Proceso de Soldadura de Punto por Fricción-Agitación Autónomo para la Industria Naval de Bajo Porte

Abstract

The present work aims to respond to a technological demand from the TECNAO SRL shipyard, located in the SanFernando area in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is dedicated to the manufacture of small ships, mainly made of aluminum. The problem detected consists of the difficulty posed by the manufacturing process of the ships, especially with regard to the positioning of the aluminum plates to be welded, which are positioned by means of a previous spotting. Currently, this activity is carried out using traditional MIG or TIG welding processes, which forces the torches to be moved throughout the entire ship and the need to have highly qualified personnel to carry out this task, which has a strong impact on the cost and competitiveness of the sector, in addition to the problems of distortion of the plates due to the effect of the high temperatures associated with the processes used. The solution to the problem raised consists of a technological advance incorporating in the Argentine small-scale naval industry an innovative process that is the use of the friction-stirring point welding process, in English Friction Spot Stir Welding (FSSW). Another important advance with respect to the state of the art of the manufacture of small vessels in the Argentine naval industry is to be able to do it with an autonomous tool in order to allow the plucking of the structure without the need for the movement of torches along the the whole ship.An additional complexity that is an important advance in the state of the art is also the ability to weld thicknesses greater than 3mm.The present work describes the studies carried out aimed at the design of a portable FSSW equipment for application in the Naval Industry.