Many forms of friction welding have become established as production technology, the latest being friction stir welding. As the technology becomes more available, end users set increasingly difficult challenges to the process they wish to use.

This paper will investigate the demands of near net shape manufacturing and repair techniques for a number of friction based processes and the machines required to meet these demands.

Topics covered will include friction stir welding of very thin and very thick section Aluminium alloys, friction stir welding of ferrous materials, friction stir spot welding, friction taper plug welding and linear friction welding of various materials relevant to the aerospace industry.