Axial Force Reduction in Friction Stir Welding of AA6061-T6 at Right Angle

Invented in 1991, friction stir welding (FSW) is a new solid state joining technique. This process has many advantages over fusion welding techniques including absence of filler material, shielding gas, fumes and intensive light, solid state joining, better microstructure, better strength and fatigue life, and etc. The difficulty with FSW is in the high forces involved especially in axial direction which requires use of robust fixturing and very stiff FSW machines. Reduction of FSW force would simplify implementation of the process on less stiff CNC machines and industrial robots. In this paper axial welding force reduction is investigated by use of tool design and welding parameters in FSW of 3.07 mm thick AA6061-T6 sheets at right angle. Attempt is made to reduce the required axial force while having acceptable ultimate tensile strength (UTS). It is found that shoulder working diameter and shoulder angle are the most important parameters in the axial force determination yet pin angle has minor effect. According to the developed artificial neural network (ANN) model, proper selection of shoulder diameter and angle can lead to approximately 40% force reduction with acceptable UTS. Regions of tool design and welding parameters are found which result in reduced axial force along with acceptable UTS.