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Eckold Clinchen mit dem CONFIX System

Automotive production: Clinching clamps in car body production

Unique joining technique developed to minimise costs and optimise ergonomics

 

In the automotive industry, sheet metal and profile clinching is a well-established joining method in car body production, favoured by all leading vehicle manufacturers. ECKOLD is one of the few companies worldwide that offers this joining technique as a viable alternative to spot welding or self-piercing riveting. "Our technique is actually very user-friendly," says Henrik Hartung, sales engineer at ECKOLD. "We love the challenges posed by the rapid progress and innovative drive that govern the automotive industry and work hard to offer our customers optimised solutions for their latest concepts."

 

 

What does this mean exactly? Henrik explains:

 

"Car bodies are built from thousands of parts made from hundreds of different materials. Where these parts need to be mounted with non-deformable clamps, many solutions come up against technological limits or are simply too expensive. Our CONFIX joining and CONFIX clinching techniques overcome such barriers. With these methods, a positive connection is produced from the material of the parts to be joined. The CONFIX technique is unique, as it allows for the joining of poorly formable materials with parts of easily formable materials. What is more, CONFIX makes it possible to join workpieces whose thicknesses differ greatly. In addition, the technique produces joint elements with no or only minimal point protrusion."

 

CONFIX is a single-step clinching method for pre-punched workpieces producing round joints without cutting.

 

 

The technique produces a round joining element with not or only slight point protrusion:

 

 

Properties and advantages of CONFIX clinching:

  • Round joining element with no or only slight point protrusion
    => visually pleasing result
     
  • No interfering edges at joints produced without point protrusion
     
  • Media-tight joining element (media: gases, liquids)
     
  • Perfect joining of workpieces whose thicknesses differ greatly
     
  • Particularly suitable for joining parts that are pre-punched for construction reasons
     
  • Joining of poorly formable materials with easily formable materials
     
  • Transferred loads can be optimised by adjusting pre-punched hole geometry (e.g. countersinking or stepped punching)
     

CONFIX clinching optimises production process

 

CONFIX clinching has recently been rolled out at another large automotive group, catering for more efficient and ergonomically optimised production. Henrik Hartung is the engineer in charge of this project concerning the fixture of drip bars around windscreens along A pillars.

 

 

 

 

"Up to now, drip bars were installed by punching holes into the A pillars followed by manual riveting of retaining bars to the left and right of each drip bar, using blind rivets," explains Henrik.

 

In the near future, CONFIX clinching frames will be used to clinch 5 clamps at a time to both sides of the car body A pillars.

 

 

In this project, the CONFIX clinching frame will be robot-controlled. The robot moves the clinching frame to a feed station to pick up a clamp. It then positions the clinching frame at the programmed clinching point where the clamp is permanently attached without any auxiliary fixtures to the A pillar. According to the car manufacturer who meticulously analysed the process and its outcomes, the above clinching method is not only more cost-effective, but also does away with manual riveting, a task considered hard, and thus unpopular with its workforce.

 

 

 

After completion of the development and testing phases, ECKOLD and the car manufacturer were able to complete successful on-site trial runs in 2022. Shortly afterwards, the customer ordered 25 system units of which the first are currently being delivered and commissioned. It is envisaged to roll out these units at works in Germany, other European countries, China and Mexico.

 

 

 

Henrik Hartung is looking forward to many more exciting project: "During commissioning, we already discovered new possibilities for the further optimisation of the customer's processes. We will of course take these findings into account as we proceed with this project. We expect to have more information for you next summer. In the course of this project, we also developed a new, highly cost-effective manual machine for prototype production, namely a battery-powered portable CONFIX clinching frame."

 

 

 

Do you like to learn more about our clinching technique or do you already have a specific project? Order our feasibility and parameter check list or arrange an appointment!

 

 

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