Collision Repair Training | United States
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Current Events/News: Advantage Online: 2003 Archives
SELF-PIERCING RIVET SELF AWARENESS
What Is A Self-Piercing Rivet? A self-piercing rivet is a tubular rivet by design, with a partially hollow shaft (see Figure 1). This allows the rivet to pierce through the material it is going to join without pre-drilling any holes. After piercing the top panel, the rivet radially expands into the bottom panel. When you look at the backside of an installed SPR, you don’t see the rivet, but the impression of the rivet flared out in the bottom panel (see Figure 2 and the cross-section in Figure 3). This joining process provides very strong and reliable joints, without changing the property of the material around it or using as much energy as resistance spot welding. SPRs may be used to join coated and dissimilar materials of varying thickness, as well as being used for multiple layer riveting, as long as the material hardness and rivet length allow. Use And Removal Of Self-Piercing Rivets SPRs are currently found on the 1997–2004 Audi A8, 2004 BMW 5 Series, and the 2004 Jaguar XJ. These three vehicle makers all have different procedures for removing SPRs.
Replacement Of Self-Piercing Rivets
Just as there are different recommendations for removal, there are different recommendations for replacement of SPRs. Currently, Jaguar is the only vehicle maker recommending installation of SPRs when making certain repairs to the 2004 XJ. SPRs are installed using the same electronic dual-purpose riveting tool that is used for removal simply by changing the dies on the tool. Jaguar-specific, coated steel blind rivets are used where SPRs are not (see Figure 4). Audi uses specific aluminum solid rivets (see Figure 5) and aluminum GMA (MIG) plug welds to replace SPRs. BMW uses specific coated steel blind rivets to replace SPRs. All of these vehicle makers recommend using adhesive in conjunction with rivets, also called rivet-bonding, in their respective repairs. Conclusion SPRs have replaced resistance spot welds as a common method of joining structural and non-structural parts on some aluminum-intensive vehicles. There are specific recommendations for removing and replacing these rivets. Two I-CAR programs, "Replacing Aluminum Exterior Panels" and "Structural Aluminum Design And Repair Processes," explain these processes. Watch for these programs in your area to get up-to-date on aluminum repair. |
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