Solid Punch Rivets with Underhead Seals for Painted Vehicle Modules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing motor vehicles using modular construction fail to achieve high vehicle rigidity and structural strength in crashes while ensuring corrosion protection, particularly when connecting painted components, as solid punch riveting is not effective for painted sheet metal due to leaks at cut edges.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating substructure and superstructure modules with flange areas, painting these areas, and connecting them using solid punch rivets with underhead coatings or seals that rest against the painted surfaces, ensuring a sealed and corrosion-protected connection, and optionally combining with gluing and screwing for enhanced stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If solid punch riveting is used to connect painted sheet metal components, then mechanical connection strength is improved, but corrosion protection deteriorates due to leaks at cut edges
Solution Approach 1:
An underhead coating or underhead gasket is introduced as an intermediary element between the solid punch rivet head and the painted flange area. This intermediary seals the cut edge created by punching, preventing corrosion while maintaining the mechanical connection strength of the rivet.
Solution Approach 2:
The underhead coating or gasket is applied locally at the critical interface where the rivet head contacts the painted surface. This local treatment seals the cut edge precisely where corrosion would occur, without requiring complete repainting or additional protective measures across the entire component.
2Manufacturing precision
If modules are painted before assembly, then paint integrity is improved, but connection reliability deteriorates due to ineffective solid punch riveting on painted surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The underhead coating or gasket acts as a mediator that enables reliable solid punch riveting on painted surfaces. It compensates for the reduced effectiveness of riveting through painted material by providing a sealing interface that ensures connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flange areas are painted before assembly and riveting, allowing the underhead coating or gasket to be applied subsequently. This preliminary painting action maintains paint integrity while the subsequent underhead sealing ensures connection reliability.
3Productivity
If modular construction is used for vehicle manufacturing, then production efficiency is improved, but structural strength deteriorates due to insufficient connection between modules
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines multiple connection methods: solid punch riveting for mechanical connection, underhead coating or gasket for sealing, and optionally gluing and/or screwing for enhanced structural strength. This combination maintains the production efficiency benefits of modular construction while achieving high structural strength through multi-method connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system uses composite approaches: metallic solid punch rivets with polymer or elastomer underhead coatings/gaskets, and potentially combination with adhesive bonding. This composite connection system achieves both the productivity benefits of mechanical fastening and the structural strength of multiple connection mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for manufacturing a motor vehicle comprising the steps of: - producing a substructure (1) and at least one body module (2) of the motor vehicle, wherein the substructure (1) and the body module (2) each have at least one flange area (3), - painting at least the flange area (3) of the substructure (1) and/or the body module (2), - joining the flange areas (3) of the substructure (1) and body module (2) by means of solid punch rivets (4), wherein the solid punch rivets (4) each have a head (5) with an underhead coating (6) or underhead seal (7) such that the underhead coating (6) or underhead seal (7) bears against the painted flange area (3) of the substructure (1) or the body module (2).