New 50-Ton Friction Welding Center Expands AFW Capacity

New 50-Ton Friction Welding Center

Posted November 15, 2022

American Friction Welding (AFW) has installed a new Thompson 50-ton rotary friction welding center to expand capacity and provide manufacturing redundancy and scheduling flexibility. The center features enhanced technology with rate control and forge collapse capability to ensure weld repeatability and maintain length tolerances. The new equipment will primarily serve the automotive and electric vehicle market and brings the count to 17 high-precision centers for North America’s largest subcontract friction welder.

“AFW continues to experience much growth, which is a great problem to have. The new 50-ton center opens capacity to manage high-volume demand and serve the growing needs of our customers,” John Fischer, President of American Friction Welding, said in a statement. “Special thanks to our friends at Thompson Friction Welding for all their support in this endeavor.”

About American Friction Welding
American Friction Welding (AFW) is a bi-metallic friction welder of dissimilar metals and near-net-shape parts using direct-drive rotary friction welding to deliver high-precision, full-strength welds in the most demanding applications and industries. Dramatic cost savings result from reducing the working material, machining, and surface finishing needed to produce finished metal components. AFW operates 24/7 in a 63,000-square-foot, climate-controlled ISO 9001:2015 certified facility in Waukesha, WI, providing sub-contract welding services since 1986.

About Thompson Friction Welding
Thompson Friction Welding - a business unit of KUKA Systems U.K. Limited – has been manufacturing rotary friction welding machines in the Black Country, UK, for 60 years. KUKA is a global automation corporation with sales of around 2.6 billion euro and roughly 14,000 employees. The company is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany. As one of the world’s leading suppliers of intelligent automation solutions, KUKA offers customers everything they need from a single source: from robots and cells to fully automated systems and their networking in markets such as automotive, electronics, metal & plastic, consumer goods, e-commerce/retail and healthcare.

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