Friction heating and bonding are used to consolidate sequentially applied metals, plastics or composites to previously deposited material so as to form a bulk deposit in a desired shape. Monolithic or composite sheets, tapes and filaments can be consolidated using the approach. A system according to...http://www.google.com.au/patents/US6457629?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6457629 - Object consolidation employing friction joining
