Friction Welding… Wood?

Aug 19, 2023

You’d think writing for Hackaday means we probably don't get surprised very often by projects… but then we see something we never thought was possible — in this case, the linear friction welding of wood to join it.

Friction welding (also known as stir welding), is the process of taking two pieces of material (typically metal, or plastic), and vibrating one of them super fast while pushing against a stationary piece of the same material — the resulting friction causes a massive heat buildup that can then literally weld the two pieces of material together.

It's an easy way to bond plastic parts together using a dremel and some 3D printing filament, and while doing it with metal is significantly harder, it is possible to do at home as well.

But according to the video after the break — it's actually possible to do this with wood.

They’re using a linear friction welding machine which oscillates the sample at about 200hz. Their best guess is linen lignin cells within the wood are melting, interlocking and rejoining — resulting in a surprisingly strong bond.

They say further research is to be performed but the video is a few years old now and we still don't see any updates on it — have you ever heard of using friction welding to bond wood?

[Thanks for the tip Karl Rosenqvist!]