Analytical study of maximal tapping torque during forming screw process

Forming screws lead to a bolted assembly forming the threads of the work-piece by displacing material. The automotive industry is one of the largest markets for forming screws, which have been developed in the last ten years. One of the problems facing the designer of bolted assemblies using forming screws is the knowledge of the forming torque during the process. This study proposes an analytical model based on a previous study concerning radial penetration of a rigid acute wedge into a perfectly plastic material. The method uses the slip-line method with a model taking into account the interaction between two consecutive formed threads and enables the mean pressure on the thread flank to be obtained as a function of the formed thread height. From these results and a knowledge of the forming screw end geometry, an analytical method is proposed for the maximum forming torque, the physical phenomena of the displacement of material in the tapping process is illustrated and the significantly influential parameters highlighted. An experimental study seeks to determine the optimal lead hole on the work piece for an M8 screw. This sets limits on the forming torque and conserves a sufficiently well formed thread shape for good stripping resistance. The experimental results are compared favorably with the results of the analytical study in order to validate the forming screw model.