Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd.

Keita Oikawa

Nobushiro Seo

Ryo Yoshida

Shingo Koizumi

The present invention aims to provide a joining method that can prevent poor joining. The present invention provides a joining method including: a measuring step that measures a height near a joint portion, which serves as a part for joining formed by a first metal member and a second metal member placed in a positional relationship for joining by abutting or overlapping, and obtains measured values; a setting step that sets a height position of a rotating tool based on the measured values obtained by the measuring step; and a friction stir step that relatively moves the turning rotating tool along the joint portion based on the height position set by the setting step.

Joining device and joining method

A rotary tool includes: a main body having a fixed unit and a rotary shaft; a stirring pin rotatable and movable relative to an axial direction of the rotary shaft, and inserted into a joint member to perform friction stirring; and a shoulder that is arranged on the main body so as not to receive a rotary force from the main body but to be movable relative to the axial direction of the rotary shaft, and that presses the joint member while in contact with the joint member, wherein the stirring pin and the shoulder are mounted to form an assembly so as to be relatively movable and to move integrally in the axial direction of the rotary shaft, and the rotary tool further includes a first elastic member that biases the assembly toward a distal-end side of the stirring pin relative to the axial direction of the rotary shaft.

Rotary tool, joining device, and joining method

A rotary tool used in a joining device that performs friction stir welding of a joint member. The rotary tool includes: a main body having a fixed unit attached and secured to the joining device, and a rotary shaft for transmitting a rotary force from the joining device; a stirring member that has a stirring pin inserted into the joint member to perform friction stirring on the joint member, that is arranged so as to be rotatable by receiving the rotary force from the rotary shaft, and that is provided on the main body so as to be movable relative to an axial direction of the rotary shaft; and an elastic member that biases the stirring member toward a distal-end side relative to the axial direction of the rotary shaft.

The present invention includes a joining process in which a first metal member and a second metal member are joined with an auxiliary member interposed therebetween by moving a rotary tool along a butted portion in a state where the rotary tool being rotated is inserted only from a front face side of the auxiliary member, only a stirring pin is in contact with the auxiliary member, a base end side of the stirring pin is exposed, and an outer circumferential face of the stirring pin is slightly in contact with the first metal member and the second metal member, and the auxiliary member is provided with an inclined face on at least one side face in such a form that the auxiliary member has a smaller dimension with increasing distance from a front face, and at least one of the first metal member and the second metal member is provided with an inclined face corresponding to the inclined face of the auxiliary member and inclined from the front face toward a back face.

Joining method

A rotary tool includes: a main body, and a rotary shaft for transmitting a rotary force; a stirring pin that is arranged on the main body so as to be rotatable by receiving the rotary force and to be movable relative to an axial direction of the rotary shaft, and that is inserted into a joint member to perform friction stirring on the joint member; a shoulder that is formed separately from the stirring pin, that is arranged on the main body so as not to receive the rotary force from the main body but to be movable separately from the stirring pin relative to the axial direction of the rotary shaft, and that presses the joint member while in contact with the joint member; and a first elastic member that biases the stirring pin toward a distal-end side relative to the axial direction of the rotary shaft.

A method for manufacturing a hollow container with use of a rotary tool including a tapered stirring pin, including: preparing a first metal member, a second metal member, and an auxiliary member; butting the first metal member and the second metal member to face with each other, the auxiliary member is interposed between the first metal member and the second metal member; and joining the first metal member with the second metal member via the auxiliary member. The first and second metal members, and the auxiliary member are made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and the first and second metal members have higher hardness than the auxiliary member. At least one of the first and second metal members has an inclined surface inclined outward, and the auxiliary member has an inclined surface, tapered from the external surface toward an internal surface, on at least one of the side surfaces.

Method for producing hollow container

An object of the present invention is to provide a joining method by which metal members can be suitably joined to each other. The present invention is characterized by including a friction stirring process in which the first metal member, the second metal member, and the auxiliary member are joined to one another by moving the rotary tool along the inner corner portion in a state where the tip side pin which is being rotated is inserted into the inner corner portion, is in contact with the first metal member, the second metal member, and the auxiliary member, and an outer circumferential face of the base side pin is pressed against the auxiliary member.

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Shizuoka, Japan

Keita Oikawa