Friction stir welding method, and method for manufacturing car body

Abstract

A cutting tool 60 cuts along the butted portion between two members 10, 20 . A filling material 30 is inserted to the gap 40 formed by said cutting, and a roller 70 presses protrusions 12 and 22 to crimp said protrusions 12 and 22 so as to fix said filling material to position. Next, friction stir welding is performed to the protrusions 12, 22 and the filling material 30 using a rotary tool 80 . In another example, instead of cutting, the filling material can be welded and filled to the gap. In yet another example, cutting can be performed so as to approximate the two members before performing the friction stir welding step.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A friction stir welding method comprising: 
 butting two members together;    cutting the butted surfaces along the joint line;    moving at least one member toward the other member; and    performing friction stir welding along said joint line.