Patent ID: 8678268
Filing Date: 2014-03-25
Classification: B23K

Abstract:
1. A method of friction stir welding together first and second workpieces, comprising: providing a machine with a rotatable pin; juxtaposing the first and second workpieces along a junction; providing an anvil at a backside of the junction, wherein the anvil comprises (i) a base portion having a base composition, and (ii) a sacrificial material having a compositional change from a first composition to the base composition; rotating the pin; inserting the rotating pin into the junction; translating the pin along the junction to create a seam under conditions that friction stir weld together (i) the first and second workpieces, and (ii) the sacrificial material; and removing the pin from the seam; removing a portion of the sacrificial material from the seam at the backside of the junction.