According to Mazda Motor Corp., the first aluminum-joining technology using friction heat will help assemble its four-door sports car, the RX-8. This new technology is said to reduce energy consumption and require little equipment investment.
Resistance welding has been a popular joining technology for assembling aluminum body parts. However, it requires a lot of electricity and large, specialized equipment. The only energy consumed in this new technology is the electricity necessary to rotate and apply force to the welding tool to create frictional heat. The overall joining system is simplified as well, eliminating large-scale electricity supply facilities and specialized joining equipment.
