Joining process and optimization of vehicle components by mechanical clinching

With the development of technology and with the aim of reducing carbon emissions, lightening efforts in passenger cars have been increasing. For these reasons, the use of different types physical and chemical properties of materials on the vehicle also have been increasing. As the use of different types of materials increases, new production methods are needed. Although the patent of clinch dates back to the 19th century, it could not find wide use in industry for a long time. However, its use has been increasing day by day, especially in the automotive sector. Clinch offers the opportunity to join the same or different types of materials. It is an alternative method to spot welding. The most important advantage over spot welding is that it can be used for joining different types of materials. It creates a physical clamp between the materials by creating plastic deformation on the material. With the help of this physical clamp, the materials are joined. In this study, some geometric parameters of clinch tools that affect the quality of clinch connections were examined. The correlation of the finite element model with the experimental data of two 6xxx series aluminum sheets with 0.8 mm thickness was investigated. Amount of physical clamp, neck thickness, pulling force, seperation force are discussed. In this study, How which parameters of clinching tools affects the strength was investigated by Taguchi method.