Thermoactivated Pinning - A Novel Joining Technique for Thermoplastic Composites

Abstract

Due to their good mechanical properties and short cycle times during processing, textile-reinforced thermoplastic composites gain increasing relevance for high-volume lightweight applications. Beyond that, by exploiting its specific processing capabilities, this composite material enables a variety of novel manufacturing techniques, e.g. for assembling. In this paper a joining technique is presented, which utilises the meltability of the thermoplastic matrix to establish a material-adapted joining method by introducing slender metallic pins into the composite structure. The processing principle is described and structural effects in the joining zone are analysed by means of microscopy. The load bearing behaviour is characterised by tensile tests on double-lap-shear specimen.