Moog and Thompson Friction Welding Develop World’s Largest Linear Friction Welding Machine
January 15, 2010 by admin
Filed under Featured, Hydraulic Cylinders, Industry News, Linear Drives
East Aurora, NY USA – Moog and Thompson Friction Welding have developed the world’s largest linear friction welding machine. It is capable of welding a surface area of 10,000 mm2 (15 in2), nearly twice as much as previously achieved, and breaks the record of weld forge load at 100 tons.
Designated the E100, this new machine now extends the use of Linear Friction Welding (LFW) in the automotive and aerospace industries to produce components such as vehicle flooring and secure the blades on jet engines.
The E100, is a one hundred-ton piece of equipment that was manufactured at the Thompson facility in the United Kingdom. To develop the E100, Thompson found the perfect partner in Moog with the requisite expertise in hydraulics, servovalve systems, and hydrostatics.
The E100 machine and control system represent a major industry-breakthrough as friction welding technology had never been used before over such a wide operating envelope. Its automatic handling systems and rapid machine open/close features cut production cycle times when compared with traditional manual operations, while recharging of the accumulators takes only around 30 seconds for the largest and longest welds. The E100 now opens up new possibilities for welded fabrication of parts that previously needed to be machined from solid metal, a process that can result in up to 80% material waste. It is set to transform how jet engines are manufactured by cutting production cycle-times and dramatically reducing waste of expensive materials such as titanium.
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