Joint point loadings in car bodies – the influence of manufacturing tolerances and scatter in material properties

Abstract

1 Introduction Joining technology is decisive for the performance of an automobile body [1,2]. That is why a crucial part of the car body development process fluctuations is the consideration of the joining technology [3]. In recent years, car body development was driven by lightweight design [4] and product variety [3]. As a result of lightweight design, different materials have to be joined, which can be achieved by the use of mechanical joining such as clinching or riveting [1]. After the design process, the materials and the geometry of the components as well as the joining design are specified. The individual joining points characterize the joining design, by their technology and parameters, as well as their spatial arrangement [5]. In the subsequent production process, manufacturing inaccuracies as well as scattering in the properties of semi-finished products and sheets result in properties that deviate from the nominal design. This scattering is not taken into account in a nominal design [6]. However, the scattering in the properties of the sheet metal parts also influences the forces in joining points, even if the properties of them are identical. The question arises to what extent these deviations lead to different loads in the joining points and how this affects their potential design. The location and the parameter, e.g. the undercut in a clinched connection, of a joining point depend on each other. Although there is much research on the design of joining points,