Patent ID: 8701969

Claim:
A method of producing a joined member by a tool including a shoulder and a probe projecting from a face of the shoulder, said method comprising: rotating the probe and inserting the rotating probe into a portion to be joined in two workpieces, which are contacting each other, at a probe starting point position, keeping the probe rotating at the probe starting point position, moving the probe over a distance being greater than or equal to a width of the shoulder, while rotating the probe, from the probe starting point position to a probe end point position, to bond the workpieces from the probe starting point position to the probe end point position, keeping the probe rotating at the probe end point position, and determining a period during which the probe moves over the distance from the probe starting point position to the probe end point position, wherein the probe is rotated only for a predetermined period at each of the probe starting point position and the probe end point position, and the method further comprises determining the predetermined period to be greater than or equal to the period during which the probe moves over a distance corresponding to the width of the shoulder at a moving velocity of the probe from the probe starting point position to the probe end point position.