OCTOBER 19-20, 2012 - YMCA University of Science & Technology

Proceedings of the National Conference on
Trends and Advances in Mechanical Engineering,
YMCA University of Science & Technology, Faridabad, Haryana, Oct 19-20, 2012
The welding equipment can be a conventional milling machine which instead of a milling tool carries a welding
tool. The thickness of the aluminum material being welded is between 1.5-30 mm.
The advantage is very high welding quality. No pores has been observed and the material structure is very
uniform and often totally without cracks. Bending tests show very good bending results with no rupture. Tensile
tests give breakage in the heat affected zone (HAZ).
No oxide removal is necessary before welding. The heat influence is very low on the material. Welding speed of
600 mm/min in 6 mm thick material is possible.
2. Experimental Method
The rolled plates of 4mm thickness, AA1200 aluminium alloy, were cut into the required size (200mm×100 mm)
by power hacksaw. Square butt joint configuration was prepared to fabricate FSW joints. The initial joint
configuration was obtained by securing the plates in position using mechanical clamps. The direction of welding
was normal to the rolling direction. Single pass welding procedure was used to fabricate the joints. Nonconsumable
tools made of HCHCR steel were used to fabricate the joints. The chemical composition of base
metal is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Chemical composition (wt%) of base metal
Elements
Percentage/weight base metal
Cu 0.05
Mo 0.05
Si 0.05
Zn 0.1
Ti 0.05
Fe 0.05
Al
Balance
A knee type vertical milling machine (2000 rpm) was used to fabricate the joints. Two different tool profiles, as
shown in Fig. 3 were used to fabricate the joints.
Figure 3. Tool Profiles
Eight specimens were fabricated using two different tool, two different feeds and two different rotational speeds
(See Table 2) and fractional factorial design was developed
Table 2. Welding parameters and tool dimensions
Process parameters
Values
Rotational speed (rpm) 1400, 2000
Welding speed (mm/min) 10, 20
Tool shoulder diameter, D (mm) 20,10
Axial force (kN) 12
Pin length (mm) 3.8
Pin diameter, d (mm) 5
532