Ball-burnishing is presented herein as a mechanical surface treatment for improving mechanical properties after the friction stir welding process. Ball-burnishing provides good surface finish, high compressive residual stresses, and a hardness increase of the surface layer. These characteristics are key for the fatigue life improvement of the component, and for wear resistance due to the higher hardness. This work presents a complete analysis of surface and sub-surface hardness values focusing on the determination of each process parameter influence. Burnishing pressure, radial width, and burnishing direction influence were analyzed. The tested material was 2050 aluminum alloy with two different heat treatments (T3 and T8). The optimum parameters were established, and a complete analysis of the surface hardness was performed. Results show that burnishing is an economical and feasible mechanical treatment for the quality improvement of component surfaces.
