Austin Peay State University exploring cutting-edge friction stir welding process
September 30, 2012
Clarksville, TN – In 1991, The Welding Institute in England discovered a strange new method for joining two metals together without melting the two pieces in a traditional fusion welding process.
The process, known as friction stir welding, softened and deformed the metals and then forged them together as one using a rotating tool. The welding process used heat and force to join the metals, similar in nature to the way blacksmiths forged swords and armor in the Middle Ages.
Dr. William “Russ” Longhurst demonstrates friction stir welding on a milling machine in the APSU Hemlock Semiconductor Building. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU staff)
