POROSITY
Porosity Eliminated
No melt pool means no solidification porosity or hot cracking, and the leak-tight seal that mechanical, gasketed, and brazed joints cannot reliably deliver.
Home / Technologies / Friction Stir Welding
Friction Stir Welding
Leak-tight, high-strength joints in aluminum and dissimilar metals, including alloys considered unweldable. Produced without filler, shielding gas, or post-weld straightening, and qualified to AWS D17.3.
What it does well
Why Engineers Switch to Friction Stir
SIZE
Beyond Extrusion Press Limits
Join extrusions edge to edge to reach large structures such as cold plates and battery trays, while keeping extrusion-like properties.
STRENGTH
Stronger Joints
Substantially stronger than arc welding, with long fatigue life and proven cryogenic service.
MATERIALS
Dissimilar Metals and Hard Alloys
Aluminum-to-copper and bimetallic transitions, and high-strength 2xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx alloys that crack under fusion welding, are routine for FSW.
How it works
A Joint Made Below the Melting Point
A rotating tool plasticizes the metal on both sides of the seam and stirs it together without melting it. The result is a wrought, fine-grained joint substantially stronger than an arc weld, with minimal distortion and none of the porosity or hot cracking that come with a melt pool. It also joins metals that cannot be fusion welded at all, so a designer can pick the best alloy for the job rather than the most weldable one.
Pathway to production
From Drawing to Production
Five steps, each built on your material, your geometry, and your part. You send us the drawing. We make the part and ship it back.
01
Process Optimization
We tune the process for your material and your joint geometry, starting from your drawing.
02
Process Qualification
The tuned process is qualified to AWS D17.3, a NASA specification, or your own specification.
03
First Article Demonstration
We weld your article from your drawing, so you evaluate your own part, not a generic coupon.
04
Low-Rate Production
The qualified process runs on your parts as demand builds, with no filler, no shielding gas, and no post-weld straightening.
05
High-Rate Production
The same qualified process scales to your full production volume.
Not sure where you are on this path? Send a drawing and we will tell you.
Send us a drawingWhere it is used
Industries
01
Industrial Machinery
Structural and pressure-containing joints in aluminum weldments.
02
Thermal Structures
Cold plates and heat exchangers with a hermetic FSW closure.
03
Aerospace & Space
Flight hardware joints qualified to AWS D17.3 and NASA specifications.
04
Maritime & Naval
Hull structures, tailored welded blanks, and multi-material joints.
Next step
Send Us the Part That Is Holding Up Your Program.
A drawing, a STEP file, or a sketch and a size is enough. We reply within 3 business days, including when the answer is no.
contact@leapfast.com
(330) 242-6951
252 W Boardman St, Youngstown, OH 44503