The production of high value decorative laminate metal products by Friction Stir Welding

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Rotary Engineering UK Ltd will carry out a proof of concept study on the production of ahigh value, patterned metal laminate material (mokume gane) for use in the jewellery anddecorative metals industry.Mokume gane (meaning wood grain metal in Japanese) is a premium jewellery productmanufactured by bonding and patterning layers of different coloured metals such as gold andsilver. Traditional production of mokume gane using diffusion bonding is difficult andexpensive, involves multiple manufacturing stages, and is limited in the maximum size ofsheet production. It also has a high failure rate and remains at the craft level, relying on theexpertise of individuals with many years experience rather than a modern manufacturingtechnique.We have developed a novel method of producing a mokume gane type material using frictionstir welding (FSW). By adapting FSW it has been possible to demonstrate bonding of manylayers of dissimilar metals while simultaneously producing unique patterns in the metal,removing the need for a separate patterning stage. This approach minimizes processing,reduces waste and potentially lowers costs. The FSW technique avoids many of the problemsexperienced in traditional production, e.g. melting or lack of bonding, while allowingproduction of much larger sheet size and thickness. With this proof of concept funding we aimto develop our capabilities to produce a laminate sheet with commercially marketable patternsby FSW.