The Institute of Applied Physics offers customers a Friction Stir Welding Control Equipment Package under a manufacturing agreement and is looking for partners interested in a distribution services agreement.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a modern welding method in which materials are joined by the friction of a rotating tool against the surface of the materials, followed by mixing in the joining zone. This technology offers unique advantages and is used in a variety of industries.

Friction stir welding monitoring equipment is manufactured by specialized companies that develop systems for monitoring and controlling the welding process. Some manufacturers of such equipment include:
1. ESAB (Sweden).
ESAB offers FSW equipment, including welding process monitoring systems that ensure high welding accuracy and stability. The company is known for its innovative solutions in welding and cutting.
2. EWI (USA).
EWI provides services for the development and integration of FSW technologies, including welding process monitoring and analysis systems. The company actively collaborates with industrial partners to implement innovative solutions.
3. Beijing FSW Technology Co., Ltd. (China)
One of the leading manufacturers of FSW equipment in China. The company offers a wide range of friction stir welding machines, including control and monitoring systems.

The equipment, developed at the Institute of Applied Physics, is designed for expert ultrasonic testing of full-scale longitudinal and circumferential welds on launch vehicle fuel tanks produced using friction stir welding. The equipment detects defects typical of these products, such as lack of fusion at the weld root, adhesion, and similar defects with an opening of 2 µm or more.

The equipment can be used to inspect products containing welded joints, including those produced using friction stir welding. Potential customers include aerospace companies, including the "Roscosmos" concern, as well as mechanical engineering and instrument-making enterprises.

Information on the equipment developed at the Institute of Applied Physics is available in the Catalogue "Brands of the NAS of Belarus 2021–2022: List of the Most Important Developments of the NAS of Belarus" on pp. 50–51. (in Russian)

The equipment enables the implementation of various inspection schemes for welded joints in sheet metals (inspection with angle-beam transducers in dual-mode mode at the intersection of the transmitter and receiver beam patterns, inspection of the weld root zone fr om the outer surface using surface wave transducers, etc.) and optimizes the inspection process to ensure the specified sensitivity and resolution depending on the product geometry and the internal
structure of the metal in the weld zone.

The friction stir welding inspection equipment developed by the Institute of Applied Physics likely offers advantages related to high accuracy, versatility, and the ability to integrate with modern production lines. These features make it popular in high-tech industries wh ere the quality and reliability of welded joints are critical.

Trademark - Certificate No. 22876 of February 6, 2004

The Institute of Applied Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is the only academic institute, both in the country and abroad, specializing in the physics of non-destructive testing and technical diagnostics.

The institute's main research areas:
- Physics of non-destructive testing;
- Development of methods and tools for non-destructive testing and technical diagnostics of materials, products, and technological processes;
- Development of the scientific foundations of information technologies for non-destructive testing and technical diagnostics.

Non-destructive testing methods developed at the institute:
- Ultrasonic flaw detection, structuroscopy, and thickness measurement of surface-hardened layers;
- Capillary testing;
- Pulsed magnetic testing;
- Magnetic thickness measurement of coatings;
- Thermoelectric power method;
- Eddy current flaw detection and structuroscopy methods;
- Magnetic noise structuroscopy method;
- Methods for testing the magnetic characteristics of soft magnetic materials, magnetic fields, and residual magnetization;
- Radio wave flaw detection, structuroscopy, and thickness measurement methods;
- Contact-dynamic testing of the physical and mechanical properties of materials;
- Image reconstruction methods in X-ray tomography.

Applied problems solved:
- Inspection of continuity defects in parts, blanks, and structural elements (flaw detection);
- Inspection of the structure and physical and mechanical properties of materials;
- Inspection of the geometric parameters of products, coatings, and surface-hardened layers;
- Inspection of the stress-strain state of metal structures;
- Technical diagnostics of objects.

The institute's applied research addresses a wide range of scientific and technical problems across multiple industries. Its modern methods and tools for non-destructive testing and technical diagnostics are used in energy, space technology, metallurgy, automotive, tractor, and agricultural machinery manufacturing, engine manufacturing, construction, welding, electronics, petrochemicals, rail and road transport, pipeline transport, bridge construction, aircraft manufacturing, repair services, utilities, medicine, sports, forensics, and other fields.

The institute operates two laboratories accredited by the State Standard of the Republic of Belarus: a non-destructive testing laboratory and a verification laboratory.

Tested objects include parts, blanks, castings, rolled products, forgings, welded joints, building and other structures made of metal, concrete, plastics, composite materials, pipelines, boilers, tanks, metal structures of lifting and transport equipment, rubber products, foundations, road surfaces, machines and mechanisms, electrical machines, etc.

The Institute of Applied Physics is the only academic institute in the Republic of Belarus and abroad specializing in the physics of non-destructive testing and technical diagnostics. The institute is renowned for its research into the scientific foundations of magnetism theory, electromagnetic, ultrasonic, radio wave, contact-dynamic, capillary, and other non-destructive testing methods. The institute's scientists have developed dozens of new testing methods and tools, protected by copyright certificates and patents from leading international countries, which have been implemented at many industrial enterprises in the Republic and abroad. The Institute maintains active international relations, being a founding member of the World Federation of Non-Destructive Testing Centers (headquartered in the United States). Representatives of the Institute traditionally lead the Belarusian Association of Non-Destructive Testing and Technical Diagnostics, which is part of the European Federation of Non-Destructive Testing (EFNDT).

Official website of the Institute of Applied Physics

Consumers interested in purchasing the Friction Stir Welding Inspection Equipment Package under a manufacturing agreement.

Partners interested in purchasing the Friction Stir Welding Inspection Equipment Package under a distribution services agreement.