A sealing structure for a front cover of an engine includes a front cover made of resin of an engine in which a through-hole, into which a boss part of a torsional damper is to be inserted, is provided, and a sealing apparatus to seal between the through-hole of the front cover and the shaft part. The sealing apparatus includes a support ring that is made of resin and has an annular shape, and an elastic body part that is made of an elastic material, has an annular shape and is attached to the support ring. The elastic body part has an annular seal lip that contacts the shaft part such that the shaft part is able to slide, and the support ring is bonded to the front cover.

A method of bonding a first object to a second object, including the steps of: providing a profile body having a first profile body portion; providing the first object, wherein the first object has thermoplastic material; providing the second object, wherein the profile body is separate from and attachable to the second object or wherein the second object includes the profile body; embedding the profile body in the first object such that the first profile body portion is within the thermoplastic material of the first object. Embedding the profile body in the first object is caused by mechanical energy impinging on the first object and/or on the second object while the first object and the second object are pressed against each other.

In one embodiment, a method includes fastening a plurality of components of a composite structure in an assembly fixture, wherein the assembly fixture comprises a plurality of strands of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material, wherein the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material comprises a thermoplastic embedded with a plurality of reinforcement fibers, wherein the plurality of reinforcement fibers is aligned within each strand of the plurality of strands, and wherein the assembly fixture further comprises an anisotropic thermal expansion property based on an orientation of the plurality of reinforcement fibers within the assembly fixture; and heating the assembly fixture in an autoclave to bond the plurality of components of the composite structure.

A method of mechanically securing a first object including a thermoplastic material in a solid state to a second object with a generally flat sheet portion, with a perforation of the sheet portion, and with the sheet portion having an edge along the perforation is provided, wherein the first object is positioned relative to the second object so that the edge is in contact with the thermoplastic material and wherein mechanical vibration energy is coupled into the assembly including the first and second objects until a flow portion of the thermoplastic material due to friction heat generated between the edge and the thermoplastic material becomes flowable and flows around the edge to at least partially embed the edge in the thermoplastic material. After the mechanical vibration stops, the thermoplastic material is caused to re-solidify, whereby the re-solidified thermoplastic material at least partially embedding the edge anchors the first object in the second object.

Adhesive bonds are applied by mixing two adhesives with different properties and dispensing them to form bondlines between substrate pairs. The adhesives are then thermally cured and cooled. Varying the mix ratio permits one to vary the properties of the adhesive mixture so formed for use in bonding many different substrate pairs. The process allows potentially infinite variations of adhesive properties between those of the respective starting adhesives, simply by varying the mix ratio. The invention is especially adapted for use in manufacturing settings in which adhesives are to be applied in multiple places, but differing adhesive properties are needed among the various bonding areas.

A method of mechanically securing a first object including a thermoplastic material in a solid state to a second object with a generally flat sheet portion, with a perforation of the sheet portion, and with the sheet portion having an edge along the perforation is provided, wherein the first object is positioned relative to the second object so that the edge is in contact with the thermoplastic material and wherein mechanical vibration energy is coupled into the assembly including the first and second objects until a flow portion of the thermoplastic material due to friction heat generated between the edge and the thermoplastic material becomes flowable and flows around the edge to at least partially embed the edge in the thermoplastic material. After the mechanical vibration stops, the thermoplastic material is caused to re-solidify, whereby the re-solidified thermoplastic material at least partially embedding the edge anchors the first object in the second object.

To provide a metal-fiber reinforced resin material (FRP) composite having a good appearance even when used as an automobile outer panel and not deformed even after a coating and baking process. The metal-FRP composite of the invention has a laminated structure of three or more layers, having at least a metal layer, a fiber-reinforced resin material layer holding a reinforced fiber material in a layer constituted by a matrix resin, and a resin layer located between the metal layer and the fiber-reinforced resin material layer. The resin layer is a layer constituted by a room temperature curing adhesive or by a predetermined resin and the room temperature curing adhesive. An elastic modulus E of the resin layer is more than 0.1 MPa and 1000 MPa or less, and a thickness of the resin layer is 0.005 times or more and less than 7.500 times a thickness of the metal layer.

In a manufacturing method of an assembly, the assembly including a metal part and a pipe, the pipe including a material containing a resin, an adhesive is first adhered to an outer circumferential surface of the pipe and a metal part covering at least a portion of an outer circumferential surface of the pipe. Here, an area to which the adhesive is adhered on the outer circumferential surface of the pipe is defined as an adhesion area. Next, by a heat source provided inside the pipe, a target area is heated without interposing the metal part. The target area is located radially interior to the adhesion area and located on an inner circumferential surface of the pipe.

A vehicle component is provided that includes a first cured layer of a molding composition having a predominant fiber filler chopped glass fibers, a second cured layer of molding composition having a predominant fiber filler chopped carbon fibers, and an elastomeric bonding agent with elongation properties configured to accommodate the differential coefficients of linear thermal expansion between the first cured layer and the second cured layer. The second cured layer is substantially devoid of glass fiber. The bonding agent is an elastomeric adhesive, which is operative from −40 to 205° C. The first cured layer forms an outer skin layer surface of a vehicle and the second cured layer forms an interior layer, where the outer skin layer surface has a class-A finish.

In one embodiment, a method includes fastening a plurality of components of a composite structure in an assembly fixture, wherein the assembly fixture comprises a plurality of strands of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material, wherein the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material comprises a thermoplastic embedded with a plurality of reinforcement fibers, wherein the plurality of reinforcement fibers is aligned within each strand of the plurality of strands, and wherein the assembly fixture further comprises an anisotropic thermal expansion property based on an orientation of the plurality of reinforcement fibers within the assembly fixture; and heating the assembly fixture in an autoclave to bond the plurality of components of the composite structure.