Page 70: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 1999)

MARINE MATERIALS

Advanced Aluminum Extrusions Offered

Williamsburg Fabricators has recently made available Friction Stir

Welded aluminum in the U.S. By joining forces with one of the world's leading producers of Friction Stir

Welded products — Marine

Aluminum of Haugesund, Norway — the company is able to offer this tech- nology in America. Production is currently scheduled to begin later this year.

Marine Aluminum has supplied

Friction Stir Welded material since 1997 for applications such as high speed ferry boats, rail transportation, offshore drilling platforms, helicopter decks and other industrial products.

The product offers some unique prop- erties and advantages, including no distortion or deflection, high produc- tivity, reliable and uniform high weld quality, little pre- or post-production work, plus the higher strength of the weld.

According to the company, these advantages conspire to make it possi- ble to reduce material thickness, and therefore the weight of the final prod- uct by up to 10 to 20 percent. For marine applications, the advantages of lower weight with similar strength are obvious, as less weight equals more favorable fuel consumption, and can also lead to a more cost effec- tive powering solution.

Williamsburg Fabricators will tar- get the high speed ferry boat market, as well as the markets for railroad cars, truck trailers, shipping contain- ers and other products that would benefit from lower weight with no sacrifice in strength. Although the company's primary capability is pro- viding aluminum welding services of components for manufacturers of equipment using Friction Stir

Welding, they will also offer design assistance for aluminum extrusions, anodizing, coating and modular assembly.

The project also includes the vast technical expertise and experience of

ESAB. Aluminum is normally weld- ed using MIG, TIG, plasma or manu- al welding with coated electrodes, and ESAB is a big manufacturer of machines and consumables for these processes. ESAB has now enlarged the product program with machines for the new welding method, Friction

Stir Welding, which was developed and patented by the U.K.'s TWI.

The FSW method is based on the principle of obtaining sufficiently high temperature to forge two alu- minum components, using a rotating tool which moves along the joint.

Using the FSW method, components are joined together without increasing the temperature above the melting point. It is reportedly ideal for join- ing straight profiles from 1.6 mm to 30 mm thick. When welding materi- als of more than 15 mm thickness, the welding is carried out from both sides. Maximum thickness is approx- imately 30 mm with 100 percent pen- etration. The FSW-method has been approved by DNV, and Marine

Aluminum has been issued the corre- sponding certificate covering the welding machine and the use of the welding method.

Circle 107 on Reader Service Card

Advantages of FSW Process • High consistency in weld quality. • Shield gas not required. • Welding consumables not required.

Better strength in the heat affected zone, which can make it possible to reduce material dimensions and consequently the weight of the final product. • Plane and smooth surface free of distortion.

Post treatment and straightening of panels is not needed. • Higher tolerance requirements satisfied than with other methods.

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SGt§,§I of pipe fabrication equipment 253.926.5550 [email protected] www.jesse-wallace.com 70 Circle 243 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News