Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., in partnership with General Motors, Alcoa, and the Tailor Welded Blank (TWB) Co., have developed a friction stir welding technique that is said to be ten times faster than current FSW techniques. This represents production speeds that meet high-volume assembly requirements for rapidly joining aluminum sheets of varying thicknesses. The process is also said to be capable of delivering a car door that is 62% lighter and 25% cheaper than possible with today’s manufacturing methods.
The technology is reported in the May issue of JOM, the member journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. “We looked at the barriers preventing the use of more lightweight alloys in cars, picked what we felt was a top challenge, and then formulated a team that represented the entire supply chain to tackle it,” said Yuri Hovanski, the program manager at PNNL and lead author. “The result is a proven process that overcomes the speed, scale, and quality limitations of FSW that previously were showstoppers for the auto industry.”
The two-phase, six-year project is funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with in-kind partner contributions from each of the participating companies.
http://www.pnnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=4200#.VVECQt-HGZY.email
