**3.2 Tool material**

For the joining of the aluminum alloy plate, the FSW tool was made from H13 material. This is suitable for machining as well as having enough strength for FSW. The following (**Tables 2** and **3**) show the chemical composition and mechanical properties of the plate material before welding. General dimensions for the FSW tool are shoulder diameter, length and pin length as 18, 25 and 5.8 mm respectively with pin diameter 6 mm. Three tool pin geometries were used [threaded straight cylindrical pin (TSCP), straight cylindrical pin (SCP) and square pin (SP)]. All these tools were made on conventional lathe machines at the GIDC, Vallabh Vidyanagar.


**Table 1.** 

*Chemical composition of plate material (according to ASTM E 8).* 


**Table 2.**  *Chemical composition of H13.*  *Effect of Variable Process Parameter on Ultimate Tensile Strength and Elongation of Aluminum… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81083* 


#### **Table 3.**

*Mechanical properties of H13.* 
