Friction Welding Machine

Friction welding is a solid stage welding, in which two similar or dissimilar materials are made to rub each other to create adequate heat at the edge and when the contamination at the edge are eliminated as flash, ending the relative motion of jobs and applying a forge welding force creating a strong metallic bond between the materials. Friction welding gives outstanding quality weld joints for similar and dissimilar material welding. The driving physical process of friction welding is heat conduction, heat generation, plastic deformation, abrasion of the friction surfaces and lastly material diffusion.

There are three stages of the Friction Welding process are Preparation, Heating and Forging.

Preparation: Before friction welding should take place the surfaces to be welded need to be absolutely clean and uncontaminated. Then the both uncontaminated surfaces should bring in close contact with each other so that a metallic bond can be created across the interface. For starting of the process, one section is placed in a clamp which is stationary and the other section is loaded into a rotating spindle. The rotating spindle then travels forward so that the two sections or surfaces to be welded touch each other. The spindle is then carried up to a predetermined angular velocity and afterward a pre-defined axial force is applied.

Heating: The heat produced due to rubbing increases the temperature of the sections and brings down its yield strength. Once the surfaces of the sections in contact melts to plastic state, it yields and flows outwards to make the flash. This procedure eliminates the oxidised layer on both the materials. They are no longer in contact with the atmosphere and hence no new oxide layer can form. The emerging surfaces come into contact with each other. The facing surfaces of the section will normally have tiny gaps and this step aids in even out the surfaces into a perfect flat area. Once the required burn-off is attained, the process then moves to the next stage.

Forging: In this forging step, the rotational motion is stopped and a forge force is applied for a fixed time which results in the fusion of the two surfaces into a permanent bond. The interatomic forces of attraction come into play with the atomic movements of atoms and valences taking place to complete the weld.

Materials that are weldable by Friction Welding are:

• Aluminium
• Copper and copper alloys
• Magnesium
• Titanium
• Hafnium and zirconium
• Steel and ferrous alloys
• Inconel and superalloys
• Dissimilar materials

The advantages of Friction Welding Machine are:

• Utmost availability: Low maintenance because of high-quality parts and robust machine technology.
• Maximum welding quality: High quality because of validation of each workpiece.
• High Accuracy: The clamping system guarantees a centering within 30μ.
• Energy Efficiency: Regenerative braking saves energy, thus making it more energy efficient.
• Wide variety of material combinations: Complete weldability even of challenging combinations such as aluminium and copper.
• Accurate Orientation: Our Spindle assembly guarantees an assured orientation of less than +/-0.5 degree for the weld.
• Real Time Feedback: Provide real time metrics of vital parameters like spindle speed, axial thrust, loss of length and spindle torque during weld cycle.
• Maintenance Free Operation: Innovative spindle rotation lets a nearly maintenance free operation throughout the lifetime of the machine.
• In-Process Quality: Completely in-process quality check confirms the output job is free from defects.

Friction Welding Applications:
Friction Welding is used in applications where resistance to high levels of friction is essential like:

• Roller presses
• Cutting systems
• Vertical roller mills
• Hot working tools and dies
• Shredder components
• Turbine and rotary components

Friction Welding find applications in manufacturing of bar stock sections, axle shafts, iron to steel components, driveshafts, discs to shafts, gears to shafts, motor shafts, hydraulic cylinder rod end, pipe to pipe segments, propeller shafts, round bar to pipe sections, prop shafts, round bar to round bar, round tube to plate, round bar to tube, shaft to shaft segments, solid round to solid round, solid round to pipe, solid round to tube, tube to tube sections, steering shaft, stub shafts, valve welding, turbines to shafts, and yokes to shafts. Friction welding can also be utilised to make improved tubes, industrial rollers, shafts, material handling equipment, subassemblies for industrial printers, aerospace, automotive, marine, and oil applications.