Riveting technology, as a simple and practical technique, has been widely adopted. Its advantages include being lightweight, low-cost, and easy to process, making it highly prevalent in various applications, from small parts to aerospace, truly indispensable. However, with the advancement of society, riveting technology faces significant challenges. To better serve our modern needs, it is essential to gain new insights, understand its advantages, current status, development potential, and future prospects, giving it a comprehensive positioning and staying up to date.

I Introduction

Riveting technology is one of the advanced mechanical connection technologies in the world today. Simply put, riveting involves using rivets to connect two objects together. Compared to other emerging technologies, riveting technology started relatively late, and its early development was slow, mainly due to various problems faced by traditional riveting processes, which significantly hindered its progress. However, in recent years, its advantages have once again been recognized in high-end fields like the development of high-performance aircraft, driving the rapid growth of new riveting processes.

II Current Status and Shortcomings of Traditional Riveting Technology

1. Insufficient Strength of Conventional Riveting Techniques

Riveting techniques rely on interference fits to meet various requirements such as structural reliability, safety, and load-bearing capacity, which increasingly demand higher standards for rivet materials. In traditional riveting processes, achieving uniform interference fits is challenging. For rear panel structures, it’s difficult for ordinary riveting to evenly distribute pressure across each rivet, posing risks to structural stability and limiting the development of riveting technology.

2. New Lightweight Materials Don’t Meet Riveting Requirements

In high-end fields like aircraft development, weight reduction is crucial, so conventional metals no longer meet these demands, requiring the use of new materials. Currently, titanium alloy is the most widely used material, but ordinary riveting methods often cause cracks in titanium rivets, which is unacceptable. While hot riveting can improve this issue, its filling quality is poor, and the joint’s fatigue strength is low, fundamentally contradicting the requirements of riveting. Additionally, composite materials cannot undergo hot riveting due to their inherent properties, leading to a bottleneck in riveting technology.

3. Difficulty in Riveting Large Diameters

With technological advancements, large-diameter riveting is increasingly common. Large-diameter riveting requires manual riveting, which generates significant recoil and noise during the process, making it intolerable and adversely affecting workers’ health and production efficiency. This has become a major obstacle to the advancement of riveting technology.

III Types and Development History of Riveting Technology

1. Early Riveting

Long ago, our wise ancestors discovered the benefits of riveting. Although its non-removable connection greatly reduced the stability of the workpiece, its simple working principle, strong connectivity, easy production, and readily available raw materials made it appealing. Riveting could connect wood, metal, and even complex workpieces, reducing the difficulty of fabrication. While early riveting technology didn’t receive widespread attention, it laid a solid foundation for today’s processes and significantly contributed to modern advancements. As modern industries and technology have progressed, riveting structures and processes require modern elements and technological integration, pushing for new processes and innovations.

2. Stamping Riveting

The first riveting technology to emerge was stamping riveting. Its process involves the vertical motion of the rivet head, applying immense pressure to rivet the parts together. Stamping riveting significantly improved earlier methods but has its limitations. For instance, the large pressure exerted can deform the riveted parts or cause poor sealing, impacting their performance. With technological advancements, stamping riveting has undergone continual innovation, incorporating machine labor, electronic control, and efficient processes. This has not only eased labor but also increased productivity, achieving notable achievements in molds, equipment, and forming techniques with promising future applications.

3. Orbital Riveting Technology

Orbital riveting technology emerged in the 1970s. This process involves angling the rivet head’s axis to the axis of the riveted part, deforming the material at a small point with relatively low pressure, and gradually expanding the deformation area. While widely used, it has drawbacks, such as poor working conditions for the rivet head bearing, making mass production inefficient.

4. Roller Riveting Technology

To address issues of low control precision in earlier riveting methods, roller riveting was introduced. This method uses rotary forming molds to deform metal and achieve a connection. By pressing the rollers point by point, this technique is well-suited for processing high-strength, hard-to-deform materials. Roller riveting has greatly improved product quality and efficiency, reducing defect rates and enhancing competitiveness in the international market.

5. TOX Clinching Technology

In the 1990s, TOX clinching technology was introduced. This is a more technical and economical connection method, falling under the category of rivetless riveting. It uses TOX air or hydraulic pressure and a unique die to form a TOX clinch, joining different thicknesses of sheet metal. With high automation, TOX clinching has broad applications but still requires further improvement.

IV The Rise of New Electromagnetic Riveting Technology

To address shortcomings in traditional riveting, the U.S. and Russia have pioneered the development and use of electromagnetic riveting equipment. Compared to traditional methods, electromagnetic riveting offers high loading rates, large strain rates, and different material deformation mechanisms. It is ideal for new lightweight materials and addresses the limitations of traditional riveting, significantly improving rivet quality and lifespan. With the development of low-voltage electromagnetic riveting and full automation, this technology promises to enhance production efficiency and reduce noise, making it a key player in the future of riveting technology.

In today's rapidly advancing industrial technology, mechanical connections remain indispensable, and riveting technology will continue to be one of the primary methods of connection for a long time. The application scope of riveting technology is extensive, with widespread use in fields such as medical endoscopes, aerospace, automotive manufacturing and repair, shipbuilding, and the hardware manufacturing industry. Riveting is not only flexible and simple to operate but also easy to inspect and troubleshoot. Disassembly and maintenance are more convenient, as only the damaged part needs to be replaced. In medical hypodermic tubes, it can even be reused multiple times.