNC Milling and FSW

• FSW needs comparatively low rotation speeds at high downward pressure
• The Stirweld FSW head protects your spindle bearings against the high forces and process temperatures
• The Stirweld FSW head keeps the downward force constant and measures force and temperature
• Automatic CNC/FSW tool changer and/or FSW head changer

CFD (Computer Fluid Dynamics)

• The thermal properties can be optimised by modelling the heat flow
• Bionic heat exchangers

Currently: Wrought Sheet onto Aluminium Casting

• Formkon A/S in Danmark produces with a Stirweld FSW head absolutely watertight housings for high-power electronics by FSW of a lid onto a pressure die casting
• Formkon delivers also castings from zinc and magnesium, especially for eMobility, sport, lifestyle and shipbuilding

Trend: Cast Lid onto Cast Housing

• Three dimensonal FSW seams can be made with500 kg articulated arm robots
• Draft angles and/or large gaps require most often a pre-weld preparation by CNC milling
• A head changer and tool changer enables use of CNC milling cutters and FSW tools in series production 

Research and Development: aiCAMstir

• Software AI algorithms for parameter optimisation
• Adaptive parameter control for high welding speeds
• WPSs for minimised tool wear for more sustainability

Tool Design

• Pin length = Sheet thickness or weld penetration
• Pin diameter = Pin length
• Shoulder diameter = 3 × pin diameter

Design Guidelines

• Step width = Pin diameter
• Wall thickness (centre) = 2 × pin diameter
• Gap width < 10 % of pin length
• Dummy welds on the back, to minimise distortion

Turn-key Solutions

• Planning, specification
• Complete cells incl. fixtures
• Commissioning
• Training, ramp-up

FSW System Integration

• Upgrading of existing CNC milling machines
• New, used und importierted robots

Special Applications

• FSW of steel
• Retractable pin
• Welding speed >3 m/min

Large Expenses for Research and Development

• Know-how loss by personel changes
• Route cause analysis of non-optimised FSW tools

Underestimation of Clamping Efforts

• Aircraft manufacturers, GIL pipelines and eMobility

Competition with Material Suppliers who Add Value

• Aluminium extruders demand surcharges for tolerances
• Steel and plastics are cheaper than aluminium

Market develops more slowly than predicted

• High sales cost of the FSW machine manufacturers

Peaks of Orders and Sales 

• Expensive special machines especially for aerospace
• Excess and shortage quantities in automotive market

Unexpected Political Decisions

• Changing laws and tolls, wars, governmental funding 

Solid State welding has always Metallurgical Benefits 

• Join 2000 and 7000 alloys below the melting point
• Low Distortion and Impressive Tolerances
• Panels for transport industy and battery trays

Adding Value to Extrusions and Aluminium Castings

• Paneels and assemblies instead of raw materials

Aluminium Foundries Change their Main Products

• eMobility vs. motor blocks, gear boxes and exhaustsd
• FSW avoids pores, spatter and blow holes

Cost Effective Manufacture  

• Unique selling points compared to traditional products
• Export from Asia into attraktive markets

The Highest Turnover and Profit had…

• Rocket manufacturers, aluminium extruders, heat exchanger manufacturers, R&D institutes and universities 

Several Markt Analyses and Prognoses from Asia

• Assumption: World market for FSW machines increasesfrom 240 Mio $ (2024) by 5,25 % to 390 Mio $ (2033) 
• Asian analyses: Limited maket knowledge but high prices
• Trivial statements such as „Three of the 10 manufacturers assesss in this study have more than 33% market share.“

Analysis by FSW Maschine Type

• CNC machines, gantries and column & boom
• FSW robots, FSSW robots and special machines

FSW Tool Market

• Market for FSW tools has similar size as for FSW machines
• Trend: Industrial FSW tools instead of home made tools

Geographic Trends

• Many, very cheap FSW gantries in China
• Local manufacture due to import taxes and duties

Common Goal

• Bake a larger pizza instead of changing the angles of the slices 

Geographic Regions

• Germany, Austria and Switzerland (D-A-CH)
• Rest of Europe
• Americas
• Asia

Sectors

• Mashine manufacturers
• Universities and institutes
• FSW users

Observations

• Up to 50 FSW machines per factory in China
• Asien dominates at the FSW machines and applications

Literature Search

• Scientific publications
• Patent applications

177 Articles in Scopus

• Mainly about butt weld
• Only 7 about lap welds
• One about T joints

Observation

• Large variety of welded materials and FSW tool materials

Change Weaknesses to Strengths

• Process variants adress current process limitations
• Keep it simple! No inductive pre-heating required
• Automatisation of the parameter optimisation by adaptive parameter control and clever algorithms
• Process understanding enables short cycle times

Exploit External Risks as Chances

• Use customer proximity and communication technoloy
• Close collaboration of industry and academic institutes

Mitigate Lack of Knowledge on FSW specific design

• Design Guidelines
• Webinars
• Design Reviews

Open Communication between OEMs and Suppliers  

• ISO 25239 as a base for contractual agreements
• Share cost savings with clients and end customers

Six external Factors 

• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Technological
• Ecological 
• Legal

Analysis of External Impacts

• Continuous Assessment
• Nominate responsible person
• Companies and authorities

Tabular Layout

• Drivers (Motivation)
• Restraints (Skepticism, Hesitant decisision makers)
• Opportunities (Chances)
• Challenges (Problems)

Long-time Observations

• There is always at least one sceptic
• Technology Leader (Europe) or Fast Follower (Korea)
• We do not want to be the first

Standards

• ISO 25239, Parts 1-5
• ISO 25239-4, Table 3: Tensile strength
• ISO 25239-5 Table A.1: Irregularities
• AWS 17.3 (englisch)
• Sektion 6.5: Minimal information for WPS
• Tabelle 6.5: Essential variables
• ASME IX (englisch)
• ASME IX, Table QW-267: Essential variables

DVS Guidelines (DVS AG V11.2 FSW)

• DVS 3701 FSW and operational equipment
• DVS 3702 Conduktive assistance
• DVS 3702 Reduced axial force
• DVS 3704 Weld quality by analysis of the surface topography

Space Exploration

• FSW has revolutionised rocket manufacture worldwide 
• High-strength aluminium alloys are weldable by FSW

Adding Value 

• Panels instead of extrusions 
• Parallel welds with low distortion and superb tolerances

Cooling Plates (Thermal Management) 

• More than 1000 m per day for heat exchangers
• FSW of aluminium die castings without pores or spatter

Mixed Material Joints

• Lap welding of aluminium-copper or aluminium-steel
• Combination of wrought sheet, extrusions and castings

Research & Development at Universities and Institutes

• Many publications and patents
• Re-invention and research of previously well-known facts 

Unproblematic Qualification of WPSs by TÜV et al

• ABS, BV, DNV, GL, Lloyds and RINA in shipbuilding
• DIBt and TÜV for construction and pipelines
• Federal Aviation Administration for aircraft
• DTIC in the American defence industry
• By AluStir, SLV B-B and internally by ISO 25239

Exchange of Experience, Standardisation and R&D

• DVS Group AG V11.2 Friction Stir Welding:https://www.dvs-technik.de/verfahren/ag-v11-reibschweissen
• R&D for single clients and in collaborative projects 

Confidential Consultancy, Prototyping und Training

• Design Reviews und Prototyping
• Webinars, Onsite Consultancy, ISO 25239 Training

FSW Tools, FSW Fixtures and FSW Machines

• Tool design for material flow and long lifetime
• Complexity of clamping is often underestimated
• Repeatabiliy by easy-to-use force-conrolled FSW heads