Patent ID: 6986452

Claim:
A method of joining aluminum alloy panels, comprising the steps of: a) preliminary positioning a center panel and a pair of side panels in contact and relative to one another so that the side panels abut the center panel on respective opposing sides of the center panel with a smaller portion of the center panel extending above the side panels and a larger portion of the center panel extending below the side panels, said projection portion and part of each of the side panels defining a faying surface; b) providing a friction stir weld pin tool; c) connecting the center and side panels together with a friction stir weld by fully penetrating the pin tool through the projecting portion and part of each of the side panels; and d) wherein in step “c” the panel material around the pin tool is frictionally heated, plasticized, and joined until the faying surface is substantially consumed and at part of the projecting portion provides a volume of material that forms a reinforced corner at the interface of each side panel with the center panel.