Coldwater Machine partners with Ohio State for vaporizing foil actuator welding project

Coldwater Machine Co., a Coldwater, Ohio-based manufacturer and integrator of assembly automation and machines for the automotive, appliance, energy, and aerospace industries, has been selected as a manufacturing and collaboration partner to help commercialize The Ohio State University’s (OSU’s) vaporizing foil actuator welding (VFAW) technology. This joining process, which can weld dissimilar metals, will complement Coldwater’s other solid-state joining capabilities, including friction stir welding, refill friction stir spot welding, and laser welding.

With the VFAW process, an aluminum foil actuator is electrically vaporized by means of a capacitor bank. This rapid vaporization generates a high-pressure pulse, which drives one metallic workpiece toward the other at extremely high speeds, with the resulting impact causing the metals to weld together and form an atomic bond upon contact. The technique uses less energy than resistance welding, yet creates stronger bonds, states the company.

The process was invented and patented by OSU in 2012. To date the engineers at OSU have successfully bonded different combinations of copper, aluminum, magnesium, iron, nickel, and titanium.

Coldwater Machine will work with OSU to create a manufacture-ready system for VFAW, including development of two units in the fall of 2017. Other collaborators include Honda and its supplier Jefferson Industries, which are working to bring the technology into production as a head unit for robotic implementation, while Ashland will validate corrosion control methodologies.

Additionally, the Department of Energy is investing in the project to further develop VFAW as a viable technology for creating multimaterial, lightweight vehicles.