FSW in the Automotive Industry

Friction Stir Welding is used in the automotive industry by many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers.

One of the earliest developments in this sectors addressed friction stir welding of 'Tailor Welded Blanks' in 1999 (see video).

Tailor Welded Blanks are flat metal sheets, which first welded flat from dissimilar materials or varying thicknesses, and subsequently deep-formed to make automotive body panels. In a Group Sponsored Project at EWI in Columbus, Ohio, and TWI in Cambridge, UK, the companies BMW, DaimlerChrysler, GM, Ford, Rover, Tower Automotive and Volvo investigated 1999 friction stir welding for making blanks by welding thin Sheets to thick sheets.

Sheets of 1.5 mm and 3.0mm thickness were clamped side by side onto an jig, which was tilted by 9°. They were welded by a rotating tool, of which the axis was also tilted by 9°. With the large, modular FSW machine FW22 at TWIO the door inner Panels of car doors were welded in a laboratory environment. These were subsequently deepformed at BMW. They were 1,5 kg or 30 % lighter than a conventional steel.

Applications to passenger cars:

Boot lids and doors in Japanese cars
Wheel rims in Australia, China and Norway
Battery Tubs in French and German electric car

In lorries:

Tippers and tail gates
Telescopic cranes and ladders of fire engines
Tanks of articulated silo trailers

Published Industrial Applications of FSW in the Automotive Industry

The following applictions of using friction stir welding or friction stir spot welding in the automotive industry have been published:

2020 Tesla Model Y (Octovalve and battery box)^[9][10]
2018 Morgan Aero 8 (Complex HFQ® panel with variable tailored thickness of 3-2-3mm)^[5][6]
2013 Honda Accord (front subframe)^[1]
2012 Mercedes SL - R231 (tailor welded blank and three box profiled floor sections on each side of the transmission tunnel)^[4][7]
2012 Land Rover L405 (subframe mounts)^[4]
2011 McLaren 12 C (structural part)^[2]
2010 Toyota Prius (rear hatch)^[1]
2008 Delphi Automotive (sealed enclosures and heat exchangers for BMW and Chrysler)^[14]
2007 Riftec for Audi (B-pillar of Audi R8 Spyder)^[1][15]
2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata (trunk and hood)^[1]
2005 Ford GT (part of space frame)^[1]
2005 Pierburg (EGR cooler)^[11]
2004 Mazda RX-8 (rear doors and hood)^[1][8]
2003 Panoz Esperante (structural part)^[3]
2003 Lincoln Town Car L (suspension components)^[1]
2001 Volvo V70 (rear seat frame)^[1]

Significant FSW Development Studies in the Automotive Sector

2003 Eliica (Electric Lithium-Ion battery Car) by Keio University

2015 Tailor welded blanks of 1.2 mm and 2.0 mm thick AA5182-O sheets at 3 m/min by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, General Motors, Alcoa and TWB Company LLC.
2004 Roof Box Made from Noncombustible Magnesium Alloys by Material Reserch Institute for Sustainable Development, Hyogo Prefectural Institute of Technology and Sakurai Industries Co., Ltd.
2003 Eliica (Electric Lithium-Ion Battery Car) by Keio University