The End of Riveting As We Know It?

WELWYN GARDEN CITY (UK) – 10 December 2008 - Times are changing in the fastening community. The last decade has produced more advanced fastening technology than ever before and it has become an arms race between companies to develop new, better technologies. 

OEMs are moving toward using fewer fasteners to reduce costs and speed up production while designers are looking to make products more aesthetically pleasing and so reducing fastener consumption.

The news is not all doom and gloom though. Whilst many manufacturers are using adhesives more they are also using rivets to hold the application in place, whilst the adhesives set and harden. One application where this is already common is in high performance cars. The Avdel ¼” (6.4mm) Monobolt® rivet holds panels in place while the glue sets allowing the weight of the car to be reduced.

This use of adhesives and rivets are commonly known as ‘Chicken Rivets’. This type of fastening has become a popular use for Avdel® Speed Fastening® Rivets which used with Avdel® tools can place up to 60 rivets a minute under normal operating conditions, whilst still providing the strength needed to hold panels in place during the bonding process. Once the glue has hardened the rivets provide extra support and strength due to their ability to provide good clamp, and good shear and tensile strength.

Each new fastening technology is soon replaced by the next. New technology enters the market often but one of the biggest growth areas currently is self pierce riveting. Avdel offers a self pierce riveting system known as Fastriv® rivets which allows rivets to be used with no pre-drilling or punching required; making the process quicker and reducing the pre-work and hole preparation required prior to assembly. Further more Fastriv® self pierce riveting systems are typically semi or fully automated systems on the customers assembly line which can help to reduce labour and assembly costs.

The Fastriv® system is engineered to pierce and fasten in one operation, providing a strong and reliable joint. The rivet is suitable for fastening a variety of different materials but it does not fully pierce through the back substrate which ensures a fully waterproof joint. The Fastriv® system can be fully automated as occurs in the Ferrari factory in Italy.  For more information the new Avdel® Fastriv® brochure is available now from your local Avdel representative.

As new technologies and practices evolve, there is no doubt that fastening methods have to change. This doesn’t mean the end of riveting but the creation of new applications and new technologies. The technology may change but the basic principles remain the same.