New Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding (Refill FSSW) was performed for the aluminum alloys used for aircrafts. Joints were examined to evaluate its performances, such as tensile shear strength and strength of heat affected zone, with using various surface conditions.
As a result of examination, significant lap shear strength by using shoulder plunging method was achieved with shorter process time. Even with the alodine coated aluminum alloys, strong and good quality joints can be made. And finally, actual prototype components were experimentally produced with Refill FSSW robot. Fine preproduction parts with no distortion and sufficient quality were obtained. Refill FSSW will be able to be regarded as suitable for fabrication of aircraft components.
