Trane sought an alternative to spot-welding and painting commercial-size air handlers at its Cullen, LA, facility. This approach often resulted in inconsistent joints and appearance.

By utilizing prepainted materials, a manufacturer can bring its products to market quicker and at a lower cost.

These two benefits were most important to Trane as it sought an alternative to spot-welding and painting commercial-size air handlers at its Cullen, LA, facility. Spot-welding and painting often resulted in inconsistent joints and appearance, according to Skipper Martin, manufacturing engineer.

To solve the problem, Trane turned to the FAS-NER system from AKH Inc. The system is a punch-and-die operation that automatically feeds, punches, inserts and locks a self-piercing FAS-NER into prepainted material to produce a secure and flush joint in one operation.

The fastener is painted to match the prepainted material before installation. It can be inserted at various attitudes.

“The process is much more user-friendly and doesn’t take years to master the art, as with spot welding,” says Martin.

Joint strength and appearance are more consistent now because the system process involves few variables. In addition, the system eliminates post-process grinding, cleaning and finishing, saving Trane both time and labor.

The system can join together dissimilar materials, as well as materials of dissimilar thickness. It can also join multiple layers. The system has a clean, quiet operation and does not produce harmful fumes.

For more information on joining prepainted fasteners, call 800-209-1149 or visit www.akhfas-ner.com.