Friction Stir Welding Head With Residue Extraction and Seam Smoothing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Friction stir welding often results in contamination of joining partners by welding residues, leading to costly subsequent processing and potential unevenness in weld seams.
Innovation Solution
A device and method incorporating a spindle drive with a welding and smoothing shoe, a cutting blade retention member, and fluid influx and outlet channels to remove abraded material without contaminating the joining partners, along with a temperature sensor for process control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If friction stir welding is performed using conventional tools, then welding strength and seam quality are improved, but the joining partners become contaminated by welding residues requiring costly subsequent processing
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful welding residues from the joining partners by providing a dedicated removal device integrated into the welding tool. The removal device includes a cutting blade that actively removes abraded material during the welding process, preventing contamination while maintaining weld strength
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary removal device between the welding pin and the joining partners. This device acts as a mediator that captures and removes welding residues before they can contaminate the joining partners, allowing the welding process to proceed without harmful side effects
2Productivity
If the welding pin is pulled out during the ending of the welding operation, then the welding process is completed, but small occurrences of unevenness appear in the weld seam requiring filler material
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary action by providing a smoothing shoe that continuously smooths the weld seam during the entire welding process, including at the end when the welding pin is pulled out. This preliminary smoothing prevents unevenness from occurring in the first place, eliminating the need for subsequent filler material application
Solution Approach 2:
The invention maintains continuity of useful action by ensuring the smoothing shoe remains in contact with the weld seam throughout the entire welding process. This continuous smoothing action ensures uniform weld seam quality from start to finish, preventing the unevenness that would otherwise occur during pin withdrawal
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Prevents contamination of joining partners during friction stir welding, eliminating the need for costly subsequent processing and ensuring a clean weld seam.
Implementation Method 1
there is produced friction heat which places the material to be welded in a plasticized state
Implementation Method 2
a helically formed transport worm (6) which is used to remove material which is not required opens in openings (8)
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method and to a device for welding together two joining partners by means of friction stir welding, which prevents the joining partners being contaminated by welding residue. The method comprises the following features: a welding head that can be integrated into any machine, said welding head being in the form of a spindle drive driven by a drive unit, comprising a mounting flange for securing the device assisting the welding process, and a clamping system for receiving a frustoconical-shaped tool having a welding and smoothing shoe for guiding a welding pin (11), a device (17) integrated into the welding and smoothing shoe for grinding the waste produced during the welding process, the waste produced during welding is then removed by means of one inlet channels for fluid arranged in the upper and/or lower area of the frustoconical-shaped tool for the fluid (20, 18) and a suction channel (19).