A method and apparatus (20) provide light-safe heating of advanced high strength steel metallic sheet(s) (28 and/or 30) for securement of metallic sheets by flow fasteners (31).

A fastener feed head includes a chute having a feed passage along a feed axis to support and guide fasteners from a chute inlet to a chute outlet connected to a fastener installation head. A carriage is movably attached to the chute along a feed axis. Opposed pawls are pivotably attached to the carriage. The carriage reciprocates along the feed axis between a retracted position and a feed position. The carriage cyclically advances a predetermined number of fasteners from a queue of fasteners in an upstream zone into a queue of fasteners in a downstream zone by: retracting to the retracted position from the feed position; abutting the lead fastener in the upstream queue with the pawls; and, driving the lead fastener with the pawls until the carriage reaches the feed position.

A non-path-variable element switch, in particular for connecting elements, which can be passed continuously by the elements being positive-lockingly guided, in particular head-guided, therein only in a feeding direction, from a plurality of profiled tracks into a number of profiled tracks, which is reduced compared to the plurality of profiled tracks. With the non-path-variable element switch, a plurality of feeding sources with different elements are connected to a processing tool. Thereby, the element switch is characterized in that it comprises no mechanically switchable elements.

The invention relates to a fastening element for fastening to a workpiece, said fastening element comprising at least a first workpiece element having a first opening and a second workpiece element having a second opening aligned with the first opening, wherein the fastening element has a first contact section having a first contact surface for contact with a region of the first workpiece element surrounding the first opening and a second contact section having a second contact surface for contact with a region of the second workpiece element surrounding the second opening, with the first contact section and the second contact section being connected to one another by means of a reshaping section, and with a rivet section extending from the second contact section in a direction facing away from the reshaping section. The invention further relates to a corresponding component assembly and to a method of manufacturing such a component assembly.

A coupling member head includes a holder configured to hold a coupling member at an end portion on a coupling target member side in an axial direction and configured to approach or separate from a coupling target member, a pair of electrodes, tips of the electrodes being positioned closer to the coupling target member side than a coupling member holding region of the holder, and a retraction mechanism configured to move the electrode to a radial outside of the holder when the holder approaches the coupling target member.

A continuous strip of T-Nuts formed on a common strip of metal. Each T-Nut of the strip of T-Nuts is integrally connected to the next adjacent T-Nut by carry tabs. The carry tabs can be frangible themselves or contain a frangible portion. Each T-Nut includes a cylindrical bore therein and a threaded interior. A mechanism feeds and severs the endmost T-Nut in endwise fashion. The mechanism to feed and sever the endmost T-Nut includes a cutting blade positioned vertically below the frangible portion of the carry tab. A shearing ram having a guide positioned axially in line with the cylindrical bore in the endmost T-Nut is adapted to move vertically from an upper to a lower position to engage the cutting blade with the frangible portion and sever the endmost T-Nut.

The present invention relates to a method of fastening a fastening element to a workpiece by means of a setting device, wherein the fastening element and/or the workpiece is/are at least sectionally reshaped during the fastening, and wherein a lubricant is used that is free of grease and free of oil, in particular with the lubricant being a substance mixture of two or more substances.

A continuous strip of T-Nuts formed on a common strip of metal. Each T-Nut of the strip of T-Nuts is integrally connected to the next adjacent T-Nut by carry tabs. The carry tabs can be frangible themselves or contain a frangible portion. Each T-Nut includes a cylindrical bore therein and a threaded interior. A mechanism feeds and severs the endmost T-Nut in endwise fashion. The mechanism to feed and sever the endmost T-Nut includes a cutting blade positioned vertically below the frangible portion of the carry tab. A shearing ram having a guide positioned axially in line with the cylindrical bore in the endmost T-Nut is adapted to move vertically from an upper to a lower position to engage the cutting blade with the frangible portion and sever the endmost T-Nut.

The invention relates to a joining element comprising a shaft to be placed into a component; a head provided at a first end of the shaft; and a punching element attached in a losable manner to a second end of the shaft remote from the head.

A platform for constraining a workpiece includes x-y stage connected to a base, wherein the x-y stage includes a floor and a y-axis datum and a x-axis datum aligned along a first axis and a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, respectively, and a primary constraint mechanism on the x-y stage. The primary constraint mechanism includes an x-axis wedge, a primary y-axis wedge and a primary z-axis clamp, and a primary linear actuator with a rod extendable and retractable parallel to the second axis. A primary linear actuator slides the x-axis wedge away from the x-axis datum, slides the primary y-axis wedge away from the y-axis datum, and rotates the primary z-axis clamp away from the workpiece. The primary z-axis clamp is attached to a cam with a pinion gear that engages a rack gear connected to the rod of the primary linear actuator.