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Home > Equipment > Friction Stir Welding

Friction Stir Welding Friction Stir Welding

Friction Stir Welding

Friction Stir Welding Video

View the Friction Stir Welding Demo video:

In 2008, an industry-changing event occurred when Manufacturing Technology, Inc. merged with Transformation Technologies, Inc. (TTI) under the MTI banner. The coming together of these two powerhouse companies combined the spectacular innovation of Friction Stir Welding with MTI's long-established expertise and global leadership in friction welding solutions.

MTI is the only company in the world whose core business is the development, design and building of Friction Stir Welding machines and systems. We are licensed and listed by The Welding Institute (TWI-England) as a Friction Stir Welding machine manufacturer.

MTI Friction Stir Welding machines are used for research and development purposes by The Welding Institute and Brigham Young University for advanced materials research and by Idaho National Laboratory, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Spirit Aerosystems for advanced Friction Stir Welding research.

Process Overview

Friction Stir Welding is a solid-state joining process that creates extremely high-quality, high-strength joints with low distortion. A non-consumable spinning tool bit is inserted into a work piece. The rotation of the tool creates mechanical energy by friction that heats the material to a plastic state. As the tool traverses the weld joint, it extrudes material in a distinctive flow pattern and forges the material in its wake.

Friction Stir Welding from MTI is making a dramatic impact across a number of industries, including aerospace, defense, transportation and electronics. In the automotive industry alone, for example, Friction Stir Welding is used to create everything from drive shafts and fuel tanks to hood panels and suspension links.

Weldable Materials

  • Aluminum (all alloys)
  • Copper
  • Magnesium
  • Titanium
  • Steel
  • Stainless Steel
  • Nickel
  • Lead
  • Zinc
  • Thermoplastics

Advantages & Benefits of Friction Stir Welding

  • Provides opportunities for new solutions to old joining problems
    Friction Stir Welding is a leading-edge technology, meaning that MTI is continually identifying new applications for the process and, therefore, new solutions for its customers.
  • Virtually defect-free welding
    Easily controlled process parameters - such as pin tool geometry, pin tool force, rotational speed and traversing speed - are easy to monitor, allowing for easy avoidance of errors.
  • Versatile applications by welding all joint geometries including complex contours
    Friction Stir Welding can weld almost any shape of contoured parts. Unique to the process is its capability to perform seam welding of cylinders. Some of the other joint geometries usual to the Friction Stir Welding process include butt, butt laminate, T butt dual pass, lap, lap laminate, butt both sides, flange, multi-thickness, T single weld, and L inside.
  • Cost-effective for any production environment
    MTI has pioneered the manufacture of robust, rigid, yet cost-effective machines for general use. Our in-house Friction Stir Welding Contract Services have been optimized to not only meet the high-volume production demands of our clients, but to also provide a practical research ground from which we can continue to enhance our consultative, process development approach to machine design and engineering. 
  • Limitless panel length and width
    The process flexibility of Friction Stir Welding accommodates the welding of large parts. Our in-house Friction Stir Welding equipment can produce welds up to 55-feet long - one of the largest welds in the world.
  • Low spindle runout (for ceramic tools)
  • High spindle accuracy

MTI's Advanced Technology Friction Stir Welders

Friction Stir Welders from MTI also offer these value-added features:

  • Turn-key Installation
  • Preloaded, Zero-Backlash Linear Drives
  • Balanced Actuator Loads
  • Precision Spindle
  • Force Measurement Capability for Drive Motor Feedback, Torque Motor Feedback, Actual Force, Hydraulic Pressure, and Load Isolation of the Spindle and Drives
  • Automation
  • Manufacturing Cell Integration (including Material Handling, Automatic Loading and Unloading, Robot Integration, Bar Coding, Quality Control, Part Destruction)
  • Custom Design Machine Diagnostics and Maintenance Schedule for Full Preventive Maintenance