Electricity or compressed air?
Which drive is more environmentally friendly?
Published on 24.07.2024
Innovations in drive technology - We compare
In view of climate change, innovations and a rethink are required. This also applies to the development and production of blind rivets and blind rivet nuts. GESIPA® recognised this early on and has been offering a pneumatic-hydraulic series since the early 2000s that scores points for its clever use of energy. This is now being followed by the optimisation of blind rivets. We are also setting pioneering standards for battery-operated devices.
1. Advantages of a riveted joint
2. How is a blind rivet set?
3. Choice of drive depends on the application
4. Small battery - great power
5. One battery for over 400 devices
6. Compressed air often indispensable
7 TAURUS ® series: Unused compressed air is reused
8. Compressed air savings of up to 24 % - and higher performance
9. Conclusion
Advantages of a rivet connection
A rivet connection offers numerous advantages:
- High tensile and shear strength
- The riveted fasteners are vibration-resistant
- The component surface remains undamaged during riveting
- Assembly is quick and easy
- Flexible drive types: Hand-operated, battery-operated, Pneumatic-hydraulic
How is a blind rivet set?
Regardless of the type of drive, a hole is first drilled in the components to be joined. The blind rivets are inserted here. The blind rivet consists of a blind rivet head and mandrel body. The shaft is now located in the hole.
The rivet is held in position and formed using the setting tool. On one side of the component, the setting head holds the rivet in position and prevents it from slipping through. On the blind side of the component, the resulting closing head ensures a strong connection - even with sensitive, brittle or soft materials.
Blind rivets are available in various sizes, materials and shapes. GESIPA® has the right Fasteners for every application:
Choice of drive depends on the application
Pneumatic-hydraulic devices convert the energy of compressed air into hydraulic pressure. This requires a compressed air generation system. There is no need to connect cables and hoses with the battery-powered riveting tool. This ensures particularly flexible and fast work. However, in order to enable efficient and energy-optimised work, the application should first be considered in more detail and the appropriate technology selected: Due to different requirements, both the battery-powered and the pneumatic-hydraulic system are indispensable for the market.
For both technologies, GESIPA® offers solutions that impress with their economical use of energy and are constantly being optimised.
Small battery - big power
Battery-powered products are particularly suitable for working in hard-to-reach or particularly sensitive areas, such as in automotive production. They also score highly when freedom of movement must not be restricted - for example when working on scaffolding. This is because battery systems are cordless, handy, more flexible than stationary systems and still very powerful.
GESIPA® offers a wide range of battery-powered blind rivet and blind rivet nut setting tools. In addition to advantages such as flexible handling, they also impress with their sustainable use of energy. This is because the battery-powered tools utilise the principle of recuperation. With the help of this technology, the braking energy of the engine is recovered and fed into the battery. In this way, more blind rivets can be set with one battery charge.
One battery for over 400 devices
GESIPA® is a member of the Cordless Alliance System (CAS) to ensure that working with battery-powered tools is as environmentally friendly and resource-efficient as possible. The system enables tools to be combined across manufacturers using standardised batteries and chargers. With almost 40 members and around 400 power tools, the alliance offers a wide range of tools from a wide variety of trades.
The Bird Pro series from GESIPA®, which includes both blind rivet and blind rivet nut setting tools, is equipped with a powerful and long-lasting CAS battery. On the one hand, this reduces costs for users as they can use one battery for a large number of devices. At the same time, investment security is increased.
On the other hand, the system saves resources by reducing the number of batteries and chargers in circulation. This in turn leads to lower consumption of energy and raw materials. The use of CAS batteries therefore also reduces the CO2 footprint and represents a climate-friendly alternative.
Compressed air often indispensable
Despite the increasing popularity of battery-powered devices, there are numerous tasks (mostly in industry) for which the use of compressed air-powered devices is the best choice. This mainly applies to tasks that require suction and extraction as well as very fast cycle times and where a compressed air connection is already available in the stationary periphery. Pneumatic-hydraulic rivet setting tools are also used for stationary riveting applications, such as in the context of industrial robot systems. GESIPA® offers suitable equipment for these applications. This includes the TAURUS® and FireFox® series as well as the GAV automatic riveting machines. Their advantages include, for example, a long service life and low wear.
However, despite its advantages, compressed air remains a complex and expensive form of energy - especially in light of rising energy costs and the current economic situation. This is because air from the environment has to be compressed in order to generate it. This is usually done using a company's own compressed air system that runs on electricity. Energy costs are therefore incurred for operating the system. In addition, there are costs for maintenance and setting up an infrastructure, as well as costs arising from unintentional leaks of compressed air already produced from pipes and connections. Nevertheless, pneumatic-hydraulic solutions remain just as relevant for industry and trade as battery systems and must therefore be sustainably improved.
TAURUS ® series:
Unused compressed air is reused
Pneumatic technology has been used sustainably in the TAURUS® series - the stationary hand tools - for two decades. The compressed air used in the setting process is utilised twice: Once the blind rivet has been set, the residual energy is not lost. Instead, it is used to eject the remaining rivet mandrel.
Compressed air savings of up to 24 % - and higher performance
With this in mind, GESIPA® is also constantly developing the GAV automatic riveting machines frequently used in the industry. Potential savings were sought and found. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations of the optimisation ideas were carried out for this purpose. These analyse the flow behaviour in fluids and predict it. Empirical tests supplemented the analyses. The result: a reduction in compressed air consumption of up to 24 %. Numerous system modifications and the resulting customised set-up make this saving possible. In addition, the lower consumption means fewer fluctuations in the customer's compressed air network.
Despite the reduced compressed air requirement, the performance of the GAV could still be increased under certain conditions. Considerable progress has also been made in the area of residual mandrel disposal with the GAV facelift. The modifications generate a significantly stronger vacuum, which, among other things, enables the previous maximum length of the hose package to be increased from 5 metres to up to 8 metres.
Conclusion
With the measures for sustainable energy utilisation in both technologies, GESIPA® not only demonstrates a strong awareness of environmental issues, but also presents innovative further developments.
With economical compressed air consumption and the use of recuperation, we have succeeded in further improving the technology. In combination with a wide range of battery-powered tools and membership of the CAS Battery Alliance, blind riveting is now resource-saving and energy-efficient.
