A method for determining the quality of a joint fabricated in a plurality of metal sheets by a joining device and a control method. The joining device comprises a drive element, and a hold-down device The method may have the following steps: moving the drive element to move the punch and, via at least one first and one second spring, the hold-down device; recording of a force applied by the drive element with a first sensor and of a distance covered by the drive element with a second sensor during a movement of the drive element in a mating direction and opposite thereto as a force/displacement curve; and comparing a linear relief range in the recorded curve with a reference curve.

A method for manufacturing a heat dissipation device that includes stamping a composite plate including a welding material to form a first plate having a plurality of angled grooves, depositing powder in the plurality of angled grooves of the first plate, contacting the first plate to a second plate, and welding the first plate and the second plate together, and sintering powder to obtain a capillary structure.

A tool carrier for a clinching installation, having a housing having a longitudinal axis (L), in which housing a downholder which is impinged by a first compression spring, an outer die which is impinged by a second compression spring, and an inner die which is rigidly connected to the housing are disposed coaxially within one another so as to be routed out of the housing) by way of the free ends of said downholder and dies, is distinguished in that the first compression spring is disposed so as to be coaxial within the second compression spring.

A female die for a joining tool having an anvil and a shoulder which coaxially surrounds the anvil and which is configured on a main body of the anvil or by an end of a bush, and a sleeve which surrounds the main body or the bush, respectively, and which across the circumference thereof has radial slots penetrating the wall of said sleeve, in each case one sliding piece being guided in said slots so as to be movable in the radial direction (R), said sliding piece in the axial direction (A) being supported at least on the shoulder, is distinguished in that the wall of the sleeve on that end that surrounds the shoulder in the region between the slots has regions which widen in a radially inward manner and which extend in each case between two neighboring sliding pieces and in the radial direction (R) at least in part protrude beyond the shoulder.

A system for automatically forming sheet metal tubes from blanks cut to size. The system having a mechanism for positioning a blank for processing. A lifting arrangement having a wrap strap and pressure pad to raise the blank to a forming station having a mandrel is positioned so that the wrap strap extends on either side of said mandrel and underneath the blank before a side wiper on each side of said mandrel forces the overlap of opposite edges of the blank along a length of the mandrel. The mandrel includes a clinching die bar along its length. A sealing mechanism with a vertically movable row of clinching prongs is lowered to attach the overlapping edges of the blank by clinching at multiple positions to form a tube around the mandrel before being removed by a gag bar and a stripper plate.

The disclosure relates to a method for joining metal sheets resting on one another with a variable total thickness by a clinching device comprising at least one punch and a die arranged coaxially to the punch. The punch is controllable by an electronic control unit and movable in an axial direction relative to the die. The metal sheets are arranged in a plane between the punch and the die, and the penetration depth necessary for joining the metal sheets is adjustable. Before joining the metal sheets, the current total thickness is determined with the aid of the control unit and the penetration depth is set depending on the total thickness. The method includes: storing a number of different total thicknesses or total thickness ranges in the control unit, assigning a penetration depth to a total thickness or to a total thickness range, and calibrating the clinching device.

An assembly module, an assembly apparatus, and a method of operating the assembly module are introduced. The assembly module includes a first assembly die, a second assembly die and at least one engagement die. The first assembly die has a plurality of first fitting portions. The second assembly die has a plurality of second fitting portions and corresponds in position to the first assembly die. The engagement die is removably disposed at a related point of at least one first fitting portion, at a related point of at least one second fitting portion or at related points of at least one first fitting portion and at least one second fitting portion. Therefore, the assembly module is effective in fitting a component and an assembly target together, easy to operate, and conducive to quick assembly.

Combined sheets and a method of producing combined sheets. A combined sheet includes a main sheet including a first main indentation feature providing a first overhang over a first portion of the main sheet and a second main indentation feature providing a second overhang over a second portion of the main sheet. The combined sheet also includes a foundation sheet abutting the main sheet. The foundation sheet includes a first foundation indentation feature crimped to the first main indentation feature and a second foundation indentation feature crimped to the second main indentation feature. The first overhang and the second overhang provides overhangs in different directions to prohibit separation of the foundation sheet from the main sheet. The method of producing the combined sheet includes co-locating the main sheet to abut the foundation sheet and pressing one or more indentation punches for forming indentation features providing overhangs in different directions.

An exterior panel for hypersonic transport vehicles is formed of a superplastic metal alloy such as titanium for accommodating high thermal stresses of hypersonic flight. The exterior panel, designed as re-usable on such transport vehicles, includes an exterior skin configured for atmospheric exposure, and an interior skin configured for attachment to structural frame members of the transport vehicles. An intermediate skin is situated between a pair of multicellular cores; each multicellular core is sandwiched between the exterior and interior skins, one core being situated between the exterior and intermediate skins, while the other is situated between the intermediate and interior skins. An airflow channel (AFC) extends through at least one of the multicellular cores for cooling of the exterior panel. Each multicellular core is superplastic formed and diffusion bonded to the other, as well as to its respective pair of skins to form an exterior panel having a unified structure.

An exterior panel is formed of superplastic materials, including an exterior skin of titanium to accommodate high thermal stresses imposed on hypersonic transport vehicles during hypersonic flight. The exterior skin is fixed to an underlying reinforcing skeletal structure consisting of a superplastic formable reinforcement (SFR) layer, for example a titanium, zirconium, and molybdenum (TZM) alloy, which supports the exterior skin whenever the latter may be heated to temperatures exceeding 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The exterior panel includes a separate interior skin configured for attachment to a frame member such as a rib, stringer, or spar of the hypersonic transport vehicle. A multicellular core is sandwiched between the exterior and interior skins to impart tensile and compressive strength to the exterior panel. In one disclosed method, the core is superplastic formed and diffusion bonded to the exterior and interior skins.