Automotive industry

BLIND RIVETS IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

When we talk about Automotive, we don’t just mean the standard car but any type of vehicle, from the small car, to the sports one, to vans, to trucks. Blind rivets and blind rivet nuts are widely used in this sector to assemble both load-bearing parts of the vehicle structure and accessories.

There are several reasons. On the one hand, the rivet is a single fastening component, a viable alternative to composite systems whose installation requires twice the time (such as nuts and bolts) and whose logistics management implies more space reducing the possibility of storage stocks.

Secondly, the technology developed especially in structural rivets – the most used in this sector – is designed to best respond to the stresses vehicles are subjected to, and for the highest mechanical shear and tensile strength.

Furthermore, the rivet is a product that covers a very wide range of applications and can be customized according to need, therefore it is used in many components.

FEATURES OF THE BLIND RIVETS FOR AUTOMOTIVE

To level out the standards required to suppliers in the sector, an international quality system is in force – IATF 16949: 2016 – which includes a series of standards to which automotive suppliers must adapt.

Since 2001, SARIV has been evaluated according to quality standards, starting from ISO 9002.

The quality control of our products is our founding pillar, starting from the care in every single step of the production process to guarantee the best performances. Thus, we have decided to undertake this path of further improvement of our standards, obtaining in May 2018 IATF 16949: 2016 certification.

From the technical point of view, the specific characteristics required for blind rivets or blind rivet nuts for Automotive industry are many, and they usually differ from the products held in the standard catalog.

Whether structural, stainless steel, sealed or other, blind rivets are applied to vehicles subjected to infinite stresses: think for example of the speed, vibrations, atmospheric conditions, and the infinite variables to which we are exposed when we are driving.

This is why special surface treatments are often required, or ad hoc dimensions and customized mechanical features.

SARIV BLIND RIVETS FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Out of 3 million blind rivets produced every day in Sariv, 60% is dedicated to customized and automotive products.

Structural rivets are those most in demand in the sector, due to their higher mechanical performance.

Some examples:

• Sarilock rivet guarantees very high shear resistance thanks to the double-diameter mandrel, thus it can be applied in the car’s steering wheel. It is a steel blind rivet, with a double-diameter grooved mandrel, which we supply with a diameter of 6.4, and a length of 12 to 18, plus any customizations.
• Our Saribolt rivet, thanks to its resistance to vibration and high mechanical properties, is applied as a fixing element on the chassis. We supply the version with dome or countersunk head, and in both galvanized steel and stainless steel. The diameter ranges from 4.8 to 6.4.
• Saribulb rivet in stainless steel is used in the production of exhausts, for its high durability against corrosion from gas emission. However we can supply it both in stainless steel and in zinc-plated steel, with a diameter from 4.0 to 6.4.

As a plus, the fact of having implemented the philosophy of Industry 4.0 in our supply chain also allows us complete traceability for all our blind rivets and blind rivet nuts. Thanks to a digitization project that monitors all production processes taking place in our production line, we can track in real time all data concerning any batch number: the raw material used, the machines on which it has been produced, the operators who have followed the production, to the treatments and tests to which it has been subjected, up to its location in our automatic warehouse.

This allows us to provide special certificates upon request:

• PPAP
• VDA
• IMDS
• 3.1

More control means ensuring adequate quality

CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

In SARIV we provide our customers with a free consulting service for the creation of customized blind rivets and blind rivet nuts: the fact of following the production in-house, from design to packaging, allows us to better respond to the everyone’s needs.

Starting from the analysis of the application the fastening system is to be installed on, our consulting office elaborates a possible solution that is submitted to the customer, after tests, analysis and production of samples.

The variables to be taken into account in the design of ad hoc rivets are many: the material to be fixed, the material of the rivet, the mechanical characteristics required, the resistance to particular atmospheric conditions or stresses, the protective surface treatments, the sizing of the rivet, the dimensions of the hole, the thickness that can be gripped, and so on.

Furthermore, in case of specific requests we also have an internal sorting system which, by a selection system through cameras, allows the selection of products up to 30 PPM.

Here are some examples of the solutions we have developed:

• Rivets for the wheel steering columns
• Rivets for speakers
• Rivets for trailers
• Rivets for exhaust systems