Device and method for mechanically joining sheet metal
AssigneeDaimlerChrysler AG
InventorsKlaus Lempenauer, Detlef Nowotni, Volkmar Schuler
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method and a device for clinching metal sheets disposed one over the other in planar fashion. A joining tool, composed of a punch and a die having an anvil, is used to jointly displace metal sheets, profiles, or multi-sheet connections, out of the sheet-metal plane, under the action of forming energy introduced by ultrasound, compressing and integrally connecting the same.
Claims7
A method for clinching metal sheets disposed one over the other in planar fashion using a joining tool having a punch and a die with an anvil comprising the steps of:
- jointly displacing the metal sheets out of the sheet-metal plane, under the action of forming energy by applying the forming energy by a high-frequency vibration of the punch in the ultrasonic range, the high-frequency vibration being introduced in the joining operation during a sink-in/penetration phase longitudinally in a direction of a thickness of the sheet, and
- subsequently during a cold-upsetting process introducing at least one of a torsional vibration with an alternating directional sense and a translational vibration in a direction of the sheet-metal plane.
A device for clinching metal sheets disposed one over the other in planar fashion, comprising:
- a frame;
- a joining tool mounted in the frame, the joining tool including a punch and a die having an anvil,
- the joining tool including a first ultrasonic device in the punch for applying a pulsating force to the metal sheets to be joined and a second ultrasonic device in the die for applying a pulsating force to the metal sheets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.