Top 5 in 365—Articles about assembly and joining

Visual work instructions not only tell the hardware insertion press operator the sequence in which to install fasteners into the fabrication, but also the different fastener types used for the job. Photo courtesy of Visual Knowledge Share Ltd.

The previous installment of Top 5 in 365 focused on arc welding, a process used in construction, repairs, and joining product components. Other methods also are used to join product components. Many of these processes are covered in the “Assembly and Joining” category on thefabricator.com. Here are the top five most-read articles for this category from the past year. No. 5 is a product highlight that garnered much attention.

5. Product Highlights: Locknuts’ hexagonal insert prevents mating screws from looseningPEMHEX® self-clinching prevailing torque locknuts from PennEngineering® integrate a trademarked blue nylon hexagonal insert designed to prevent mating screws from loosening in service because of vibration, thermal cycling, or other application-related factors.

4. Simplifying the hardware insertion processVisualization of work instructions boosts productivity for fab shopsIt’s hardware insertion. What could go wrong?The odds of a major screw-up are small if the job isn’t complicated. Asking a person to insert one type of fastener into two holes normally is not a threat to disrupt production. However, as any operator who works in a job shop can tell you, simplicity is typically not the order of the day. In fact, a hardware insertion job is likely to involve multiple fasteners positioned in various locations over a fabrication. Sometimes the fabrication has holes that look similar but actually may be different in size.

3. A year-round rooftopSt. Louis-based TROCO Custom Fabricators replaced the heavy timber rooftop structure at a local restaurant and bar with one made of steel and glass. The updated structure doesn’t just look great, it also allows restaurant patrons to enjoy the rooftop year-round, rain or shine.

2. Lean manufacturing meets custom tow truck assemblyCustom tow truck maker transforms assembly and nearly doubles outputFleet Sales West (FSW) has transformed its assembly operation into a finely tuned, flexible machine. Not long ago the 15-person manufacturer produced between four and five custom tow trucks a month. That just wasn’t enough; the company needed 10 a month just to break even. Today FSW assembles 12 a month, and it’s working to make even more.

1. Overview of techniques for joining dissimilar materialsHow metals and polymers come together harmoniouslyCombining lightweight, dissimilar materials—particularly metals and polymers—is becoming increasingly prevalent in the manufacture of lightweight assemblies in the aerospace and automotive industries. Hence, suitable joining methods are necessary to reliably integrate them. Understanding the various joining technologies that exist for metal-to-polymer hybrid assemblies will lead to optimal choices.

Next up? Automation and robotics.