Frequently asked questions You are most welcome to put further questions to us. Just use the form you will find on the page Contact Us.
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What is a typical life time of a tool kit?
| If you are joining mild steel with a total thickness of 0.080", 2 mm, you can expect to get 150,000-250,000 joints, depending on operator care and maintenance of the unit. With thicker material, and particularly in harder material, wear will be greater and the life time shorter
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How much difference does the Thick-in-Thin rule make?
| If one layer is twice as thick as the other, the shear strength may be 30%-60% higher when the thick layer is on the punch side, see diagram on the page Strength data
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What is the difference in strength across and along the main axis of a rectangular clinch joint?
| Shear strength along the main axis is about 30% lower than across the axis. The cross axis values are indicated on the diagrams on the page Strength data
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If I put in several points next to one another, can I assume that total strength just
adds up?
| Yes, and independent experiments confirm this, particularly when the inter-point distance is 5x the joint size, or more
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How about corrosion protection with
rectangular tool kits?
| Extensive independent investigations have confirmed that the corrosion protection on galvanized profiles is maintained when clinching is used, also with rectangular tool kits, as long as the individual sheet thickness is less than 11 ga, 0.120" or 3 mm
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We are observing a problem with punches sticking in aluminum. Is there a remedy for this?
| If light oiling on the punch side is acceptable, this is usually effective. An alternative is a 50/50 water/alcohol spray, which has the advantage of not influencing any subsequent painting process. A third route is to use punches with special surface finish and coatings, available on special request
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Is there a any way to make a clinch joint when there is access from one side only?
| No, clinching is not a blind process. But then a clinched structure has more stiffness than a point connection with, say, a screw or a pin. The friction from the positive compression contributes significantly to overall stiffness
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