The temperature profile of friction stir welded aluminum alloy 6063-T6 pipe joints will be investigated in this paper. A pipe with an outside diameter of 89 mm and a wall thickness of 5 mm will be used as test pipe piece for this experiment on closed butt joint configuration by utilizing a Bridgeport 2216 CNC milling machine and orbital clamping unit which is specially-designed to cater for this task and function. Several samples will be prepared with varying process parameters such as rotational speed and travel speed. A very simple tool was used with a flat shoulder and a cylindrical pin. An infra-red thermometer will be employed to assess the temperature profile of the friction stir welded pipe butt joints during the experiment. The correct selection of process parameters will lead to a better joining condition of the welded joint. Several good samples were produced by this experiment setting. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.