Live testing the temperature on friction bit joining welds. Project entry for the Fluke Connect Student Contest by Brigham Young University. For more info, or to vote, go to https://www.facebook.com/fluke.corporation/

1. Friction Bit Joining
BYU Women in Manufacturing
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

2. The Team
• Rebecca Madsen
• Shuan Chavarria
• Janel Mayfield
• Aislinn Macintosh
• Eric McKell (Advisor)
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TEAM PHOTO

3. Objective
• To improve the quality and strength of joints of two
dissimilar metals by 5% using the Fluke temperature tools.
Tools will be used to measure the temperature reached
during the joining process.
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4. Methodology
Temperature Modules:
• Connected to work-holding system
• Captured temperature during joining process at the joint location
• Used graphs and generated excel file to analyze temperature trends and see
what temperature yields a stronger joint
Thermal Imager:
• Pictures taken during joining process to see which locations reach the highest
temperatures
• Shared pictures with other teammates to update team on results
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5. Results
• From the videos taken and temperatures gathered, we were able to see that
our fixture was not holding our samples well enough. Our joints were not
reaching a high temperature.
• We changed our fixture and saw more consistent temperatures in our process.
• The new joints were higher in strength.
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6. Impact & Recommendations
• How did your project make a difference?
• From our project we were able to improve the temperature control and
strength for friction bit joining. Overall, we increased the strength of the joint
by…%. With the tools we were able to see discrepancies in temperature
throughout the joining process of two metals. The Fluke Connect tools were
important because they allowed us to record and track the data from each
joint.
• Would you recommend that others apply your process? If so, what specific
advice would you give them? (Aka, workflow steps, process change, what to
look for, etc.)
• We would recommend that others use our process of friction bit joining
because it produces a better joint between two dissimilar metals. We changed
the fixture holding the two metals down and found that this was effective in
helping to increase the temperature to an ideal heat. We recommend this
method to be used by technicians because…it creates more efficient and
effective joints? …
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7. Results
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Spindle Speed Tensile Strength (lbs) Max Temp (F)
2000 1628 295.4
2000 1744 312.8
2000 381 *
238.7
3000 339.3 339.8
3000 133.7 360.8
3000 694.8 328.8
4000 295.3 216.3
4000 1292 194.3
4000 511.7 203.9
*The fixture was not clamped correctly for this run. However, it follows the trend
of low temperature=poor performance

8. Lessons learned
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• Temperatures created during the friction bit joining process affected the
strength of the joint
• The structure of the fixture being used to hold the samples in place
affected the temperatures reached when joining two dissimilar metals
• A higher temperature is desired to achieve a stronger joint
• We were surprised by how much changing the fixture improved the
strength of the joint
• We were surprised by the

9. Impact & Recommendations
• How did your project make a difference?
• From our project we were able to improve the temperature control and
strength for friction bit joining. Overall, we increased the strength of the joint
by…%. With the tools we were able to see discrepancies in temperature
throughout the joining process of two metals. The Fluke Connect tools were
important because they allowed us to record and track the data from each
joint.
• Would you recommend that others apply your process? If so, what specific
advice would you give them? (Aka, workflow steps, process change, what to
look for, etc.)
• We would recommend that others use our process of friction bit joining
because it produces a better joint between two dissimilar metals. We changed
the fixture holding the two metals down and found that this was effective in
helping to increase the temperature to an ideal heat. We recommend this
method to be used by technicians because…it creates more efficient and
effective joints? …
9

10. Impact & Recommendations
• How did your project make a difference?
• From our project we were able to improve the temperature control and
strength for friction bit joining. Overall, we increased the strength of the joint
by…%. With the tools we were able to see discrepancies in temperature
throughout the joining process of two metals. The Fluke Connect tools were
important because they allowed us to record and track the data from each
joint.
• Would you recommend that others apply your process? If so, what specific
advice would you give them? (Aka, workflow steps, process change, what to
look for, etc.)
• We would recommend that others use our process of friction bit joining
because it produces a better joint between two dissimilar metals. We changed
the fixture holding the two metals down and found that this was effective in
helping to increase the temperature to an ideal heat. We recommend this
method to be used by technicians because…it creates more efficient and
effective joints? …
10

11. Impact & Recommendations
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Thank You!