Clinching

Clinching is characterized by a series of advantages over competitive technologies:[1] Because the process involves relatively low forces (ranging from 5 to 50 kN depending on the material to join, type of tools and sheet thicknesses), clinching generally involves reduced size (often portable) machines.

Such tools produce round joints which show almost identical mechanical behaviors in all plane directions.

[1] One benefit of clinching is the capability to join prepainted sheet metal commonly used in the appliance industry without damaging the painted surface.

This fact contributes to reduce the joining costs and the environmental impact (since chemical cleaning is not required).

Life expectancy for clinching tools is in the hundreds of thousands of cycles, making it an economical process.

Clinched connections performed on aluminum sheets have higher fatigue life as compared to spot welding.