Spin. Press. Bond — stronger than the base metal itself. Our RFW machines weld dissimilar metals with no filler, no gas, no distortion. Capacity 1.5 to 2,000 tonnes. Industry-leading ±0.5° weld orientation accuracy.
A solid-state joining process — no melting, no fumes, no consumables. The joint is forged, not fused.
One part spins at controlled RPM driven by an AC servo motor. The other is held fixed in a precision centering vice (accuracy within 30μm).
Parts press together under a servo-hydraulic axial load. Friction heats the interface — without melting. Pressure transducer and load cell maintain closed-loop control throughout.
Rotation stops instantly. A higher forge force is applied. Plasticised material flows and is forged into a permanent solid-state bond. Flash expels oxides and impurities.
Axial thrust, spindle speed, loss of length and spindle torque are recorded in real time on every weld. Built-in quality checks verify every joint before the part leaves the machine.
Flash expels oxides and impurities from the interface. The result is a forged bond — equal to or stronger than the base material. Guaranteed.
Aluminium to copper, titanium to stainless steel, HSS to M2 steel. Combinations that arc welding cannot achieve are routine with RFW.
No shielding gas, filler wire, edge preparation or post-weld treatment. Ecologically clean — dramatically reduces operating cost and floor hazards.
Once parameters are set, every weld is identical. In-process quality checks catch anomalies before the part leaves the machine — zero defect escape.
Regenerative braking recovers energy from spindle deceleration. Our machines use measurably less power than comparable arc welding lines.
ETA's proprietary spindle design eliminates typical wear points. Customers report years of operation without spindle-related downtime. Machine support available remotely via ETA Remote Support (ERS).
All machines are engineered-to-order. The specifications below show the range — your machine is designed around your part, material and production rate.
Single-head horizontal with auto load/unload and deflash. Vertical and slant-bed variants minimise floor footprint. Designed for high-volume engine valve production — welding head-to-pin or pin-to-pin.
Dual-head variant simultaneously welds both ends of a shaft — halving cycle time. Includes built-in pre-machining unit for oxide-free interfaces on dissimilar metal joints (e.g. Al–Cu cable lugs).
Tie-rod construction for maximum stability. Servo-hydraulic forge cylinders. Robot-integrated loading. IPC captures 500+ weld parameters per cycle. For truck axles, drill pipes, piston rods and hydraulic cylinders.
Engine valves (head-to-pin), truck axles (spindle-to-housing), drive shafts, turbocharger shafts, suspension components, Al–Cu cable lugs for EV battery systems
Titanium-to-stainless joints, aluminium alloy assemblies, actuator rods, landing gear components, armament parts for DRDO, HAL, ISRO
Drill pipes (unlimited length with heavy-duty hydraulic clamping), sucker rods, pipeline joints, offshore structural components
Hydraulic cylinder piston rods (rod-eye to rod), cutting tools (HSS to M2 steel), pump shafts, bi-metallic electrical conductors
Tell us the material, geometry and production volume. We'll tell you honestly whether RFW is the right process — and if it is, exactly what machine you need.