Editing Mechanical engineering (section)

===Friction stir welding (FSW)===
{{main|Friction stir welding}}

Friction stir welding, a new type of [[welding]], was discovered in 1991 by [[The Welding Institute]] (TWI). The innovative steady state (non-fusion) welding technique joins materials previously un-weldable, including several [[aluminum]] [[alloy]]s. It plays an important role in the future construction of airplanes, potentially replacing rivets. Current uses of this technology to date include welding the seams of the aluminum main Space Shuttle external tank, Orion Crew Vehicle, Boeing Delta II and Delta IV Expendable Launch Vehicles and the [[SpaceX]] Falcon 1 rocket, armor plating for amphibious assault ships, and welding the wings and fuselage panels of the new Eclipse 500 aircraft from Eclipse Aviation among an increasingly growing pool of uses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.niar.wichita.edu/media/pdf/nationalpublication/Nov2-06.pdf|title=Advances in Friction Stir Welding for Aerospace Applications|access-date=12 August 2017}}</ref><ref>[http://sbir.nasa.gov/SBIR/abstracts/08/sbir/phase1/SBIR-08-1-A1.02-9322.html?solicitationId=SBIR_08_P1 Proposal Number: 08-1 A1.02-9322] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414231726/http://sbir.nasa.gov/SBIR/abstracts/08/sbir/phase1/SBIR-08-1-A1.02-9322.html?solicitationId=SBIR_08_P1 |date=14 April 2016 }} – NASA 2008 SBIR</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ntefsw.com/military_applications.htm|title=Military Applications|access-date=15 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131095213/http://www.ntefsw.com/military_applications.htm|archive-date=31 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>