Patent Application
20170268231
This disclosure relates to a method of joining panels by applying an adhesive to the panels and driving flow drill screws through the panels and adhesive.
Flow drill screws are used to join panels together and may be used in conjunction with an adhesive that improves the performance of the joint between the panels.
Referring to
Referring to
Another problem encountered when joining panels 16, 18 with flow drill screws 10 and adhesive 28 is that insufficient space may be provided for the adhesive around the clearance hole 30 in which the flow drill screw 10 is inserted. When the flow drill screw 10 is inserted, the panels 16, 18 are squeezed together. A gap must be maintained for a sufficient deposit of adhesive between the panels for effective adhesive bond development.
This disclosure is directed to solving the above problems and other problems as summarized below.
According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method is disclosed for joining panels that includes the steps of selecting a first panel and a second panel and applying an adhesive in a continuous strip between the first and second panels. A flow drill screw is inserted through the first panel, the adhesive and the second panel. A collar is formed around the flow drill screw from the material displaced by the flow drill screw during the insertion process that defines a bond gap for the adhesive between the first and second panels.
According to other aspects of this disclosure, the flow drill screw may be inserted into a portion of the first panel that does not define a hole. The first and second panels may be aluminum sheet metal panels. The adhesive may be a structural adhesive that is cured in an oven.
The material displaced by the flow drill screw in the forming step moves the adhesive away from the flow drill screw and into the bond gap. The bond gap between the first and second panels may have a depth that is controlled by the formation of the collar. The collar extends from an insertion surface of the first panel, between the first and second panels.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, an assembly is disclosed that includes a first panel assembled to a second panel with a flow drill screw. An adhesive is deposited between the first and second panels and a flow drill screw is inserted through the first panel, the adhesive deposit and the second panel. A collar is formed around the flow drill screw that includes an intermediate collar portion having a height that sets a bond gap between the first and second panels for receiving the adhesive.
The intermediate collar portion separates the adhesive from the flow drill screw. The bond gap between the first and second panels has a depth that corresponds to the length of the intermediate collar between the first and second panels.
The above aspects of this disclosure and other aspects will be described below with reference to the attached drawings.
The illustrated embodiments are disclosed with reference to the drawings. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are intended to be merely examples that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. The specific structural and functional details disclosed are not to be interpreted as limiting, but as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to practice the disclosed concepts.
Referring to
Referring to
Based upon the size of the flow drill screw, the thickness and type of material forming the first panel 16 and second panel 18, a predictable adhesive gap 42 may be established by the amount of displaced material forming an intermediate collar portion 44 of the collar 22 between the first panel 16 and the second panel 18. The adhesive gap 42 is formed in the same manner as the objectionable gap 26 shown in
The disclosed method utilizes the first panel 16 without the clearance hole 30 to assure that sufficient material is displaced by the flow drill screw 10 to form a collar 22 that creates the adhesive gap 42. The adhesive 28 is applied in a continuous line to either or both of the first panel 16 or the second panel 18 in the location where the flow drill screw 10 is inserted into the panels 16, 18. The collar 22 formed by insertion of the flow drill screw 10 displaces part of the adhesive 28 and transfers the adhesive to the adhesive gap 42.
The disclosed method eliminates the need to form a clearance hole 30 and also eliminates the need to apply the adhesive 28 in a series of strips 32. The method is simplified by the elimination of the above two steps. Further, the elimination of the clearance hole 30 prevents problems relating to contamination of the flow drill screw gun with adhesive 28. The objectionable gap 26 shown in
The embodiments described above are specific examples that do not describe all possible forms of the disclosure. The features of the illustrated embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the disclosed concepts. The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation. The scope of the following claims is broader than the specifically disclosed embodiments and also includes modifications of the illustrated embodiments.
