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Chapter
Introductory Chapter: Mass
Production and Industry 4.0
Anil Akdogan and Ali Serdar Vanli
1. Introduction
When it comes to the history of mass production enterprises, the revolutionary
developments in mass production come to mind from the past to the present. To be
able to better adapt to today’s industrial revolution, of course it is necessary to
understand the past industrial revolutions. On the basis of industrial revolutions,
each of which is more or less rooted in a technological and cultural basis, there was
always an effort to achieve better and faster solutions. Of course, economic con-
cerns have always been taken into consideration. Industry 4.0 is a target of the
research policy of the German government. Today, in the focus of integrated mass
production, systems benefit from the advantages of this novel industrial revolution.
Since it is a great way to meet the large-scale demand of most products, mass
production is used in many industries which are big and/or small. For instance,
automobiles, computers, and cellular phones are the typical examples of mass
production products. A high demand rate for a product is the main specification of
mass production. The manufacturing area is typically dedicated to the production of
a single type product and/or its variations.
Typical or conventional manufacturing methods can be adapted as mass pro-
duction lines which are machining, casting, joining, and forming or plastic defor-
mation. Each of them has its principles, manufacturing parameters, application
areas, methods, and technologies to be considered in detail. It is always hard to set
manufacturing systems to produce large quantities of standardized parts. Control-
ling these mass production lines needs deep knowledge and hard experience and the
required related tools as well. The use of modern methods and techniques to pro-
duce large quantity products within productive manufacturing processes provides
improvements in manufacturing costs and product quality. In order to serve these
purposes, many works aim to reflect advanced manufacturing systems of different
alloys in production with related components and automation technologies.
Additionally, there are many works that focus on mass production processes
designed according to Industry 4.0 considering different kinds of advanced quality
and improvement research in mass production systems for high productive and
sustainable manufacturing [1, 2]. This chapter gives general information about
the components of a conventional mass production system and an Industrial
4.0-adapted mass production system with their individual advantages.
2. Components of a conventional mass production system
Conventional mass production processes may be also called as continuous pro-
duction that involves the fabrication of a known part in a specific production way
and shape, in a consistent manner. In the mass production area, there are typical
1
manufacturing processes dedicated to the production of a single type product and/
or its variations. However, there are lots of benefits of mass production including
decreased labor, decreased time in manufacturing, increased output, and lower cost
per unit [3]. Besides, there are many components of a conventional production
system which need to be considered in detail. The machining lathe, the processing
tool, the processed material, the process parameters, and others directly affect the
quality of the product. One of the main disadvantages of the conventional
manufacturing systems is being not very flexible systems. It is usually difficult to
adapt the production line to a different kind of process. Conventional manufactur-
ing systems require close inspection to control the process parameters which are in a
close relationship with the quality of the product. With the help of related quality
control methods, the required quality works can be reached in conventional mass
production systems.
3. Components of an industry 4.0-adapted mass production system
Today, some Industry 4.0-adapted factories are called as “smart.” A “smart
factory” has a highly flexible production system, which is capable of producing
single individual parts with high precision and better quality in an economically
efficient way. Additionally, a component-driven logistic system is required to
achieve this task besides high flexible production systems and processes. In order to
meet the requirements of the hard manufacturing task, digitalization of the systems
and sub-systems is also essential. Calling a factory as smart requires at least follow-
ing the supporting systems of the last industrial revolution [4].
A “cyber-physical system” is a physical object or a process that is connected and
interacting with a digital representation of that object or process. This is one of the
key tools supporting the development of smart factories. The definition of cyber-
physical system includes a permanent digital interaction of the object from the
physical world and the virtual representation. A permanent flow of data and infor-
mation between both is the core of the cyber-physical system definition. One of the
most important steps toward a functional cyber-physical system and a challenge
today is to digitize and network non-digital machines and processes.
“The Internet of Things” is a system that supplies an ability to transfer data over
a network. Cyber-physical system is enables every device and even every sensor
and actor in a production or logistic system to communicate with each other over a
common digital network. According to the vision of a smart factory, it is not only
internally digitally connected but also with the external supply chain for the prod-
uct to be produced. In a networked supply chain, smart factories have a network
system of hundreds or thousands of cyber-physical systems. They are connected to
a common exchanging data and information Ethernet network.
“Component-driven production” has been formulated to control the process
chain of a product inside of the production. To achieve this, components need to
carry their construction plans and other information for manufacturing. In this way
the components are taking individual paths toward the production plant without
complex planning. Of course, to plan the production future of a component requires
knowing the past of that part in detail.
“Big Data analytics” is an inevitable tool of an Industry 4.0. It was always hard to
analyze the data than to collect it. Additionally we are talking about diverse and
larger data than being in the past. A smart factory must have advantages of some
analytical techniques against to process that kind of large and diverse data. The data
can be supplied from different sources and sizes and be a structured, semi-
structured, or unstructured type. With those data-driven solutions, the processed
2
Mass Production Processes
high-quality data can be used at each step of the system even in the complex
systems.
“Flexible manufacturing systems”: As being discussed at the second section, one
of the main disadvantages of the conventional manufacturing systems is being not
very flexible systems. This disadvantage of the conventional manufacturing systems
could be eliminated by the flexible manufacturing systems of Industry 4.0. One of
the most important tasks of Industry 4.0 is to realize a highly flexible production
system. The system is usually capable to produce with small lot sizes. The smart
factory has to deal with smaller lot sizes and an increasing number of changeover
processes during the day-to-day work. Therefore, equipment and labor require-
ments are prepared in order to cope with the flexibility requirements of the process
not only for the present times but also for the possible needs in the future [5].
4. Conclusions
In competitive market conditions of manufacturing, the enterprises should pro-
duce high-quality products within productive manufacturing processes. Mass pro-
duction requires standardized processes for manufacturing of interchangeable parts
in large quantities at comparable prices. In fact, it is a hard work which requires
many components to be considered in great detail. The use of modern methods and
techniques of mass production provides decreases in the manufacturing costs and
improvements in product quality. Manufacturers are trying to survive and/or to
take share in hard global market conditions by using such these advantages. With
the associated advanced technologies of Industry 4.0 such as cyber-physical systems
and Internet of Things, mass production has been revolutionized, but it looks like it
will always have issues like quality control of the production process.
Author details
Anil Akdogan* and Ali Serdar Vanli
Mechanical Engineering Department, Yildiz Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey
*Address all correspondence to: nomak@yildiz.edu.tr
© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
3
Introductory Chapter: Mass Production and Industry 4.0
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90874
References
[1] Vanli AS, Akdogan A. Manufacturing
automation for magnesium die casting.
In: Proceedings of the 12th International
Conference on Measurement and
Quality Control – Cyber Physical Issue;
2019. Vol. 26, pp. 122-130. DOI:
10.1007/978-3-030-18177-2_13
[2] Majstorovic VD, Durakbasa MN,
Takaya Y, Stojadinovic S. Advanced
manufacturing metrology in context of
industry 4.0 model. In: Proceedings of
the 12th International Conference on
Measurement and Quality Control –
Cyber Physical Issue, 2019. Vol. 26,
pp. 1-11. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-
030-18177-2_13
[3] Mital A, Desai A, Subramanian A,
Mital A. Chapter: The significance
of manufacturing. In: Product
Development (Second Edition)
a Structured Approach to Consumer
Product Development, Design, and
Manufacture. Holland: Elsevier; 2014.
pp. 3-19
[4] Vanli AS, Akdogan A, Kerber K,
Ozbek S, Durakbasa MN. Smart die
casting foundry according to industrial
revolution 4.0. Acta Technica
Napocensis, Series: Applied
Mathematics, Mechanics, and
Engineering. 2018;61(IV):787-792
[5] Vanli AS, Akdogan A, Durakbasa MN.
Tools of industry 4.0 on die casting
production systems. In: Durakbasa N,
Gençyılmaz M, editors. Proceedings
of the International Symposium for
Production Research 2019, ISPR 2019.
Lecture Notes in Mechanical
Engineering. Switzerland: Springer;
2019. pp. 328-334
4
Mass Production Processes
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Contributors from top 500 universities
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Built by scientists, for scientists
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6,300
Chapter
Recent Advances in Joining
of Aluminum Alloys by Using
Friction Stir Welding
RameshRudrapati
Abstract
Aluminum and its alloys have gained much interest in advanced industrial
applications due to its excellent mechanical properties. Welding is one of prominent
fabrication technique which has to be performed to make assembling of differ-
ent parts to create one complete product. Welding of aluminum alloys (al) using
traditional welding methods is difficult task due to un-weldability of aluminum
alloys, more defects in weldment, presence of aluminum oxide film, etc. Friction
stir welding (FSW) is a novel welding technique which was developed specially to
join the aluminum alloys without melting of materials to be joined. Achieving the
good qualities of welded joint with enhanced efficiency of the FSW process needs,
proper understanding of principles of FSW.In the present chapter, various aspects
of FSW of aluminum alloys related to effects of process welding parameters and
temperature distribution during welding on mechanical and metallurgical proper-
ties of weldment has been presented. Extending applications of FSW in joining of
dissimilar aluminum alloys and welding of al alloys with other materials has also
been discussed. Concluding remarks are drawn from the study. From the study, it
is stated that FSW is suitable for mass production welding method for joining of
similar/dissimilar aluminum alloy materials in large quantity of similar products.
Keywords: friction stir welding, aluminum alloys, mechanical properties,
metallurgical properties, dissimilar welding
. Introduction
Aluminum materials are being used for variety of purposes like industrial,
household, construction, etc., because of its advantages compared with other
materials. It is easily available third most abundant material in the earth crust. Pure
aluminum materials cannot be used directly for industrial applications due to its
poor mechanical and metallurgical properties. With addition of some additives like
copper, manganese, magnesium, zinc, silicon, etc., to aluminum materials; alumi-
num alloys can be produced which possess extraordinary mechanical and metallur-
gical properties comparison with the pure form of aluminum. Different aluminum
alloys which are developed and widely used for various industrial applications are
given in Table . As per the statistics of consumption of materials in industries;
steel is occupying first position due to their mechanical properties like hardness,
strength, stiffness, etc., In the recent times, the usage of aluminum alloys is grow-
ing in many industrial applications instead of steel and steel-based alloys, due to
Mass Production Processes
its excellent properties such as corrosion resistance [], light in weight as having
one third density of steel, machinability, thermal and electrical conductivity, easy
manufacturing methods, low cost of manufacturing, etc. The applications of alumi-
num alloys are found in variety of applications ranging from basic to complex such
as in the making of aircraft bodies [], construction [], structural applications [],
transportation, packing, aerospace [, ], automobile [], automotive, railway, per-
sonal computers, cutlery, aeronautical and shipbuilding industries [], naval and
marine []. All the mentioned applications need to join, two or more parts to create
one complete structure or device. Welding is one of the most widely used fabrica-
tion technique for joining similar/dissimilar parts permanently. Tungsten inert gas
(TIG) and metal inert gas (MIG) welding are generally used joining methods for
different materials. But, in case of welding of aluminum alloys by TIG and MIG
welding processes, produces welding defects on welded joint like porosity, lack of
fusion, incomplete penetration and create many cracks such as hot crack, stress cor-
rosion []. Defects in the welded joints weaken the quality characteristics. Welding
of aluminum alloys by TIG and MIG welding techniques are not recommended and
not economical as well.
Friction stir welding (FSW) is an innovative welding methodology developed
to join especially aluminum alloys [] and other light-weight materials, economi-
cally [] without any severe distortions which expected to influence mechanical
and metallurgical behavior of welded sample [, ]. The weldability of various
aluminum alloys by fusion welding methods like TIG and MIG welding, and FSW
are shown in Figure .
In FSW, the job that is being welded does not melt and recast []. Cavaliere
etal. [] had stated that FSW is novel fabrication approach which capable to
replace other joining techniques like fastener, riveted and arc welding for produc-
tion of large-scale applications. FSW has various advantages over other traditional
welding techniques including the following:
i. The welding procedure is relatively easy, as, it does not require consumables
or filler materials for welding
ii. It does not require shielding gas, no arc formation and no fumes generated,
as it is environment friendly
iii. Joint edge preparation is not at all required and Oxide removal/pre-heating
prior to welding is not needed, thus, welding time minimized little bit
Alloy series Major alloying element
xxx Pure aluminum
xx Copper (.–.)
xxx Manganese (.–.)
xxx Silicon (.–.)
xxx Magnesium (.–.)
xxx Magnesium and silicon (Mg .–.. Si .–.)
xxx Zinc (–.)
xxx Others
Table 1.
Various aluminum alloys and its major alloying elements [10].
Recent Advances in Joining of Aluminum Alloys by Using Friction Stir Welding
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89382
i v. FSW can be automated and performed in all directions, as it is conducted
based on machine tool technology
v. Parent material chemistry is free from segregation of alloying elements.
vi. Process is solid phase with process temperature regimes much lower than in
fusion techniques, thus avoiding welding defects like porosity, cracking, etc.
FSW is an efficient and effective process to produce high quality welds consis-
tently, but its performance is depending on the optimum selection of process input
parameters, welding machine parameters and work material properties. Improper
selection of parametric combination(s) may deteriorate the output quality param-
eters like mechanical properties of welded joint. Systematic analysis is required to
understand the FSW process to obtain best weld qualities of weldment. The impor-
tant welding input parameters which may influence the joint quality in FSW are
tool’s rotational speed, welding speed, welding pressure, feed rate, pin temperature,
temperature distribution, downwards forging force on the tool shoulder, rotating
tool torque, forces generates from the weld in welding direction and perpendicular
to weld seam, etc. FSW is a relatively newly developed method, much more studies
need to conduct on different aspects to utilize it economically and effectively. FSW
is attracting an increasing amount of research interest [–].
. Working principle of FSW
Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding process created and patented
by The Welding Institute (TWI) in []. It is a relatively novel joining technol-
ogy, which has caught the interest of many industrial sectors, including automotive,
aeronautic and transportation due to its many advantages and clear industrial
potential. The process adds new possibilities within component design and allows
more economical and environmentally efficient use of materials [, ]. FSW can
produce low-cost and high-quality joints of heat-treatable aluminum alloys without
Figure 1.
Weldability of different aluminum alloys [10].
Mass Production Processes
Figure 3.
The schematic diagram showing heat energy generation and distribution during FSW process [25].
use of consumable filler materials, no special preparation of the welding sample
is required and can eliminate welding defects, little waste or pollution is gener-
ated during the welding process [, ]. Friction stir welding offers distinguish
advantages like ease of handling by precise external process control and can create
homogeneous welds with high levels of repeatability []. The working principle of
FSW is shown in Figure .
In FSW, cylindrical rotating tool consisting of a concentric threaded pin and
tool shoulder are used for welding the parts. A non-consumable rotating tool along
with specially designed pin and shoulder is attached at the faying edges of the plates
to be joined and traversed along the welded joint. The clamps are used to fix the
two sheets on the bed and force is applied vertically to fix the tool on the collect
of vertical milling machine. The friction between the welding tool i.e. rotating
tool and workpiece is generated due to rotation of rotation tool on the plated to be
welded which leads to plastic deformation of work piece. The plates get soften at the
around the pin due to generation localized heat from the friction and the combina-
tion of tool rotation and translation leads the movement of the soften material from
front of the pin to back of the pin. The welded joint is formed by deforming the
material at temperatures below the melting point of parent material. If the direc-
tion of tool rotation and translation of the welding tool in same direction, then it
is called advancing side whereas both the motions in opposite direction then it is
Figure 2.
Schematic diagram of the friction stir welding process [22].
Recent Advances in Joining of Aluminum Alloys by Using Friction Stir Welding
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89382
called retreating side. In FSW process, geometry of the tool is very important which
highly depends on deciding the quality levels of joint obtained.
During the FSW process, the temperature distribution is a function of the heat
generated by the friction between the workpiece and tip and shoulder of the tool
[]. The heat generation is depending on the physical properties of the workpiece
and the tool []. And the generated heat equal distribution is crucial for the quality
of the weldment and heat distribution is depends on the thermal conductivities of
the tools and workpieces, thermal capacities, the relative speed, and the intersection
area []. The heat distribution is clearly shown in Figure .
. Literature review
As mentioned earlier that fusion based welding of aluminum alloys is difficult
because of limited weldability. Some aluminum alloys can be resistance welded
but the surface preparation is problematic, and time consuming and surface oxide
is being a major problem during welding [] On the other hand, FSW can be
used join most of the aluminum alloys without any surface oxide problems and
no special cleaning is required prior to welding. Some of the research publications
which reported to literature based on friction stir welding of aluminum alloys are
discussed as follows:
Rhodes etal. [] had been made an experimental analysis to study the signifi-
cance of welding process on weld nugget (WN), heat affected zone (HAZ) and
microstructural changes of FSWed aluminum alloy material. They stated
from the study that friction stir welding process was useful to join unweldable
aluminum alloys without introducing a cast microstructure and it was not influenc-
ing much on WN, HAZ and microstructure of welded joint compared to fusion
welding techniques. Jata etal. [] were investigated the effects of FSW method on
microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded aluminum alloy
- T. Researchers observed from analysis that FSW process transforms
the initial millimeter sized pancake-shaped grains in the parent work-material to
fine to micrometer dynamically recrystallized grains and it also redissolves the
strengthening precipitates in the weld-nugget area. The fatigue strength of welded
specimen depends on the bonding between the intergranular mechanism. Frigaard
etal. [] had been studied the microstructure evolution and its effects on hardness
distribution of FSWed samples of AA-T and AA-T aluminum alloys
with the use of numerical three-dimensional heat flow model. They observed that
thermal effects were main reasons behind the strength losses of welded samples
during FSW of age hardening aluminum alloys. This was because of high level
welding speeds which introduces plastic deformation resulting initiation of the
dissolution of hardening precipitates. The grain structure within the plastically
deformed region was analyzed by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD)
technique in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and stated that dynamic
recovery is significant softening procedure for FSW of age hardening aluminum
alloys. Lee etal. [] had made an investigation-based on experiments study to
enhance welding process performance of FSW of A Al alloy. Liu etal. [] had
made an experimental investigation to study, analyze the effects of process welding
parameters on tensile properties of friction stir welded -T aluminum alloy
and optimum welding parameters to attain better quality response of weldment.
They observed from analysis that tensile properties and fracture locations of the
welded joints are significantly affected by the friction stir process parameters. Peel
etal. [] had made a research analysis on welded samples of aluminum AAin
friction stir welds process. They studied the influences of varied process conditions
Mass Production Processes
on microstructural, mechanical property and residual stress. They observed from
the work that there is uncertainty of weld quality characteristics with varying
welding speeds. Researchers mentioned in their research that thermal input is most
significantly affecting welding responses than the mechanical deformation created
by the tool.
Fersini and Pirondi [] had been conducted a research work to study and
analyze the fatigue behavior of friction stir welded aluminum alloy Al- T
materials. Shen etal. [] had been studied the mechanical properties and failure
mechanisms of aluminum alloy AA -T sheets in friction stir spot welding.
Kah etal. [] had been investigated the weld defects in aluminum alloys welded by
friction stir welding and fusion welding. Researchers found that defects in alumi-
num alloy welds are less as compared to the fusion welds. Effertz etal. [] had been
analyzed and optimized the process welding parameters in friction spot welding
of -T aluminum alloy. They stated that process parameters in friction spot
welding were highly influential for quality responses of weldment. Guo etal. []
had been studied the fatigue performance of aluminum friction stir welded joints.
Kaushik and Singhal [] had made an experimental investigation to analyze the
influences of FSW process on microstructure and mechanical properties of cast
composite matrix AA reinforced with wt SiC particles. They mentioned
from the study that FSW had impacts on the growth, dissolution and reprecipita-
tion of the hardening precipitates during welding. Mechanical properties like ulti-
mate tensile strength, percentage elongation, hardness, of friction stir welded joint
improved due to microstructural changes taken place during FSW process. Behrouz
etal. [] had investigated the effect of vibration on microstructure and thermal
properties of Al welded specimen made by friction stir spot welding (FSSW).
They conducted experiments at rotation speed of rpm and different dwelling
times. They observed from their study that vibration during FSSW leads to decrease
of grain size weld region thereby improved mechanical properties. Kunitaka etal.
[] had been developed the corner adstir fillet stationary shoulder FSW (SSFSW)
process for welding of the reinforced fillet joints. The welding of reinforced fillet
welded is difficult with conventional FSW due to complexity and unpractical joint
preparation. Researchers were observed better mechanical properties in reinforced
fillet welded joints as like conventional FS welds. Silva etal. [] had been studied
the temperature distribution around a FSW tool on bead-on-plate welds in mm
thickness aluminum alloy, AA-T. Shen [] had been evaluated the weld
performance in terms of microstructure, interfacial bonding, hardness, static and
fatigue strength of -T Al alloy welded joint in refill friction stir spot welding
using a modified tool based on the experimental analysis.
Dissimilar welding is an important research area for many industrial applica-
tions. Joining two different materials to create cost effective product is difficult
task due different materials properties and varying melting points []. Welding
of aluminum alloys with other materials has huge industrial requirement. Friction
stir welding (FSW) is extended to join various un-weldable aluminum alloys within
other aluminum alloys and also with other materials like steel, manganese, etc.
Some of the dissimilar welding of aluminum alloys with other materials are dis-
cussed as follows:
Cavaliere etal. [] had been analyzed the mechanical and metallurgical
properties of dissimilar friction stir welded aluminum alloys and
respectively. After welding experiments, the microstructure of weldment had
been investigated by optical microscopy and observed that grain structure and
precipitates distribution differences initiated during welding process. Mechanical
behavior of welded samples had been tested by performing tensile and fatigue
tests. From the research analysis, they mentioned that proper understanding
Recent Advances in Joining of Aluminum Alloys by Using Friction Stir Welding
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89382
and correct selection of process variables are very crucial for optimal conduction
of FSW process to obtain desired welding performance. Yutaka etal. [] were
discussed the influences of varied rotation speeds on microstructure and hardness
of friction stir welded aluminum (Al) alloys -T and T. Researchers analyzed
the relationships between the microstructure and mechanical properties of welded
specimens. They observed that grain size of the stir zone increased exponentially
with increasing of temperature. The hardness values in welded condition in weld
center in weld of Aluminum alloy -T and distributed homogeneously in the
weld of Aluminum alloy -T. The effects of rotation speeds on hardness of
weldment were insignificant except softened region of aluminum alloy -T.
Song etal. [] had been analyzed the mechanical properties of friction stir lap
welded dissimilar AA–AA aluminum alloy materials. They were also
studied the defects in the welded joints and found good quality welds without
major defects. Shen etal. [] were made an experimental research to determine
the influences of welding input parameters on interfacial bonding in dissimilar
steel/aluminum friction stir welds. Investigators stated that control parameters
were most significant for quality of the welded joint of dissimilar aluminum alloy
and steel materials in friction stir welding. Ding etal. [] had also been studied
the quality levels of dissimilar aluminum alloy and AISI coated steel in friction
stir welding process. They found better weld qualities and stated that FSW was
better welding method for joining of aluminum alloys to steel materials. Tianhao
etal. [] had been applied friction stir scribe (FSS) technique to join the dis-
similar aluminum alloy and mild steel materials. The difference between the FSW
and FSS are reduced heat is supplied in FSS during dissimilar welding because of
varying melting points of materials to be joined. They studied the fracture modes
of welded joints under tensile shear loading. They observed from the study that
fracture mode and quality of joint was highly depends on welding process param-
eters and tool scribe height.
Raju etal. [] had been investigated the significances of friction stir parameters
on responses: microstructure and corrosion of friction stir welded AA-T and
AISI materials. They analyzed the effect of process variables on microstruc-
tures, intermetallic compounds and their phases, and thereby on corrosion of the
aluminum-steel welded joint and stated that quality of welded joint depends on the
correct selection of process parameters in FSW of dissimilar materials. Gopkalo
[] had analyzed the microstructure in heat affected zone (HAZ) of dissimilar
friction stir welded age hardened Al-Mg-Zn and Al-Mg-Si alloys. Li etal. []
had been studied the influences of friction parameters namely welding speed and
rotational speed on microstructure and tensile strength in FSW of dissimilar AZ
magnesium (Mg) alloy and A aluminum (AL) alloy materials. They stated from
the study that optimum selection of process parameters was necessary to obtain
defect free welded joint of AZMg alloy and A al alloy in friction stir welding.
Jedrasiak and Shercliff [] had been developed a finite element model to predict
the spatial and temporal variation of heat generation and temperature in friction
stir spot welding of aluminum and magnesium alloys. Guo etal. [] had conducted
research analysis to study the dependency of fatigue performance in friction stir
welding of dissimilar -T and -H aluminum alloys. They observed
from the investigation that kissing bond defect had significant effect on fatigue life
and toe-flash defect had small or less effect on fatigue performance of dissimilar
-T and -H aluminum alloys friction stir welds. Pratik etal. []
studied the effects of cylindrical tool pin profile on macrostructure, microstructure,
and tensile property of welded sample of dissimilar aluminum alloys AA and
AA when other process parameters: tool traverse feed kept at .mm/s, tool
rotational speed kept at rpm, and tool tilt angle of ° forward position. They
Mass Production Processes
stated that cylindrical tool pin profile was beneficial for obtaining defect free stir
zone and better tensile properties on weldment.
From the extensive review of friction stir welding of aluminum alloys, it is stated
that friction stir welding is best alternative to join almost all types of aluminum
alloys. The uses of FSW can also be extended to weld dissimilar aluminum alloys
and with other materials also. FSW can be used as mass production technology or
fabrication process, as it does not have melting phase, no special preparation of
welding joint, minimum problems related to welding metal re-solidification, uses
non-consumable tool, etc. Performing FSW process to create aluminum sheets in
economical manner is important area of work and it is highly depends on the proper
understanding of principles of FSW, relations between the process parametric
conditions and response characteristics, properties of work-piece material and
welding tool, shape and geometry of welding tool, etc. More research investigations
related to various aspects of FSW of similar aluminum (AL) alloys and dissimilar
AL alloys and or with other materials will create a sound knowledge bank; from
which industrial persons can be benefitted to conduct FSW process with enhanced
efficiency. Present chapter is one step forward for making the FSW of similar and
dissimilar aluminum alloys in an economical and predictive manner.
. Conclusions
The followings are the conclusions drawn from the present study of advance-
ments of FSW of aluminum alloys:
. Aluminum alloys are useful alternative materials of steel, and those are used
make products in many advanced industrial applications
. Aluminum alloys are treated as un-weldable materials
. Welding of aluminum alloys with fusion welding (tungsten inert gas, and
metal inert gas) and resistance welding techniques are dicult and not eco-
nomical methods
. Friction stir welding (FSW) is solid state welding which used non-consumable
rotating tool to weld aluminum alloys by using frictional energy
. FSW does not need to weld joint preparation, melting of material to be joined
and recast
. Welding defects can be eliminated with FSW process
. Fundamental understanding of FSW is required to conduct it eciently and
eectively
. Selection correct process welding parameters, temperature distribution during
welding, are important parameters which expected to influence the weld qual-
ity and welding performance.
. FSW can be used weld similar and dissimilar aluminum alloys
. FSW can also be used to join aluminum alloys with high strength steels and
other light-weight materials
Recent Advances in Joining of Aluminum Alloys by Using Friction Stir Welding
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89382
. Advancements of various types of FSW process like friction stir scribe (FSS)
technique, stationary shoulder FSW (SSFSW) process, friction stir spot weld-
ing (FSSW) to weld similar and dissimilar aluminum alloys are discussed
. From the present study, it is mentioned that FSW is highly suitable for mass
production process to produce large quantity parts with high production rate
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges to Dr. Asish Bandyopadhyay, Professor, Mechanical
Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, India, for encouraging me to write
this chapter.
Conflict of interest
The author declaring no conflict of interest.
Author details
RameshRudrapati
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Technology, Hawassa
University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
*Address all correspondence to: rameshrudrapati@gmail.com
© The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/.), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
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