Centering pin

Abstract

A receiving element which can be introduced into a borehole of at least one component includes a bolt presenting an outer surface that is approximately parallel and advantageously coaxial to a longitudinal axis of the bolt. The receiving element requires few materials and can therefore be produced at a low constructional cost while being provided with high dimensional stability and positioning accuracy. The bold includes an abrasion-resistant sintered material, and a metal tip provided on the front end of the shaft. The end part of the tip is engageable in a recess of the bolt, and there is a direct connection between the end part and the recess in the connection region on the front end of the bolt.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to a receiving element useful, for example, as a centering pin or receiving pin for centering and receiving components, in particular a plurality of metal sheet parts or at least one metal sheet part having a threaded female element, and more particularly employable in association with welding tools, in particular pressure welding tools, apparatus or machines. [0002] A receiving element is disclosed in WO 2004 / 069 468 A1, having a bolt that, in the area of its external surface, which is largely parallel to a longitudinal axis, includes at least two recesses with apertures. Arranged in these recesses are pins that comprise or contain wear-resistant material and that extend somewhat radially through said apertures and project over the external surface with a predefined overhang. Such receiving elements can be introduced into bores of at least one component for fixing and / or aligning for subsequent machining. For instance, if two...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005] The receiving element in accordance with the invention is characterized by a simple and functionally appropriate structure. The bolt comprises wear-resistant sintered materials, preferably oxide ceramics or non-oxide ceramics, for example, Al2O3, ZrO2, or Si3N4, or mixtures thereof, and contains at a forward end thereof a recess in which a tip, comprising metal, advantageously, for example, steel or high-grade steel, engages and is attached at one end section. In the interior of the bolt, a direct or immediate connection is provided between the tip, via an end section thereof, and the recess, advantageously embodied, for example, as a blind hole, provided in the bolt. The recess, which is preferably coaxial with the longitudinal axis and / or penetrated thereby, permits a lasting and loadable connection in the comparatively short axially forward area of the bolt without a reduction in the cross-section of the bolt, whish is made of the high-performance ceramics or sintered material used, being necessary over the entire axial length. The interiorly situated forward connecting area extends only over a fraction (portion) of the entire length of the bolt, advantageously less than 50%, and more preferably less than 30% thereof. The end section of the tip and / or the forward connecting area possesses an axial length that is substantially smaller than the total length of the bolt. Furthermore, it is particularly important that the interiorly situated connecting area is reliably protected from attack by an environmental medium, for example, steam or aggressive gases. The fastening of the tip or its end section in the axial recess of the bolt is advantageously embodied as an adhesive joint, shrink fit, press fit or clamp connection. Mechanical processing, for example, circular grinding, is used to grind the exterior surface of the bolt embodied from sintered material and / or high-performance ceramics to the required aperture diameter for the component to be processed, in particular metal sheet or threaded female element.

[0006] In contrast to receiving elements with tips made of ceramics, which can break off relatively easily, particularly when they have small diameters, using the metal tip prevents the extremely disadvantageous breakage with a high degree of functional assuredness. Thus components encountered in connection with the invention, in particular metal sheets, can be readily joined to one another using the suggested receiving elements, in particular in welding tools and / or pressure welding tools, even with threaded female elements that are quite small, in particular with M4, M5, M6, or M8 female threads, avoiding failure times and idle times for the welding tools or automatic welding systems and attaining long useful life periods. The bolt is advantageously produced, for example, by dry pressing, extrusion, or in an injection molding process and / or by mechanical processing. The bolt is advantageously embodied as a part, either as tube or bar, and is provided and / or fitted with the metal tip at the forward free end.

[0007] Moreover, in particular for optimizing the insulation, a fastening body made of an insulating material, advantageously, for example, plastic, can be provided at the other end of the bolt from the tip, an adhesive joint, shrink fit, press fit, or clamp connection preferably being provided. By using high-performance ceramics for the bolt in conjunction with the tip made of metal, advantageously steel, and optionally arranging the fastening body made of insulating material at the other end, the inventive receiving element is characterized primarily by the following improved properties: specifically, high wear-resistance and / or extremely long service life and / or good dimensional stability and / or precise positioning accuracy and / or high surface quality and / or optimized electrical insulation.

Problems solved by technology

Even without performing this latter method step, adding at least two apertures to the bolt and preparing and inserting the two aforesaid pins entails production complexity that is not insubstantial.

In addition, this receiving element also comprises at least three parts, specifically sleeve and bolt and the threaded element that has a male thread, and thus the various machining steps being disadvantageous especially during serial production of large numbers of units.

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