Stanley’s Self-piercing rivets to enter North American automotive market

<p>Stanley Engineered Fastening announced the launch of &ldquo;next-generation self-pierce rivets&rdquo; in North America in August.<br /><br />The company presented the technology during the Global Automotive Lightweighting Material conference in August in Detroit and described the technology as &ldquo;well-established in Europe,&rdquo; &nbsp;<br /><br />The new Range Rover Sport utilizes about 3,648 Stanley SPRs. In North America, SPRs are used in the joining process for the aluminium (and steel) Ford F-150 and Cadillac CT6. These joining techniques are also equally suitable for non-luxury collision repairers as they can help OEMs in cutting weight and improving value for money.<br /><br />According to a spokeswoman for Stanley Self-pierce riveting (SPR) is:<br /><br />&ldquo;a process used to join two or more layers of materials without a predrilled or punched hole. This is done by driving a rivet through the top layers of material and upsetting the rivet in the lower layer (without piercing the layer) to form a durable joint. SPRs can effectively join together parts made of aluminium, steel, plastics, composites or a combination of materials&rdquo;. <br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/stanley-self-piercing-rivet-composite.jpg" alt="News" width="403" height="336" /><br /><br />Stanley&rsquo;s news release aims to target OEMs looking at factory options.&nbsp; However, components that use a self-piercing rivet on the assembly line might demand repairers use the joining technique, or at least some other mechanical fastener. Stanley thinks those OEMs would use more self-piercing rivets.<br /><br />&ldquo;Demand for SPRs, which already are well-established in Europe, is on the rise in North America as automakers increasingly adopt materials such as aluminium, which is forecast to grow in the North American automotive industry,&rdquo; Stanley said.<br /><br />Stanley cited one of Ducker Worldwide&rsquo;s aluminium forecasts, which projected aluminum sheet demand rising from less than 200 million pounds in 2012 to the billions within a decade.<br /><br />&ldquo;Within the same timeframe, every leading automaker is expected to have an aluminum body program in place, according to the study,&rdquo; Stanley wrote. According to Stanley &ldquo;several major North American automakers&rdquo; that are using materials like aluminium and carbon fibre are interested in SPRs.<br /><br />&ldquo;Whether joining aluminium, steel, plastics, composites, or combinations of materials, SPR is ideal for joining sheet materials providing a watertight joint,&rdquo; Stanley Breakthrough Innovation Vice President Siva Ramasamy said in a statement.</p>