TWI

A report is presented into the development of a refill friction stir spot welding (FSSW) robot system, performance evaluation with respect to FSSW of aircraft aluminium alloys, and fabrication of full-scale aircraft production components. The FSSW robot system incorporated servomotors to control motion, position, load and rotational speed of the joining tool. Coupon test materials comprised upper and lower sheets of AA 6061-T6 and AA 2024C-T3 aluminium alloys, respectively. Welding was conducted at a plunge force of 7000 N, a plunge depth of 0.6 mm and a joining process time of 1.4 s. Welded joints were characterised by cross-sectional microstructure observations as well as hardness, tensile shear and fatigue tests. A full-scale experimental Kawasaki BK117 C-1 production door was employed as a mock-up model of aircraft parts. Issues discussed include auxiliary tools for retaining parts, a small parts joining test and a joining test with outer and inner skins.

9th International Symposium, 15-17 May 2012, Session 6A: Applications II, Paper 04