Metal and Plastic Heat Staking
By: James A. Warholic

Ever see the insides of a cell phone and wonder how it is assembled? How about the small metal battery compartments inside hi-tech toys. What about the miniature memory modules that go in digital cameras. Then there are the assembly of keyboards, laptop computers, cordless phones, SIMM cards, PCMCIA card modules, automotive parts, and even the remote controls are assembled with what is known as Heat Staking.

Heat Staking Pictures Courtesy of Thermal Press International

The Heat Staking Process

When a manufacture wants to join metal-to-metal or plastics-to-metal via small plastic posts that protrude from the plastic housing a heat staking machine is used to apply controlled heat, time, and pressure through a heat staking head. Typically the head is heated up to a controlled temperature. Once heated to the proper temperature depending on the types of metals and plastics being staked, the head makes contact with the protruding plastic posts and are formed into various types of heat staked posts. Post Types Include: FLAT PROFILE, DOME, HOLLOW, CROSS-SHAPED, and ROSETTE POSTS

When an entire plastic side needs to be formed into a plastic lip to hold a metal device, glass lens, or another plastic assembly this is referred to as side swaging.

Heat staking is found in: aerospace, industrial, medical, dental, automotive, semiconductor, electrical, appliance, telecommunications, fixtures, electronics, house-wares, cellular, communications, memory module units, sporting equipment, PCB connector, PDAs, LCD connectors, computers, and more. Just about every type of manufacturing industry uses some form of heat staking to assemble their products.

Ultrasonics is also another form of assembly, but due to the new tight tolerance size constraints of the miniature products and the larger size head design requirements for ultrasonics to function properly, and typically a slower throughput with ultrasonic assembly equipment, more manufactures are heading to the Heat Staking Machines route for their mass production parts and products assemblies. Heat staking heads can be designed to incorporate very small multi-point contacts to speed up the mass production assembly process.

Heat Sealing Machines

The same machines used for staking can also be used for a heatsealing process. For example when lcd display units need to be applied to a circuit board assembly a special conductive heat activated glue-like adhesive is activated with a heat press. For an example of how a heat staking and heat sealing machine and head function for a cell phone or memory module see the heat staking heat sealing video.

The heat staking process is known for its outstanding repeatability in the mass production environment. Heat staked joints in the miniature world of plastics assembly can withstand the rigors of vibration of heavy daily use of the assembled products. The process is also known for the mega machines that are involved in the large format automotive sector. Dashboard covers, door panels, and even the dashboard assemblies themselves are assembled with these mega heat staking machines.



No doubt about it, we live in a Mass Production Heat Staked World.

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Labels: Hardware, Manufacturing

  

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