Measurement and Comparison of Force Effort During Friction Stir Welding in a Parallel Kinematic 5-Axis Milling Machine

Friction stir welding (FSW) is so quite promising that leads it to one of the preferred joining process for a wide range of applications especially for Aluminum. FSW machines are very expensive. The objective is to develop a simple and low cost technique to measure and control the force during FSW in a milling machine. Measurement of forces during welding is a difficult task. Many dynamic measuring devices such as dynamometers are available but each have their own advantages and disadvantages. A new approach to measure force while performing weld is discussed. First, incorporation of FSW in PKM 5-axes milling machine is done. The head of the machine is modified to support higher force levels that are generated during FSW. With the help of the NC-Controller, the force values are retrieved from the axes of the machine while performing weld through actuators. Forces were also measured from load cell and compared to estimate the quality of measurement.