Friction Bit Joining of Dissimilar Material Combinations of High Strength Steel DP 980 and Al Alloy AA 5754

A new spot joining technology relying on a consumable joining bit has been developed and evaluated on dual phase (DP) 980 steel and a dissimilar combination of aluminum alloy 5754-O and DP 980. This new process, called friction bit joining (FBJ), uses a consumable bit to create a solid-state joint in sheet materials by the action of cutting and frictional bonding. A series of experiments were done in which different welding parameters were employed and lap shear tension testing was carried out to evaluate performance. The best lap shear values averaged 6.5 kN.