Choosing Riveting Machinery

Riveting machinery can be a valuable asset for product assembly, particularly when joining metals. It can provide increased productivity, consistency and reliability when compared to manual riveting. It can also help to reduce the risk of failure in the fastening process, which could otherwise lead to costly delays and lost output.

In order to make sure that your company can reap the most benefit from its choice of rivet machine, it is important to define up front a set of assembly goals and constraints that are specific to your products. By doing this, you will be able to choose the most suitable fastening method for your assembly process.

It is also a good idea to take the time to understand the different types of rivet machines that are available and their abilities and constraints. For example, you will want to determine whether your assembly system requires access to both sides of the structure that needs to be joined or if it can only be joined from one side. This will influence the type of rivet you select, since rivets with a head that can be upturned with a hand tool (such as a hammer) are known as “blind” rivets and are used for applications where only one side is accessible.

Self-piercing rivets (SPR) have become popular because they can be used to join a wide range of dissimilar materials, including metals and plastics. They have low energy demands and do not produce heat, fumes or sparks. They are also extremely repeatable and can be integrated into automated production systems.

These fasteners are made up of an aluminium rivet shank that is bonded to the component materials with a rivet nut and washer. The rivet nut and washer are supplied in an assortment of diameters, lengths and head styles. The rivet nut is typically manufactured from steel, brass or copper, while the washer can be produced from stainless steel, bronze, aluminium or plastic.

SPR riveting equipment can be either hydraulic or electric servo, and the system can vary in terms of stroke, nose-to-die gap, feed system and other factors that will influence cycle times. Hydraulic systems typically employ a positional sensor to locate the punch, as well as up to two pressure sensors that monitor both the clamp and the punch pressures. Electric servo-systems typically monitor the stroke, nose location, as well as punch velocity and torque.

Regardless of the type of riveting machine used, it is crucial to ensure that the SPR process is inspected in between each run to check for proper set and quality. This can be done by using dedicated SPR monitoring systems that are attached to the rivet setter. The system will use a series of dedicated sensors to gather data during the riveting process and then compare this with a reference curve to determine if the joint meets quality requirements. If the results do not meet requirements, the process can be halted. This prevents damage to the workpiece and potential failure of the finished product due to improper setting.