Patent im Yasni Exposé von Christoph Schilling

In a device for joining, by friction stir welding, at least two workpieces, a support structure is provided with a head portion which includes drive means and a shaft which is rotatable by the drive means and has a pin-like projection projecting toward a support member of the support structure for supporting workpieces to be joined by friction stir welding and wherein guide means are provided for moving the rotating pin-like projection into contact with, and into, the workpieces while plasticizing the workpieces in the contact area to form thereby a spot weld by friction stir welding.

In a method and apparatus for joining at least two adjoining workpieces by friction welding, a rotatable shaft is provided at its front end with a friction welding tool which is biased toward the workpieces to plasticize an area of the workpiece into which the tool enters while the plasticized material is displaced and stored in, or around, the tool. Upon passing through the top workpiece and entering the lowermost work piece, the tool is removed and the stored plasticized material is returned to the void provided by the tool upon removal thereof from the workpieces for joining the workpieces.

In a method and apparatus for joining at least two work pieces by friction stir welding wherein the work pieces are at least partially plasticized in the area where they are to be joined by a rotating friction tool provided with a projection which can be moved into the area of the joint to be formed, the projection on the rotating tool has a length corresponding about to the thickness of the work piece and a shoulder around the pin-like projection so that, upon movement of the tool toward the work pieces, the work piece material is plasticized by the rotating pin-like projection which moves into the work piece material until it reaches the surfaces of the lowermost

In a method and apparatus for joining at least two adjoining workpieces by friction welding, a rotatable shaft is provided at its front end with a friction welding tool which is biased toward the workpieces to plasticize an area of the workpiece into which the tool enters while the plasticized material is displaced and stored in, or around, the tool. Upon passing through the top workpiece and entering the lowermost work piece, the tool is removed and the stored plasticized material is returned to the void provided by the tool upon removal thereof from the workpieces for joining the workpieces.

Reibpunktschweißen wurde vom Geschäftsführer der RIFTEC GmbH Christoph Schilling in seiner Zeit am GKSS Forschungszentrum erfunden und ist ebenfalls patentiert. Das Unternehmen beschäftigt sich momentan intensiv mit der Markteinführung für das neue Verfahren. Auf der Messe "Schweißen und Schneiden 2005" wurde ein Prototyp des ers-ten industriellen Schweißkopfes für das Reibpunktschweißen vorgestellt. Die Automobil-industrie ist hier der potenzielle Kunde.