Adhesive and Mechanical Clinch Bond Strengths - A Comparison to Spot Weld Strengths

The use of mechanical fastening (clinching) in adhesive assembly operations could minimize the need for extensive fixturing and/or curing equipment. In addition, it is be expected that mechanical clinching would enhance adhesive joint performance. An evaluation of preprimed sheet steel joints, which were fabricated using combinations of a room temperature curing adhesive and two types of mechanical clinches, has been performed. The results of this work indicate that adhesive-clinch joint strengths are comparable to or exceed those of spot welded joints. This suggests that bonded and clinched preprimed steel should be investigated more thoroughly as an alternative to spot-welded bare and galvanized steel.