Abstract
Friction stir welding (FSW) of thermoplastic materials such as polypropylene and polycarbonate can be used as an alternative to classical joining methods of such materials. The weld strength of these materials is highly influenced by FSW parameters such as rotation rate, traverse speed and tool tilt angle. In the present work, polycarbonate sheets of 10 mm thickness are friction stir welded using different parameters. A conventional FSW tool of 7mm probe diameter and 25mm shoulder diameter is used. The quality of the welded sheets is evaluated by visual examination, optical microscopy, tensile tests, and hardness measurements. The quality of the joints in terms of both hardness and tensile properties is improved by increasing tool rotation rate. The effect of FSW welding parameters on the joint distortion and microstructure are also investigated and reported.