Luft-Went is involved in the production of ventilation systems as well as air conditioning and recuperation equipment. In this industry, creating tight connections is crucial. The connections are structural, so they need to be adequately durable. Fast assembly is also very important. The joining technology needs to meet all these conditions.
The producer from Ostrów Wielkopolski, southwest Poland, has been operating since 2015. In its production, the company uses plasma burning, cutting, milling and drilling processes.
Initially, Luft-Went’s basic technology for joining sheets was resistance welding. However, it is an energy-intensive process. During resistance welding, the zinc coating is damaged, fumes harmful to health are given off and the welded elements are susceptible to corrosion. In order to protect against corrosion, the welded components also need to be galvanized.
As part of its cooperation with Böllhoff Poland, Luft-Went began to move away from resistance welding in favour of clinching technology. The company invested in a Rivclinch 4006 P50 PASS stationary device and several Rivclinch 0404 IP V3 AERO handheld devices.
Replacing the stationary resistance welding machine with the Rivclinch 0404 IP V3 AERO had a positive impact on production at Luft-Went. Two people used to be required to install the large ventilation ducts, while only one operator is required to operate the hand-held clincher. The device can be connected to various workstations that have a compressed air connection. Clinching eliminates the need for additional protection of the welded component against corrosion because it does not affect the zinc coating of the sheet. There are no high temperatures or emission of harmful elements during assembly. Operating of Rivclinch devices is described as being easy, and no special permissions are needed by the operator. The joints used in ventilation obtained by clinching have the appropriate class of tightness, and assembly is fast.
