Hi,

Can you explain a bit more the aim of your question?

In FSW you need both of the axial force and the plunge depth, So that, the axial force is mainly related to the strength of a material which is under welding, and the plunge depth is related to the required depth for penetration in the material for creating an optimal connection.

Bests,

Hello Mohan,

As per my knowledge, plunge depth is the parameter which you will set initially before conducting the test, axial force will be an output based on sheet material sheet thickness etc.

question is not clearly defined actually

best wishes

Both Parameters have their significant role in FSW. Axial force is given according to parent material you are using. but penetration depth depends upon thickness of the sheets to be weld.

Choose according to your process and application.

Dear,

Both parameters are essential for a perfect welding, or close to it.

Think about this two examples, that can help you:

If your forging force varies greatly, you will have problems of roughness variation on the weld bead and linear defects on the weld surface.

If the deph isn't the expected, (h/t), it will have serious problems in the weld root, damaging the mechanical resistence of the joint.

Regards,

Cintra

During Friction stir welding both the plunge depth and the axial force plays a significant role. While performing the friction stir welding you will pre determine the plunge depth depending upon the thickness of your plates and your tool pin length. Inadequate plunge depth might lead to surface defects. Whereas axial force is the force with which you penetrate (plunge) your FSW tool inside the base materials depending upon the relative hardness of the tool and base materials and temperature rise during the penetration.

As disccuse above, both axial force and plugging depth have main and essential roles, moreover, shear stress is one and a most important parameter that should be paid attention  during the FSW & FSP.

Bests,

Axial force decides the plunge depth and length of the pin should be lesser than thickness of the plate.

Both the parameters are important to obtain a successful weld. The shoulder should penetrate (i.e. plunge into the substrate) few hundred microns to have full contact necessary for sufficient heat generation. Conversely, lack of axial force can lead to serious forging issues and presence of tunnel defects. The question should have been "Which one can be set in the modern FSW machine?" Both can not be varied simultaneously. Automatic FSW machines (For example I-STIR) usually have two modes of welding Force Control and Position Control. Assume I weld 6 mm AA7075 aluminum alloy using I-STIR machine. I choose axial force of 10 kN and plunge depth of 0.2 mm on the machine software. If I choose Force Control mode, the axial force would be constant throughout the welding length but the plunge depth may vary slightly (say 0.2 mm +/- 200 micron). If I choose Position Control mode, the plunge depth would be constant but the axial force may vary slightly (say 10kN +/- 500N). I prefer to select position control mode due to practical observations during my experience. If a conventional milling machine is adopted for FSW, there will not be any control for both Axial force and Plunge Depth. The plunge depth will always vary depending upon the process parameters mainly tool rotational speed and dwell period. FSW machines made in India do have these mode of operation. As a result, if axial force is increased, the plunge depth will increase. A manual stopper mechanism is sometimes provided to arrest the downward motion of the head to limit plunge depth.

Dear ,

for better welded required to select some specific parameters that they can play key role during welding . so i will suggest to you please go through this article link it might be useful to you ,

Conference Paper Effect of Plunge Depth on Friction Stir Welding of Al 6063

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/26359/12/12_chapter%207.pdf

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/4282731

Dear Dhanesh G Mohan

Both the parameters are required during FSW to obtain the sound joints. Such that increase or decrease of axial force and plunge depth put significant effect on the properties of weld quality. In addition the higher the plunge depth will lead to defect in the form of tunnel while higher axial force provides better mechanixal force required for proper consolidation of deformed material. So for one parameter the other parameter can't be neglected.

Regards