This paper focusses on Friction stir welding (FSW) invented by Wayne Thomas in The Welding Institute (TWI) at London in 1991. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state joining process which means joining of metal plates without reaching the melting point of the material to be welded. FSW uses a non-consumable rotating tool which is plunged into workpiece material due to which heat is generated between tool shoulder and workpiece surface which results in plastic deformation of material to be welded. This technique of joining metal is energy efficient, environmental friendly and can be used to join high strength aluminium alloys and other alloys that are hard to weld by conventional fusion welding. The paper focuses on performing simulation using Ansys for joining 304L stainless steel plates, to obtain better quality of welds by varying the input process variables.
