Eliminating the Need for Mechanical Fasteners in an Automotive Application
Challenge
A customer in the automotive industry came to us looking for a solution to eliminate the use of mechanical fasteners from their body side molding products.
Mechanical fasteners, when used is abundance, can get heavy. By eliminating these fasteners, companies are able to create lighter parts for vehicles. Mechanical fasteners also make the assembly process more complicated due to the fact that heavier tools are required for installation.
This company was in the market for some type of adhesive that would simply help adhere their product, to the end product.
Solution
Nuts and bolts are simply a thing of the past when it come to these types of applications. There are more and more applications that are eliminating the use of these mechanical fasteners everyday.
SRP suggested using VHB foam tape to eliminate the need for these fasteners and to prevent corrosion in the product. We also added tabs to the product for ease of assembly, reducing labor overhead. Due to the high production yields, we utilized our rotary die cutter.
Results
Using Foam Tape allowed our customer to assemble the body side molding parts more ef ciently and effectively, and the only tool needed were a workers hands.
The Foam Tape created a lighter product, making the end product more ef cient as well. Not to mention the fact that they no longer needed to drill holes in the vehicles. Less work, less mess, more cost effective.
Materials Used
- 3M™ VHB Foam Tape
Manufacturing Process
- Rotary Die Cutting
