FRICTION STIR EQUIPMENT AND METHOD

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a friction stir equipment capable of suppressing the unevenness of quality of an objective material, which is caused by the influence from disturbance such as an outside air temperature. SOLUTION: A controller 253 determines a rotation resistance force around an axis exerted to a rotary tool 30 from a material 33 to be joined, based on the value of current flowing to a servo motor for rotating the rotary tool 30, and determines, as a shoulder part contact time t2, the time when the rotating resistance force takes the maximum value. Then, a travelling start time t4 when the rotary tool 30 is made to travel from the material 33 to be joined is decided based on the shoulder part contact time t2. The state of friction stirring after the contact time t2 has passed is less influenced by the disturbance. Accordingly, by deciding the travelling start time t4 based on the contact time t2, the rotary tool 30 can be traveled in a fixed friction stirring state with the influence of disturbance suppressed, so that the quality of the material 33 to be joined is stabilized after joining. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT