Quality Rivets for High-Performance CNC Machining(rubber moulding Egbert)
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- source:YESCOM CNC Machining
When assessing rivets for use in CNC applications, there are several key factors to evaluate:
Material Grade: Aircraft-quality rivets are typically made from 2117 aluminum alloy or 2117-T4 aluminum. The T4 temper designation indicates the rivets have undergone a specific heat treatment to impart strength. Steel rivets with grades between 1144 and 1215 are also common. The material grade impacts shear and tensile strength.
Dimensional Precision: Quality rivets will meet precise specifications for the head diameter, shank diameter, head shape, shank length, and overall length. This level of consistency is critical for automated insertion during CNC riveting. Variations in rivet dimensions will reduce performance.
Shank Deformability: As rivets are inserted and the tail is formed, the shank must have adequate ductility. Rivets with deficient deformability are prone to cracking or failing entirely during installation.
Surface Finish: The surface condition of the rivet shank and head is vital. A smooth, uniform finish allows for easy insertion into rivet holes. It also maximizes surface contact between the rivet and the material it is joining.
Concentricity: For optimal performance, the rivet head should be precisely concentric with the shank. Lack of concentricity causes non-uniform deformation during heading. This results in loose fits or cracking.
Grip Range: The grip range refers to the combined thickness of materials the rivet can join. Quality rivets have a wide grip range to accommodate different application requirements.
Manufacturing Process
Quality control during the rivet manufacturing process is crucial for achieving these standards. Here are some of the key production steps:
- Raw Material Validation: Chemistry and mechanical properties of the source rod are verified to meet specifications. This provides a sound base material for subsequent processes.
- Heading: The rivet head is formed using cold heading. This may involve forward extrusion, backward extrusion, or a combination. Precision die design and maintenance ensures dimensional accuracy.
- Heat Treatment: Specific heating and cooling processes improve rivet strength and alter material properties as required by the design. Quenching, tempering, and aging are common techniques.
- Trimming: The headed blank is trimmed to final shank length very precisely. Trimming methods include roll trimming, cutoff, and sawing.
- Surface Conditioning: abrasive tumbling or blasting helps provide a clean, uniform finish on the rivet shank and head. This enhances manufacture and performance.
- Coating: Optional coatings like zinc and cadmium improve corrosion resistance and lubricity. They are applied using electrolytic plating, mechanical plating, or chromating.
- Concentricity Checking: Sample rivets from each batch undergo meticulous gauging to verify concentricity. This ensures consistent, reliable performance.
- Dimensional Inspection: Sample testing verifies critical dimensions like head and shank diameter, length, and shape conform to all specifications. Statistical process control tracks production quality.
- Packaging: For quality preservation, rivets are carefully packed into sturdy boxes, bins, or bulk containers.
By emphasizing production quality and process control, manufacturers can produce rivets that meet the tight tolerances and repeatability required in CNC environments. This enables efficient, high-quality riveting during automated machine processes. For critical aerospace and aviation applications, additional quality assurance steps like batch testing, certification, and documentation give further reliability.
Quality Matters for CNC Riveting
On a CNC riveting machine, consistency and precision are paramount. By feeding optimized rivets into the system, manufacturers can have confidence in achieving secure joints. Key factors influenced by rivet quality include:
- Feed Reliability: Properly sized and finished rivets flow smoothly in the feed system without jamming. This maximizes uptime.
- Insertion Accuracy: With tight dimensional tolerances, rivets insert cleanly into mating holes. This prevents error states or machine stoppages.
- Insertion Forces: Friction, galling, and jamming are minimized, protecting delicate aerospace materials from damage. This reduces rework.
- Clamp-up: Concentric, properly deforming rivets provide consistent clamp forces for solid, void-free joints.
- Feed Rate: Smoothly finished rivets allow maximum feed rates and throughput. This boosts productivity.
- Joint Integrity: Rivets with the correct properties and geometry form uniform, durable joints that withstand service stresses.
For operators, quality rivets also minimize machine adjustments needed to achieve solid joints and reduce associated downtime. This keeps the CNC cell operating at peak efficiency. While upfront rivet costs may be higher, the value over thousands of trouble-free production cycles is significant.
In summary, tooling up with quality rivets is one of the best investments manufacturers can make for CNC machining applications. By sourcing rivets made to aerospace standards from a trusted supplier, operators gain assurance of performance, reliability, and output. The result is maximized machine productivity and assembly quality. With reduced rework and downtime, quality rivets keep costs down while upholding standards. For manufacturers machining high-value parts, that is an outcome well worth pursuing. CNC Milling CNC Machining