Self-attaching fastener manufacturing apparatus and method

A manufacturing apparatus and method of continuously manufacturing self-attaching fasteners having a predetermined width from a metal rod having a predetermined profile with grooves disposed there along and joining the fasteners with wires forming a continuous strip, comprising the steps of:

• A. providing an articulating die press including a pierce punch area for piercing through holes in the metal rod, a hole sensing and pilot area for positioning the metal rod, a chamfer punch area for counter-sinking a portion of the pierced holes, a blanking area for cutting a self-attaching fastener to a predetermined width, a wire introduction area for introducing wires into the pre-formed grooves of the cut fastener, and a wire coining area for joining the fasteners and the two continuous wires together forming a continuous strip of self-attaching fasteners;
• B. advancing the metal rod through a pierce punch area within a die press and piercing two holes through the metal rod;
• C. advancing the metal rod through a hole sensing and piloting area within a die press and sensing and precisely positioning the metal rod;
• D. advancing the metal rod through a chamfer punch area within a die press and forming a partial countersink on the pierced holes;
• E. advancing the metal rod through a blanking area within a die press and cutting the metal rod to a predetermined width thus creating the width of a fastener and a cut edge of a second fastener;
• F. advancing the cut fastener through the blanking area within a die press and cutting the metal rod to a predetermined width thus creating two fasteners;
• G. advancing the cut fasteners through a wire introduction area within a die press where two continuous wires are introduced into the pre-formed grooves of the cut fasteners;
• H. advancing the cut fasteners through the wire coining area within a die press where, in a two action process, the fasteners are spaced and joined to wires thus forming a continuous strip of joined fasteners;
• I. then advancing the joined continuous fastener strip in a common plane through a timing mechanism;
• J. providing a tapping/inspection/pulling machine which performs the operations of clamping or unclamping the joined fastener strip;
• inserting tappers into the pierced holes of the fastener strip thus forming internal threads in the holes of the individual fasteners;
• inspecting the threaded hole in the individual fasteners;
• K. then advancing the joined fastener strip in a common plane to a spooling/reeling mechanism;
• L. simultaneously counting the individual fasteners and reeling the continuous fastener strip onto a spool for use at a secondary installation site.