THOMPSON IS CHOICE OF TWI FOR LINEAR FRICTION WELDING TASK

The Welding Institute, one of the world's leading independent research organisations, has ordered a Thompson linear friction welding machine to further develop its materials joining technology expertise for the aerospace industry.

The Cambridge-based establishment is set to take delivery of the E20 model from the award-winning manufacturer early next year and will use it for welding a range of parts such as blisks and airframe structures in a variety of materials including titanium, nickel and aluminium alloys.

Announced at the Farnborough International Air Show, the order marks another milestone in Thompson's development of a range of linear friction welding machines. It recently produced the world's first commercially-available linear friction welding machine, the E100, for joining parts up to 10,000mm.

"The linear process offers many benefits for aero component makers in comparison to machining parts from solid billets. In particular, it provides significant opportunities to save vast amounts of raw materials and substantially reduce buy-to-fly ratios.

"Thanks to the Institute's decision to update its linear friction welding equipment, TWI members will soon be able to learn more about the advantages of this highly-capable process which has been used by jet engine makers to join safety-critical components for more than 20 years," explained Nick Edge, Thompson's global sales manager.

Thompson's E20 linear friction welder, which has a 20 tonne forging capacity, features an open platform design, making it flexible for joining a wide variety of parts typically used in the aerospace sector, but also in other markets including automotive and power generation.

Equipped with Thompson's latest software for data capture and weld monitoring capabilities, the machine is suitable for joining similar/dissimilar materials in almost any shape from rings and blades to fans and square metal contactors.

"TWI is delighted to be working with Thompson to further explore the exciting opportunities offered by the linear friction welding process. The value and impact of this technology is rapidly increasing, especially in the aerospace industry," said Dr Mike Russell, manager of TWI's Friction and Forge Processes Group.

Linear Friction Welding

The Linear Friction Welding Process

Up until now, friction welding could only be used on joints that had at least one round part but Thompson’s innovation means the process can be used on almost any shape. The advantages of this solid state process also mean that similar and dissimilar materials such as aluminium and copper can be completely joined, no filler material is needed and the parts do not melt so better parent material properties can be achieved.

Linear friction welding works on the basic principles of rubbing 2 pieces of material together until the surface gets hot enough to become plastic and join together. This principle has been used in rotary friction welding by Thompson for over 50 years where one part is spun against another, heat is produced and the parts are forced together. The basic parameters mean that oscillation replaces rotation but the remaining characteristics are very similar to rotary welding.

Whatever the size of the part, the weld times are similar in speed because the linear process, unlike the rotary method, ensures that friction occurs throughout the weld surface The largest linear friction weld undertaken by Thompson to date had a weld time of around 4 seconds.

The flash of excess material formed during the weld will expel from the joint line in an even plane and show the number of oscillations that have occurred during the weld. This can be removed by hand or automatically on the machine.

Check out http://www.linearfrictionwelding.com/ for more information

LINEAR FRICTION WELDING SOLUTION FOR JOINING AERO PARTS

Thompson will showcase its linear friction welding solution for producing a range of titanium aero components at a fraction of the cost of other traditional manufacturing methods on stand B10, Hall 4, at theFarnborough International Air Show.

The award-winning machine manufacturer says the linear process can be used to make tailored blanks, which eliminate the need for vast amounts of raw material usually associated with machining components from solid billets.

Thompson says these pre-formed components offer typical savings of 70 per cent and adds that its work with some of the world's top aircraft makers has already identified a number of parts that show potential multi-million dollar savings in material.

Its new E100 machine is specially designed to use the linear friction welding process to join one or more parts together to create larger structures and prismatic shapes. The method produces a solid phase bond with near parent metal properties.

Tailored blanks offer an attractive alternative to machining as many aircraft components have complex shapes such as stringers, flanges and webs added to their basic construction, explained Nick Edge, Thompson's global sales manager.

"In order to arrive at the net finished shape, a significant amount of raw material has to be removed during the machining process and this results in high buy-to-fly ratios of 10:1. Using the linear method means buy-to-fly ratios can be as low as 2:1," he added.

While other technologies such as laser welding and metal deposition remain in the very early stages of development, linear friction welding is an established process that has been successfully used for more than two decades by jet engine makers to produce safety-critical components such as blisks, said Nick.

"The continuing growth in raw material prices and the wider use of difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium alloys means the application of linear friction welding can make a major contribution to lowering production costs."

Thompson's E100 is the first in a series of linear friction welding machines for aerospace applications and complements the Halesowen-based company's range of rotary friction welding machines which are used to produce parts for the automotive, construction machine and mineral exploration industries.

Linear friction welding involves rubbing two pieces of material together while applying a load to produce frictional heat. It can be used to join similar/dissimilar materials in almost any shape from rings and blades to fans and square metal contactors.

Further information on Thompson's E100 linear friction welding machine can be viewed online atwww.linearfrictionwelding.com or emailsales@linearfrictionwelding.com.

Thompson will share its stand at Farnborough with sister company, KUKA Automation + Robotics, who will be demonstrating its latest robotic end effector solutions for aerospace applications.

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