OPTIMIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS IN FRICTION STIR WELDING OF AL 6063

Now a day's Friction Stir welding [FSW] has become very popular for joining of light weight materials like aluminum, magnesium and its alloys. This paper discusses about the use of Taguchi experimental design technique for maximizing tensile strength of friction stir welded Al 6063 alloy. The effect of process parameters on tensile strength of welded joints are evaluated using ANOVA and signal to noise ratio of robust design. From this investigation it is found that the joints fabricated at the tool rotational speed of 1400 rpm, welding speed of 1.2 mm/sec, and axial force of 7 KN yielded maximum tensile strength and joint efficiency of 92 Mpa and 70 % respectively. It was observed that the welding speed exhibits more influence on tensile strength of the welded joints followed by spindle speed and axial force.