Permanent assembly processes are used in manufacturing to permanently join or fasten two or more components together resulting in a part that cannot be disassembled. There are many reasons to choose permanent assembly including safety, extreme operating forces, regulatory laws, industry standards, or the use of the part as a component in another assembly. Orbitform offers the following permanent assembly processes, allowing manufacturers to find the process that is best aligned with their assembly requirements.
- Orbital Forming is a cold forming process that uses a rotating peen tool, held at a fixed angle, to create a sweeping line of pressure around a rivet or tenon. This movement pushes the material of the rivet or tenon downward and out with each rotation, forming a rivet head in the process, the shape of which is determined by the tooling. The final result is a low profile, aesthetically appealing finish form and often allows for joint articulation.
- Radial Forming is very similar to orbital forming aside from the tooling path. With this process, the material is pushed from the center out in a rosette or floret pattern. This process is optimal for small rivet shank diameters, delicate rivet materials, or assemblies with an unsupported rivet.
- Impact Riveting uses force to fasten components together. Rivets are often automatically fed through the components into the lower tooling to form the other end, securing the components together. The advantage of impact riveting is that the cycle time is typically less than one second.
- Orbitform offers two different types of Roller Forming – Static Roller Forming and Articulating Roller Forming. Both processes use a spinning roller head with two or more rollers to apply 360 degrees of symmetrical force around a cylindrical part. Static Roller Forming applies this force in a downward direction often used to form a smooth lip around the part. Articulating Roller Forming applies this force from the side, often to create a groove in a part. Articulating Roller Forming can also be used to form a lip if there is an obstruction that needs to be cleared first.
- Hot Upset Forming uses heat and pressure to form a rivet or tenon. Heat is applied to the workpiece until it becomes malleable, then collapses under pressure applied by the powerhead. This process creates very high torque joints and maximizes hole fill.
- Bushing Flare & Flatten is used to install bushings into various components. Orbitform offers a two-step process for installing bushings that maintains a higher level of control. The first step flares the bushing out to 45 degrees, and the second step flattens it to 90 degrees and resizes the inner diameter. This two-step process maximizes the contact surface between the bushing and the stamping, minimizes any gap, and increases the life of the joint.
Each process has its own advantages and is best fit to meet certain requirements. At Orbitform, we have nearly 40 years of experience solving assembly challenges across 17+ different industries. Our Assembly Experts can review your part drawings and requirements, and assemble prototypes in our Solutions Lab to recommend the best process that aligns with your part design. Contact us today to discuss your assembly needs.