Friction Stir Welded Edge Structure With Narrower Weld Width
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Solution Overview
Problem
Friction stir welding of aluminum and other low-melting-point metals faces challenges in minimizing the width of the welding line, which restricts the reduction of the size of cooling plates due to the required shoulder diameter of the welding tool, leading to increased edge portion width and production costs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a friction stir welding process where the tool is rotated and pressed onto the surface of stacked members to form a welded portion, followed by cutting to create a junction with a narrow edge portion, allowing for reduced edge width and efficient production of structures like heat exchangers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If friction stir welding is applied to aluminum and low-melting-point metals, then welding is achieved without melting the material, but the welding line width is determined by the shoulder diameter of the welding tool
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the welding process into two distinct stages: first performing friction stir welding to create a strong weld, then applying cutting processing to remove excess material and narrow the welding line. This segmentation allows the welding tool's shoulder diameter to not directly determine the final welding line width, as the cutting step independently controls the final dimension.
Solution Approach 2:
The friction stir welding is performed as a preliminary action before the cutting process. By completing the welding operation first with a larger shoulder diameter tool (which ensures reliable welding), and then performing cutting to achieve the desired narrow welding line width, the patent applies preliminary action to resolve the contradiction between welding reliability and manufacturing precision.
2Reliability
If the shoulder diameter of the welding tool is increased to ensure proper contact, then welding quality is improved, but the edge portion width of the cooling plate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the welding function from the final dimensional control function. The welding tool with larger shoulder diameter is used solely for creating a reliable weld, while the cutting tool independently controls the final edge portion width. This segmentation allows using a larger shoulder diameter tool without permanently increasing the edge portion width.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the excess material created by the larger shoulder diameter welding tool through cutting processing. By removing the unnecessary material that would otherwise increase the edge portion width, the patent achieves both good welding quality (from the larger tool) and reduced edge portion width (through material removal).
3Volume of stationary object
If the width of the welding line is minimized, then the size of the cooling plate is reduced, but the shoulder diameter of the welding tool limits the minimum welding line width
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the process into welding and cutting stages, allowing the welding tool's shoulder diameter to be independent of the final welding line width. This enables minimizing the cooling plate size by using cutting to achieve narrow welding lines regardless of the welding tool's shoulder diameter.
Solution Approach 2:
By performing welding as a preliminary action with a tool optimized for welding quality rather than narrow welding lines, and then using cutting to achieve the desired narrow width, the patent enables reduction of cooling plate size while maintaining welding quality.
4Reliability
If a larger shoulder diameter tool is used for thick plate members, then welding capability is improved, but the contact width and resulting edge portion width increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the process so that the welding tool's shoulder diameter is optimized for welding capability (handling thick plates), while the cutting process independently controls the final edge portion width. This allows using large shoulder diameter tools for thick plate welding without permanently increasing the edge portion width.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent removes the excess material created by the large shoulder diameter contact through cutting processing, thereby achieving both good welding capability for thick plates and reduced edge portion width in the final product.
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
This method effectively reduces the edge portion width by half the shoulder diameter of the welding tool, enhancing productivity and reducing production costs by enabling efficient welding and labor savings.
Implementation Method 1
a friction stir welding tool is rotated and pressed onto a work in order to supply a necessary amount of heat for the welding
Implementation Method 2
friction stir welding in which a material is softened without being melted and is welded while being stirred
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a structure in which an edge portion of the structure formed by stacking a plurality of members is friction stir welded. The manufacturing method includes: a welding step of forming a friction stir welded portion by bringing a friction stir welding tool from a side of a surface of a member on one side into contact with a superposition portion of works in which the members are stacked while rotating the friction stir welding tool; and a cutting step of cutting the friction stir welded portion, and in each of two or more works produced by the cutting, a welded portion of the edge portion of the structure is formed with the cut friction stir welded portion.