A Riveting machine is a great tool for joining metal together. It is able to withstand a lot of pressure and stress, making it perfect for a variety of different applications. It also comes with stainless steel hot rivets, which are durable and will not corrode.
These machines can be powered by electrically, pneumatically (pop riveters or air riveters) or hydraulically. They can be standalone or robot-mounted.
Mechanics
There are several different types of riveting machines, including impact, radial and orbital. These machines are designed to join materials together and can be electrically or pneumatically actuated.
In impact riveting, a down force crushes the rivet shaft, forcing it into a forming tool known as a rollset, which flares the end of the rivet and bonds the materials together. This process is very fast and can be automated, but can be difficult for brittle or fragile materials.
In radial riveting, a spinning forming tool is gradually lowered into the rivet which spreads the head of the rivet in many directions at once, making it much quicker than impact or spiralform machines. This type of machine also offers a bit more control and can be used for delicate or brittle materials. Riveting machines are available in manual feed, or automatic feed models that use a hopper and feed track to automatically deliver the rivets. These can be electrically motor-driven or pneumatic and can come in single, dual or multiple-head models that install one, two or more rivets at a time.
Materials
The riveting machine is a powerful tool that can join two pieces of metal together. It uses heat and pressure to fuse the metal together, creating a strong and durable bond that will not break. The machine comes with stainless steel hot rivets, which can be used to join a wide variety of materials.
There are many different types of riveting machines, from manual hand tools to fully automated multihead riveting systems that can be powered by electricity, pneumatically (pop riveters and air riveters) or hydraulically. Some are designed to only rivet specific types of fasteners, such as solid or semi-tubular rivets with mushroom-like heads.
Some riveting machines are also designed to monitor the process, using force-displacement technology to create a graph that shows the amount of pressure being applied to the fastener. One such system is called Watchdawg, offered by Orbitform. This type of monitoring can help reduce the risk of failure due to improper rivet placement or excessive riveting pressure.
Safety
Rivets and rivet machines play an important role in manufacturing. They fasten and reinforce products in a wide range of industries from automotive to cutlery, electrical manufacturing to sheet metal fabrications. The choice of rivet size, tooling and method of installation depends on the materials to be joined together.
Several safety measures must be taken when operating a riveting machine. The most common danger is injury from projectiles such as nails, rivets and staples. These are often ejected at high speeds and can strike the body, especially fingers, knees or thighs.
To reduce these hazards, riveting machines are equipped with finger-detecting safety probes. These probes drop around the point-of-operation hazard prior to each intended machine cycle and detect any contact with an operator’s hands. If the hazard sensor detects a finger or any obstruction during descent, it will not activate the riveter and driver. These types of sensors are available on most impact riveting machines such as the Milford rivet machine manufactured by Orbitform.
Maintenance
Riveting machines make riveting far easier, faster and more consistent than manual hand tools. However, they require care and attention to ensure their proper performance. Keeping a set of spare parts on hand and tracking the life of tooling is essential to avoid costly unplanned downtime.
Regularly check the alignment of the peen, the perishable tooling that touches the rivet or part being formed. Misalignment can produce undesired results and rejected parts. Replace the peen if it is worn out and apply an anti-seize lubricant to prevent damage to the bearings.
Henrob Ltd and Bollhoff both offer monitoring systems for their SPR equipment to increase machine uptime. These systems use dedicated sensors to monitor the setting force and punch movement, generating a curve that is compared against a trained reference curve. If the process is out of range, it will be flagged for troubleshooting or the machine halted.
