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Facing a decreasing amount of resources on the one hand and an increasing demand for comfort on the other, more and more attention is being paid to sustainability and care for the environment. Particularly in the automotive sector, lightweight design principles continue to prosper rapidly. As a result, adjusted materials for different applications were developed. Due to the formation of intermetallic phases, most multi-material mixes cannot be welded and require adapted joining technologies. Mechanical joining technologies such as self-piercing riveting and mechanical clinching have proven effective methods of joining lightweight materials like aluminium and ductile steels. New high-strength steels are increasingly used in crash-sections, where limited deformation under impact load is required. These hot stamped steels have a very low elongation at break and therefore a low formability. Currently there is no joining by forming technology without pre-punching available using these grades of steels on die-side. The newly developed shear-clinching process is one possible method of joining this kind of material without additional elements. The fundamental idea of shear-clinching is a single-stage process in which pre-punching of the die-side material is performed by indirect shear-cutting and subsequent forming of the upper layer into this hole. This would immensely enlarge the application segment of mechanical clinching even if hot stamped steels are positioned on die-side. Fundamental studies are required to ensure process reliability and it is necessary to break down the joining process into fragments, like pre-punching and clinching with pre-punched sheet, and superpose them to form the combined procedure shear-clinching. This paper presents a detailed investigation of the sub-process clinching with pre-hole.

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In transportation sector the reduction of moving masses without the decrease of safety parameters is a key factor for future economic success. One possible approach for this is the use of different metallic materials in composite construction. Therefore, it is essential to establish a reliable component connection by means of suitable and cost-effective joining technologies. Mechanical joining technologies such as self-piercing riveting and mechanical clinching have proven to be effective methods for joining lightweight materials like aluminium and ductile steels. As these technologies require formability or pre-holing of the joining partners, the field of application is limited by the mechanical properties of the joining partners. Great potential for joining hot stamped steels, which have a very low elongation at fracture and therefore a low formability, offers the shear-clinching technology. For a systematic development of the shear-clinching technology, detailed investigations of the process are required. This paper presents an analysis of the material behaviour during the shear-clinching process and the reference process – clinching with pre-hole.

Global competition as well as social and scientific megatrends strongly influence the modern car manufacturing industry. One of the most important approaches is the implementation of lightweight constructions. Therefore, the usage of high performance materials with tailored properties gains importance. For safety-relevant components such as automotive passenger cells it is necessary to minimize deformation to reduce the risk of injury for the vehicle occupants during a car accident. Thus, hot stamped high-strength steels have been established. High-strength and low formability of this kind of materials represent new challenges for joining technologies. One possibility to join high-strength steels is the newly developed shear-clinching technology. Due to the use of a combined cutting and joining process, the connection of dissimilar materials with high difference in strength and formability can be achieved. Further research to ensure process reliability and to improve the strength of the joint is required. One possible approach for this is the numerical investigation of the material flow during the joining process. Therefore, the definition of process parameters for the finite element model is necessary. A big impact on the quality of the results has the accuracy of the used friction values. As established testing methods are not suitable for modeling the rather complex tribological system between the joining partners of the shear-clinching process, an innovative testing method is needed. Studies in the field of sheet-bulk metal forming already demonstrated the applicability of the ring compression test for sheet metals. This paper presents a concept for the adaption of the ring compression test to the specific needs of the investigated shear-clinching process. The numerical identification of the friction coefficients is validated by experimental data and first results are qualified by experimental and simulative shear-clinching joints.