Abstract
Friction stir welding (FSW) is a new solid-phase technique invented and patented for the butt and lap welding of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. In this article the performance of weld joints which were carried out by FSW and conventional Metal inert gas arc welding (MIG) is studied. A conventional semiautomatic milling machine was used for FSW of EN AW-2014 (AlCu4SiMg) aluminium alloy. The results of tensile, Charpy impact and Brinell hardness tests are used to evaluate the behaviour of welded joints. Low heat input and the absence of melting resulted in excellent mechanical properties, low distortion and better productivity for FSW joints. As it is a solid phase process, FSW permits joining of materials that can not be welded with conventional fusion welding processes.

Key words
friction stir welding, friction welding, new welding technologies

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