Method of making a fastener strip

A method of manufacturing a coilable fastener strip having numerous aligned and spaced apart fastener bodies interconnected by flexible metallic portions, the method being performed upon an elongated blank having a profile corresponding to the profile of the fastener bodies, the blank having a body portion and having a pair of laterally extending continuous flanges with a transverse thickness substantially less than the transverse thickness of the body;

• said method comprising multiple repetitions of the steps of:
• shearing the body portion of the blank to separate individual fastener bodies from the blank;
• restricting the lateral extent of said shearing so that said flanges remain continuous;
• and
• stretching said flanges to establish a spacing between adjacent fastener bodies.

A method of forming a nut strip of the type including numerous similarly oriented nut bodies each having a given length, lateral width and transverse height, the nut bodies being spaced longitudinally apart from one another and being flexibly interconnected by a pair of metallic connecting elements continuous throughout the length of the nut strip;

• said method being performed on a workpiece in the form of an elongated blank of uniform cross-sectiion similar to that of the nut bodies, the blank including a body portion and further including a pair of continuous flanges projecting from the body portion and having a cross-sectional area small in relation to the cross-sectional area of the body portion;
• said method comprising:
• shearing and elongating spaced segments of each flange while leaving the flange continuous and leaving unsevered flange elements connected to the body portion;
• said flange shearing and elongating step being carried out at longitudinal shear planes parallel with the longitudinal axis of the blank;
• shearing said body portion in the transverse direction to separate individual nut bodies from the blank;
• said body portion shearing step being performed at a transverse shear plane extending between said longitudinal shear planes;
• limiting the transverse movement of said separated nut during said body portion shearing step in order to avoid severing of said flanges;
• and
• flattening said flanges to align said nut bodies with unsevered flange segments connected to each nut body interconnected by severed flange segments extending between adjacent nut bodies.

A method of forming a nut strip in a stamping press from an elongated blank having a body portion and laterally extending flanges, said method comprising:

• advancing the blank along a feed path through the stamping press;
• shearing the body portion of the blank in a transverse direction with a transverse shearing punch cooperating with a transverse shearing die in order partially to shear the blank and shear a nut body from the body portion of the blank;
• limiting the shearing movement of the transverse shearing punch and die so that the sheared nut body is displaced from the strip a distance less than one-half of the transverse dimension of the blank body portion in order to avoid fracturing said flanges;
• shearing parts of said flanges in the longitudinal direction with a pair of spaced apart longitudinal shearing tools disposed in alignment with the laterally extending flanges to form severed flange segments having a length less than the length of a sheared nut body, the severed flange segments being integral at both ends with unsevered flange segments;
• stretching said severed flange segments;
• and
• straightening said severed and unsevered flange segments with a straightening punch and die in order to align sequential severed nut bodies.