Optimization Processing Parameter of 6061-T6 Alloy Friction Stir Welded Using Taguchi Technique

Taguchi approach was applied to evaluate the processing parameter to determine the most influential control factors which will yield better tensile strength of friction stir welded joint of 6061-T6 aluminium alloy. The processing parameters involved are tool shoulder diameter, in mm (18 ,20, 22), tool rotational speed, in rpm (410, 865, 1140), and feed rate, in mm/min (22, 32, 45). Taguchi parametric design and optimization approach was used. Through the Taguchi parametric design approach, the optimum levels of process parameters were determined. The results indicate that the shoulder size, rotational speed, and feed rate are the significant parameters influencing the tensile strength and hardness of the joint. The predicted optimal values of tensile strength 6061-T6 aluminium alloy is 321.16 MPa. The results was confirmed by further experiments, where the experimented values for tensile strength is 301.28 MPa.