Friction Stir Link, Inc. was the first provider of production Friction Stir Welding Services in North America. Since then, we have added an extensive toolkit including arc welding, press brake, plasma cutting among others. Production capabilities and experience cover many metals and alloys.
We serve as the most capable source, assuring you both the best processing and competitive costs. FSL also provides additional supplemental fabrication services to facilitate the process. As part of the component fabrication we also design and fabricate weld fixtures and equipment.
FSL has both robotic Friction Stir Weld machines and custom-engineered machines for a variety of applications. The robotic machines are excellent for small parts to very large parts, where multiple welds are required. In addition they are used for multi-dimensional welding applications. The custom-engineered Friction Stir Welding machines are used for welding sheets, plates or extrusions. They are also used for applications requiring higher welding forces (aluminum alloy 5xxx series, 7xxx series, etc.). The machine can produce parts of 120 feet in length and parts of up to 48 feet transversely.
To supply a finished product, FSL also provides other fabrication services, including machining, gas metal arc welding, drilling, and coating. These other services are performed manually or in an automated fashion, depending upon requirements of the specific project. FSL also provides the equipment and fixture engineering, as the project requires.
To ensure a consistent product, FSL has a quality system in place. Quality control plans are developed for each specific application and include destructive and non-destructive testing and inspection. FSL has cross-sectioning equipment tensile testing, and bend testing equipment for destructive testing purposes. Furthermore, FSL has certified welding inspectors (CWI) who are ABS and ISO 9001:2008 certified.
FSL can provide research and application development services and prototyping capability for new applications requiring qualification and evaluation utilizing the friction stir welding process.
For those interested in FSW fabrication, FSL is a full service manufacturing supplier with an emphasis on friction stir welding and its variants. FSL also supplies other manufacturing services involved in production applications including, arc welding, machining, drilling, and painting, etc.
To complete the production implementation, FSL has a variety of capabilities including engineering and project management.
FSW offers a variety of advantages over traditional welding processes. These advantages include improve static strength and fatigue properties. The process is also very robust, not being sensitive to environmental conditions, unlike many traditional welding processes. This is especially true for welding of lower melting point materials such as aluminum, magnesium, bronze, and copper. It also yields significantly less distortion than the fusion welding processes, allowing for dramatic cost reductions in many applications.
FSW is a relatively new process, but has been used in production applications for more than 15 years. The first applications involved welding of extrusions to form paneling for marine applications. Since then, the process has been commercialized in many other applications, including rail car, automotive, aerospace, heavy truck, medical applications, etc. Today, the process is being transitioned into fabrication of complex assemblies, yielding significant quality and cost improvements. As the process is maturing, designers are taking advantage of the process, by designing the product specifically for the FSW process.
Friction stir welding, our namesake technology, is a joining process with inherent cost and performance advantages over traditional methods.
Friction Stir Link has coupled this technology with other metal fabrication technologies to achieve unique range of capabilities.
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW)
Metal Inert Gas (MIG)
Tungsten Inert Gas Welding (TIG)
Forming
Press Brake
Ironworker
Plasma Arc Cutting CNC High Definintion
Quality Services Non-Destructive Testing
Quality Services - Level II & Level III
Non-Destructive Testing
Visual Testing (VT)
Dye Penetrant Testing
Destructive Testing
Tensile Testing
Bend Testing
Dissimilar Alloys Welds
Dissimilar Thickness Welds
Most Metals
Plate Welding
Multi-Extrusion Panels
Large Diameter Tubing
Circumferential Welds
Longitudinal Welds
Annular & Curvilinear Welds
Friction Stir Spot Welds (FSSW)
Friction Stir Processing (FSP)
Removal of Porosity
Improvement of Formability
Weld Joint Designs
Application Engineering Services
Process Research
Welding Procedure Specification (WPS)
FSW Tools
Fixture Design and build
Friction Stir Link,Inc. is a full service supplier of metal fabrication. Friction Stir Link (FSL) was the first provider of production Friction Stir Welding Services in North America.
To be competitive is to be ready to take advantage of change. Friction Stir Link, Inc. offers you the opportunity to reap the benefits of this dynamic technology. Friction Stir Welding provides quality-enhancing, cost-saving advantages for the following industries; automotive, military, aircraft, marine, railroad, construction, commercial, and off-highway vehicles.
FSL is the exclusive U.S. supplier to the U.S. Navy for friction stir welded aluminum panels for the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). FSL was instrumental in helping the U.S. Navy and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) define the standards for Friction Stir Welding of aluminum for marine products. To see more U.S. Navy Ships, click here.
One-Stop Production: The only fabricator to provide one-stop production, including welding, cutting, and forming of large assemblies. This facilitates shorter lead times, and single source accountability for quality and delivery.
The first high volume aluminum friction stir welded panel production in North America, beginning in 2005.
More production every year than all competitors combined in the last 10 years.
Leading Capability
Volume Aluminum Friction Stir Welding experience in all alloys 1xxx, 2xxx,3xxx, 5xxx,6xxx,7xxx
Volume Friction Stir Welding experience up to 2 inches thick
Size Range up to 120 feet long and up to 48 feet wide
Linear, Curved, and 3-dimensional friction stir welding experience