ISO 18785-5:2018

Overview

ISO 18785-5:2018 - Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) - Aluminium - Part 5: Quality and inspection requirements defines how to assess and control the capability of a manufacturer to produce aluminium FSSW joints to a specified quality. The standard focuses on process control, personnel competence, equipment validation and maintenance, welding procedure documentation, and inspection/testing practices applicable to aluminium and its alloys.

Key topics and requirements

• Scope and intent: Specifies a method to determine manufacturer capability for production FSSW quality; does not assign requirements to specific product groups.
• Welding personnel: Weld setters and operators must be qualified (see ISO 18785-3). Records of qualification are required.
• Inspection and testing personnel: NDT and visual testers must be qualified to ISO 9712 or ISO 20807 (or equivalent); destructive test personnel must be trained for the test methods used.
• Equipment suitability and acquisition: Welding machines and FSSW tools must be capable of producing welds free of imperfections (see Annex A). New or refurbished equipment requires agreed acceptance tests after installation.
• Validation (reproducibility) tests: Reproducibility tests shall demonstrate the machine can repeatedly produce acceptable welds. Validation is required after events that change machine functionality (repairs, upgrades, relocation, etc.). A representative number of acceptable welds - at least three - shall be produced and found satisfactory.
• Equipment maintenance: A documented maintenance plan must ensure control of variables in the WPS (e.g., guides, meters, cables, thermocouples, clamps).
• Welding Procedure Specification (WPS): Procedures used in production must be defined and used during validation and production.
• Pre-weld, thermal control and tool inspection: Joint preparation, cleaning, thermal controls and FSSW tool identification/inspection are required to prevent imperfections.
• Inspection and testing: Requirements cover inspection before, during and after welding, including treatment of damaged or non-conforming welds and weld flash correction.
• Identification and traceability: Traceability processes for welded parts are required to support quality control and audits.

Applications and who uses it

ISO 18785-5 is intended for:

• Manufacturers and fabricators using friction stir spot welding (FSSW) on aluminium assemblies.
• Welding engineers, quality managers, production supervisors and NDT personnel responsible for process qualification and production control.
• Industry sectors with aluminium FSSW use: automotive, aerospace, rail, marine, consumer products, and food-processing equipment.

Using ISO 18785-5 helps organizations establish defensible quality programs, reduce weld imperfections, and support supplier qualification and audits.

Related standards

• ISO 18785-1 (Vocabulary)
• ISO 18785-3 (Qualification of welding personnel)
• ISO 9712 / ISO 20807 (NDT personnel qualification)
• ISO 17636, ISO 17637, ISO 17640, ISO 3452 (NDT methods)
• ISO 9015 series (hardness testing)

Keywords: ISO 18785-5, friction stir spot welding, FSSW, aluminium welding, quality requirements, inspection, WPS, NDT, equipment validation.