Tue, 02 September, 2025
Registration is now open for the International Friction Welding Conference (IFWC), which is taking place at our head offices near Cambridge, UK, from 19-22 May, 2026.
This newly combined international event unites two well-established events in the International Symposium on Friction Stir Welding (FSW) and the Linear Friction Welding Symposium (LFW).
The expanded IFWC promises to bring together researchers, engineers, and industry professionals with a shared interest in friction welding technologies.
The IFWC builds upon TWI’s decades of experience at the forefront of friction welding, including as the inventors of FSW in 1991. Wayne Thomas, who invented the process while working at TWI is also due to be in attendance at next year’s event.
The first International Symposium on Friction Stir Welding was held in California in 1999, attracting over 140 delegates and presenting 30 papers to mark the world’s first event dedicated to FSW. Since then, the symposium has been held in several other countries, including France, Japan, Canada and the UK, with the most recent event, the 13th International Symposium on Friction Stir Welding, taking place in Kyoto, Japan, in 2024.
Next year’s conference programme is currently being organised, so we will be able to give you more information later, but the three-days will include the conference itself alongside opportunities to have a tour of our headquarters and attend technology demonstrations.
Attendees will also be able to attend a social event on the evening of Wednesday, 20 May, at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire. The social event, including food and music is included in the registration fee and is taking place in the eye-catching setting of IWM Duxford’s Airspace Aircraft Hall, whose exhibition tells the story of British and Commonwealth aviation complete with over 30 historic aircraft including the Spitfire, Lancaster bomber and Concorde. You can find out more about the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, here.
Your registration also includes refreshments and lunches during the IFWC and a full set of conference proceedings.
Registration for the event is now open, with discounted rates for TWI Industrial Members and those who book their place early. Our super early bird booking deadline is on 31 December, 2025, so make sure to mark your diaries and register early to take advantage of the discounts on offer.
You can find out more and register to attend the International Friction Welding Conference (IFWC) on the dedicated event website, here:
https://www.ifwconference.com/