Two-stage joining of sheets perpendicular to one another by sheet-bulk forming

This paper proposes a new joining by forming process for fixing longitudinally in position two metal sheets (or plates) perpendicular to one another, at room temperature. The proposed process employs a counterbored variant of the 'mortise-and-tenon' joint that eliminates the protrusion of the tenon beyond the mortise after mechanical locking by plastic deformation. The presentation draws from the workability limits and material stress-strain characterization to validation by joining and destructive pull-out testing. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the new proposed process for producing flat joint surfaces, which are advantageous over typical 'mortise-and-tenon' protruded surfaces in most applications.