SOLID-STATE WELDING OF LIGHT ALLOY COMPONENTS

Solid-state welding of light alloy components. The thesis is about new solid-state welding process called Friction Stir Welding. The first part consists of a brief explanation of how it works, what are the main properties of the tool used and what are the parameters needed to be set in order to get a good welded joint. Then, after a deep research into literature, reading books and various papers, the design of some welding tools with a special pin and shoulder and them own proper adapter has been performed in order to be able to weld Aluminium Alloys sheets with different thickness (1.5 mm and 2.5 mm) and arranged so that butt and lap joint could be obtained. The tool adapter must fit the dimensions of the tool holder provided by the machine produced by “STIRTEC” and located in “Eurodies” company in Rivoli (TO). The welding tools and the tool adapter designed have been verified against static failure. No fatigue analysis has been done since the components are not subjected to variable load. Then, a detailed drawing of the tool adapter with all the shape and dimensional tolerances needed has been done, so that the component could be ready to be produced and machined. After understanding the production operations useful to create the tool adapter, an overview about turning and milling, explaining the main parameters and cutting tools has been written. The last chapter consists of an explanation of the G-code use to drive the machining passages in a CNC machine. A G-code for the turning process needed to machine the Tool Adapter has been written using the software “CNCSimulator”.