Friction Stir Welding: Why Are Industry Giants Rushing to Layout? Unveiling the “Just-in-Need” of High-End Manufacturing
When new energy vehicles pursue ultimate battery life and aircraft challenge lighter and stronger structures, the innovation of manufacturing processes becomes the key to victory. Among many cutting-edge welding technologies, Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has become a veritable “just-in-need” in the field of high-end manufacturing with its revolutionary advantages. What is the magic of this “star technology” in the friction welding family that has won the favor of industry giants? How does it reshape the connection standards for lightweight materials such as aluminum alloys?
The friction welding technology family is huge, mainly including continuous drive friction welding, inertia friction welding, linear friction welding, and our protagonist today – Friction Stir Welding (FSW). It has demonstrated extraordinary capabilities in the connection of lightweight and difficult-to-weld materials such as aluminum alloys and magnesium alloys, and is becoming the preferred solution for high-end applications such as battery trays for new energy vehicles and thin-walled structural components for aerospace.
Unveiling the Magic of “Solid-State Connection”: Process Equals Quality
The core charm of friction stir welding lies in its essence of solid-state connection, with no metal melting throughout the process. The process can be described as a precise and controllable thermoplastic flow:
The core charm of friction stir welding lies in its essence of solid-state connection, with no metal melting throughout the process. The process can be described as a precise and controllable thermoplastic flow:
- High-speed rotation into position: A specially designed stirring tool rotates at high speed and accurately inserts into the butt joint of the plates to be welded.
- Friction heat generation and plasticization: The shoulder of the tool rubs against the surface of the plate, generating controllable heat, so that the metal below the contact point reaches a thermoplastic state (not melted).
- Strong stirring and mixing: The high-speed rotating stirring pin strongly agitates the softened metal flow.
- Plastic flow forming: The tool moves along the weld seam, and the thermoplastic metal is fully mixed and extruded behind the stirring pin, and cools and crystallizes under pressure.
- Birth of a dense weld: Finally, a high-strength weld with a dense and uniform structure and performance close to that of the base metal is formed.
Relying on its unique principle, friction stir welding shows irreplaceable advantages:
- No melting defects and excellent quality: It completely avoids the pores, cracks, and slag inclusions of traditional fusion welding. The weld has high purity and excellent consistency, meeting the “zero defect” requirement.
- Extraordinary joint strength: The weld strength can reach more than 90% of the base metal, providing forging-level structural integrity, which is the guarantee for safety-critical components.
- Expert in aluminum alloy welding with minimal deformation: It is particularly excellent in welding aluminum alloys and other materials. It has low heat input and minimal deformation, perfectly meeting the manufacturing needs of high-precision battery trays and aircraft thin-walled parts.
- Efficient, green, and safe: The process does not require solder and protective gas, and there is no smoke, arc light, or harmful gas. It is efficient and in line with the trend of green manufacturing.
At present, friction stir welding technology has been deeply applied in:
- New energy vehicles: Battery trays (core of load-bearing and safety), motor housings, lightweight body structures.
- Aerospace: Aircraft thin-walled parts (skins, fuel tanks), rocket storage tanks, cabin structures.
- Rail transit: High-speed train car bodies, floors.
- Shipbuilding: Decks, superstructures.
- Electronic heat dissipation: Heat dissipation substrates for high-power devices, etc.
With the accelerated penetration of the lightweight trend in various industries and the continuous improvement of requirements for product performance and reliability, the application prospect of friction stir welding will be broader. As a reliable partner deeply engaged in the manufacturing field, Zhengheng Power has successfully applied friction stir welding technology to many fields, including key components of new energy vehicles (such as battery trays), high-quality cast aluminum parts, cylinder blocks, etc. We deeply understand the strict requirements of different industries for connection technology and are committed to providing the best solutions.
Post time: Jun-13-2025
