Amazing but True... Even on Small Lot Sizes

Posted May 5, 2017

Amazing but True

It’s hard to believe, but too good not to share so you can utilize for your organization’s own gain. We are always amazed at the huge cost savings that can be had using friction welding, even on a small lot size. Case in point:

A 3-piece batch of 316 stainless steel parts used in the semi-conductor industry. This volume hardly warrants a call to a forge house for a quote, so you are left with few options:

  1. Buy 18” round that is 4” thick and turn down over 15” of material to 2⅛” shaft.
  • The material alone will run you about $1,100 each without factoring in the 70% of wasted material nor the machining time needed to turn that piece down.
  1. Create a near net shape using friction welding.
  • Weld a 2 ⅛” x 4” to a ¾“ x 18” plate. The total cost of friction welding and material is only $543.10 each.
  • Over 50% material savings on just three pieces.

We recently spoke with a customer who switched his process over from bar stock to a near net friction welding. His typical batch size was 30 pieces.

  • Lathe time on his parts was cut from 2 hours per part to just 20 minutes.

Imagine what you could be doing with your turning equipment with this type of efficiency gains.

So what are you waiting for? Let American Friction Welding assess one of your parts to see how much money you can save!

Contact American Friction Welding today for more information or to request a quote!