Patent — available for licensing
Stronger Plug for Friction Pull Plug Welding of Thick Plates
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
NASA and Geocent, LLC innovators adapted a plug to improve aluminum friction pull plug welding (FPPW). The rugged plug is less vulnerable to snapping off and helps reduce chatter. FPPW is the process that is necessary to plug the hole that is left behind as a friction stir weld (FSW) joint is completed and the pin tool of the welder retracts from the joint. The inventors have replaced the plug support with steel to improve its strength to endure the forces of the FPPW process. NASA adapted the plug to enable FPPW processing for the thicker welds and different alloys needed for NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS). This new plug helps solve the well-known FPPW challenges of plug welding on thicker plates that have caused weld defects in the past such as substantial plug necking and plug rotational stalling. The new plug has been tested and used in building NASA equipment.