Friction Stir Welding Tool for Tunnel Joint Heating and Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional friction stir welding tools struggle to effectively weld panel elements with channel-like recesses on their side surfaces, as these recesses form a tunnel that is inaccessible from the top or underside, leading to inadequate heating and material mixing during the welding process.
Innovation Solution
A tool with a central axle configured as a pin, featuring a first and second friction shoulder, two support shoulders, and a setting device that utilizes centrifugal forces to generate press-down forces, allowing the tool to access and weld the panel elements from both sides of the tunnel, ensuring proper heating and material mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional friction stir welding tools are used on panel elements with channel-like recesses, then the tool structure remains simple, but the welding quality deteriorates due to inadequate heating and material mixing in inaccessible tunnel areas
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is divided into multiple functional components: a central axle configured as a pin for rotation, multiple friction shoulders (first and second) for generating friction heat, and multiple support shoulders (two support shoulders) for providing structural support and material mixing. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function effectively, resolving the contradiction by enabling complex welding quality requirements through modular tool design.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extends the tool's functionality from single-sided to multi-sided operation by adding friction shoulders and support shoulders that can act on panel elements from different directions. This dimensional extension allows the tool to access and weld tunnel areas that are inaccessible from the top or underside alone, improving welding quality in previously inaccessible regions.
2Productivity
If the tool uses a setting device with centrifugal forces to generate press-down forces, then the welding performance improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The setting device utilizes centrifugal forces generated by the rotation of the central axle itself to automatically generate the required press-down forces on the support shoulders. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external actuators or complex control systems, as the welding process's own rotational motion provides the necessary force generation, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The setting device is designed to dynamically adjust press-down forces based on the rotational speed of the central axle. As the axle rotates, centrifugal forces dynamically generate the required press-down force on the support shoulders, allowing the tool to adapt to different welding conditions and material thicknesses, thereby improving welding efficiency and productivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple friction shoulders and support shoulders are added to access tunnel areas, then welding coverage improves, but the tool complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The central axle serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the rotational drive shaft, supports multiple friction shoulders for heat generation, supports multiple support shoulders for structural reinforcement and material mixing, and provides the centrifugal force for the setting device. This multi-functionality allows the tool to achieve comprehensive welding coverage in tunnel areas without proportionally increasing overall tool complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of heating, supporting, and force generation into a single integrated tool structure. The friction shoulders and support shoulders are all mounted on the central axle, which also generates the necessary press-down forces through centrifugal action. This merging of functions allows the tool to achieve versatile welding coverage while maintaining a relatively compact and manageable design.
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
The tool enables efficient welding of panel elements with channel-like recesses by generating sufficient press-down forces through centrifugal action, ensuring a smooth weld seam and material connection, even in areas inaccessible from the top or underside.
Implementation Method 1
a setting device that utilizes centrifugal forces to generate press-down forces
Implementation Method 2
friction heat is generated by means of the relative movement between the pin and the workpieces
Data Source
AI summary
The invention makes available a tool for friction stir welding, which makes it possible, with reduced effort, to connect two panel elements that butt up against one another with one another by means of friction stir welding, in the case of which a tunnel is formed in the region of the abutting side surfaces, by means of recesses formed in the manner of a channel in the side surfaces in question. For this purpose, the tool has a central axle configured in the manner of a pin, provided for coupling to a drive device, a first friction shoulder carried by the central axle, a second friction shoulder carried by the central axle at a distance from the first friction shoulder in the longitudinal direction of the central axle, two support shoulders carried by the central axle, arranged between the friction shoulders, one of which is mounted on the central axle in an axially displaceable manner, and an elastic element that is arranged between the support shoulders and exerts an elastic force the axially displaceable support shoulder, which force is directed to the friction shoulder most closely adjacent, in each instance, to the axially displaceable support shoulder in the direction. According to the invention, the setting device includes a setting element that is driven outward, away from the central axle of the tool, in the radial direction, during use, by means of the centrifugal forces that are then in effect, and, during this process, acts against a slanted surface formed on the support shoulder, in each instance.