Introduction

The present invention relates to a method for mechanically joining two different non-conductive materials, having very different melting temperatures, by means of an electric welding process, called “Resistance Assisted Joining. The resulting hybrid joints have high mechanical characteristics.

Technical features

Multi-material hybrid structures are increasingly being used in different industrial sectors, such as the automotive sector, the biomedical sector, the electronics area and in civil constructions. The reason for this interest is linked to the possibility of obtaining structures with better performance, thanks to the fact of being able to combine materials with completely different chemical-physical, mechanical and thermal properties.

To this purpose, a group of researchers from the University of L’Aquila developed an innovative solution, based on texturing technology, to create a mechanical joint between two different non-conductive materials, different from each other (plastics and composites with varying melting temperatures) and an electrically conductive material.
The innovative process allows to overcome the limitations of the technologies currently used at industrial level, of a technical and economic type (the mechanical joints have point joints around which the mechanical stresses are concentrated, thus reducing the fatigue resistance and the need to use external elements that determine an increase in the weight of the structure and construction costs) and environmental elements (adhesive joints require long and expensive pre-treatment of the surfaces).

Possible Applications

• Creation of hybrid multi-material structures (HS), used in a wide range of applications, in particular in the automotive, aeronautical, electronic, civil and biomedical sectors.

Advantages

• Easy integration with production systems, with the possibility of using existing machines;
• Simplicity and strength of the process;
• Lightness and compactness of the equipment: possibility of using the method both for production but also for on-site maintenance;
• Faster process speed than currently available.