Method of pressure fusing a nut to a support sheet and product thereof, and machinery for practicing the method

A method of securing a nut to a support plate comprising in combination:

• (1) inserting a cylindrically-shaped nut into through-space of an aperture of a sheet of malleable material, said sheet having opposite first and second surfaces and said aperture including said through-space extending through said sheet and said first and second surfaces, said aperture being substantially circular, and said nut being undercut, the nut having top and bottom ends with a circumscribing outer-wall surface extending between said top and bottom ends, said aperture having a first predetermined diameter at said first surface, and said nut having a second predetermined maximum diameter at a point in juxtaposition to said top end and the nut having a female-threaded channel extending between said top and bottom ends, said second predetermined maximum diameter being of a greater dimension than said first predetermined diameter of said aperture, and said nut at the undercut thereof having a third predetermined diameter of said circumscribing outer-wall surface at a smaller diameter than each of said first and second diameters, (2) substantially aligning first and second press-surfaces at each of opposite ends of said aperture, at least one of said first and second press-surfaces being movable toward the other of the first and second press-surfaces sufficiently to compact said top end and said sheet therebetween, the first press-surface including a first raised portion positioned above and to concurrently press upon each of (a) a portion of said first surface in juxtaposition to said aperture and (b) an edge-portion of said top end of the nut, said edge-portion overhanging said first surface when the nut is in the inserted state, the second press-surface mounting a second raised portion positioned to come into contact with and become pressed into a portion of said second surface at a location spaced-away from and in juxtaposition to said aperture, and (3) pressing at least one of said first and second press-surface toward the other one thereof a distance sufficiently to compact said edge-portion into said first surface and sufficiently to compact said sheet adjacent said second surface against said circumscribing outer-wall with sufficient force to weld the sheet to the circumscribing wall of the nut.