Matteo Matteucci, senior specialist in fasteners engineering, Alfa Romeo, discusses the GALM Joining, Forming & Manufacturing Technologies conference, taking place in Birmingham, UK, at the end of November.
I will take part in this GALM event because I’m very interested in vehicle lightweight technology; nowadays it’s a central issue in the car world. So, I will join this conference in order to be informed about the latest trends in composites, thermoplastics, glass fiber and other new materials for weight reduction. I also want to discover innovative joining techniques to evaluate their high weight feasibility and potential cost savings.
I am also looking forward to doing a presentation focusing on mechanical joining. In my opinion, one important advantage in using mechanical joining, for example with respect to adhesives technology, is cost. Moreover, mechanical joining isn’t permanent; in fact it allows us to disassemble two or more components in case of necessity. Furthermore, there isn’t a problem as regards temperature, since the joins can also withstand very high temperatures. This is not true for adhesives, for example. Another significant characteristic is that mechanical joining degrades less in the time.
My presentation will focus on how to improve mechanical joining for casting and extrusion steel to reduce production costs and increase performance. First of all, there will be an examination of the performance and durability of mechanical joining, then a cross benefit analysis of mechanical joints against spot welding and adhesive joining, and I will cover the different types of rivets and their geometries in order to achieve consistent, high performing joints.
This story is reprinted from material from GALM Joining, Forming & Manufacturing Technologies, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
