Plate Welding for Aluminum Manufacturing
At Bayou Manufacturing we can save our customers money and time and avoid typical mill minimum order requirements by utilizing Friction Stir Welding to join smaller sheets or plates into larger plates.
The cost of Friction Stir Welding is generally less than the wide sheet or plate surcharges that exist for special orders. While special order wide plate welding can be procured, it is generally more cost-effective to Friction Stir Weld standard-sized sheets or plates to create larger plates.
The Friction Stir Welding approach also avoids the excessive lead times as well as the minimum order quantities of special order wide plate. With the low distortion of FSW, the welded plate is nearly as flat as the base material and can typically be produced to within the Aluminum Associates sheet or plate flatness specifications.
Bayou Manufacturing has supplied the US Navy’s LHA program with over one-half million pounds of friction stir welded plate per ship, in thicknesses from 0.1875″ to 0.625″.
