Friction processes – welding, surfacing, and joining of similar and dissimilar materials

TWI is a global leader in solid-state friction welding and processing technologies, supporting research, development, and industrial deployment across multiple sectors — including space, aerospace, defence, and energy.

With over six decades of experience, TWI provides comprehensive support from component design and process selection to feasibility studies, troubleshooting, and prototype development. We also undertake short production runs and subcontract welding for specialised applications.

TWI has pioneered many key innovations in the field: friction stir welding (FSW) was invented here and is now used worldwide, while linear friction welding (LFW) was developed at TWI into a mature production process for aerospace components. Our expertise also extends to friction surfacing, inertia and rotary friction welding, and the joining of dissimilar and difficult-to-weld materials.

These technologies enable high-integrity, lightweight, and defect-free joints essential for demanding environments such as launch vehicles, satellites, and in-orbit assembly.