ESAB Welding & Cutting Products has introduced a new friction stir welding system designed to weld high melting temperature materials, including ferrous alloys such as ferritic steels, stainless and duplex stainless steels, and nickel base alloys. Friction stir welding had previously been limited to low melting temperature materials such as aluminum, brass and copper. ESAB’s new system expands friction stir welding to higher melting temperature by use of tools made from polycrystalline cubic boron nitride, polycrystalline diamond, and abrasive materials such as metal matrix composites. This new technology will be available in several styles, including a pipe welder designed with a special spindle head and pipe clamp to hold the pipe in place. This system can weld together pieces of pipe in a single pass.
