Friction spin welding system offered

Coldwater Machine Co. has introduced the SpinMeldTM friction spin welding system, developed by the company’s Solid State Joining Center. The technology can be used to join steels, aluminum, cast or sintered metals, magnesium, brass, carbon fiber composites, ceramics with mixed metal connections, and dissimilar combinations of these materials.

With the system, a spinning workpiece, driven at a constant speed by an electric motor, is joined to a stationary one by rotational friction and externally applied force. The extremely fast process produces frictional heat at a sufficient temperature for the materials to reach a plastic state (nonmelting or solid state) at the joint interface. The materials then are forged together by force.

The system comes in stand-alone vertical or horizontal versions that can be integrated into a workcell or automated processing line. Each system is designed to fit the individual application with machine parameters such as rotational speeds, cycle times, and forging forces based on the material composition, part configuration, and contact surface area of each joint.

Rotational speeds are available from 2,000 to 23,000 RPM and forging forces from 335 to 12,000 lbf.