Staking apparatus

An apparatus for joining components together by heat staking where a first component includes a shank, and a second component includes an aperture adapted to receive the shank with at least a protruding end portion of the shank being of heat deformable material arranged to be heat staked to secure the first component to the second component to form a unitary assembly, said apparatus comprising:

• a. means for fixturing said first and second components in relative alignment, with said shank protruding end portion being received by said aperture;
• b. a reciprocably moveable heat staking head including an elongated staking anvil projecting laterally therefrom, an end portion of the anvil being provided with a plurality of axially spaced undercut grooves to define a series of axially spaced heat transfer fins;
• c. means for heating said anvil to a predetermined temperature;
• d. drive means for reciprocably driving said moveable heat staking head and anvil toward and away from the protruding end portion of said shank to cause a distal end surface of said anvil to deform said protruding end portion and thereby join together said first and second component;
• and
• e. chilling means comprising a tubular member including apertures in the vicinity of the heat transfer fins of said anvil and arranged to transport a cooling fluid media for cooling said anvil after deformation of said protruding deformable shank end portion, thereby permitting rapid disengagement and clean release of said anvil from said deformed end portion.