Harbor Freight 1 Ton Arbor Press & PEM FH (flush-head) studs CP build?

[Ap1]

Hello I was wondering if anyone here has actually tried to press in PEM nuts and or studs into a control panel? Also how would one determine the Brinell or Rockwell scale of a material in hand?

Here are my material specs.
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Aluminum cases 0.081” (2 mm) thick aluminum.
Aluminum top panel sizes to 14” wide are 0.064” thick aluminum. Larger sizes are 0.081” thick.

Here is some information on these type of studs direct from PEM and their material thickness spec.
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PEM .040" material thickness spec translates to 1.016mm

PEM® self-clinching studs are installed by placing them in properly sized holes in the sheets and squeezing into place with any standard press. The squeezing action embeds the head of the stud into the sheet. The metal displaced by the head flows smoothly and evenly around the ribs and into the annular groove – creating a flushhead assembly and securely locking the stud into the sheet with high torque-out and pushout resistances.

FH (flush-head) studs are available in aluminum, steel, or stainless steel. They are also available unthreaded on special order.
Flush-head in designated minimum sheet thickness or greater.
Type FH is recommended for use in steel or aluminum sheets HRB (Rockwell “B” scale) 80 or less and HB (Hardness Brinell) 150 or less.
Type FHS is recommended for use in steel or aluminum sheets HRB (Rockwell “B” scale) 70 or less and HB (Hardness Brinell) 125 or less.
Type FHA is recommended for use in aluminum sheets HRB (Rockwell “B” scale) 50 or less and HB (Hardness Brinell) 82 or less.

Pem Link
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https://catalog.pemnet.com/item/flush-head-threaded-studs-types-fh-fha-fhs/f-clinching-threaded-studs-type-fh-fhs-fha-unified/fha-832-20?

HF Arbor Press
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https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-arbor-press-3552.html?


Ty

Edit: Removed the extra facebook & google tracking code from those two URL's
Edit x2: Added PEMS material thickness spec. Hardness of my material is still an issue.

[MartyKong]

I've used nutserts on a control panel mounting bracket. I was able to install these with a homemade bolt device used to squash these in place. Never used these so interested to see how this goes.

[Ap1]

I've used nutserts on a control panel mounting bracket. I was able to install these with a homemade bolt device used to squash these in place. Never used these so interested to see how this goes.

Thanks for your post. Did you document your process?

I could see using nutserts on brackets and stuff like that which are not seen. As I have gone down that path as well. The problem with those on the CPO side is they will stick out like a sore thumb. Heck even using the PEM nuts/studs might require an underlay before applying the actual CPO.

Here is a decent video for the nutserts and they seem like a great way to make your own mounting plates for the Williams board sets like defender instead of paying a crazy shipping price on used ones.




Now I'm still waiting for the engineers at Hammond to give me an answer on the Brinell and Rockwell scale of the materials they use. Those specs from them are probably worthless though. I'm sure they are out of scope for their cheap little project boxes. Who knows...

Now enter another issue "square holes" for carriage bolts. A "square broach" seems to solve this issue. Just stay away from the square keyhole broaches. Now I'm not sure if material thickness is going to be a problem though with the broaches. As my material is only 2mils thick compared to the what 3/8" thick stuff in the video     



I'm currently running thru the specs of the carriage bolts on  https://www.mcmaster.com/carriage-bolts/

Edited a lot: Adding more info as needed...

One more thing. I would place these questions in a metal working sub forum if I could. I see one for woodworking but not the other.

[MartyKong]

AP1,  Unfortunately I didn't document the nursert install since it was such a simple process. As I remember it involved drilling the proper size holes for the insert. Threading a small bolt with a washer and nut to squeeze the nursert which squashes and locks it into the hole. They make a specialized nutserts tools but I only installed a few to make removing the control panel simple. I also worried about the metal thickness so added a little JB weld in the holes but probably wasn't necessary. A post in the woodworking section couldn't hurt - Lots of knowledgeable there.

[MartyKong]

PS:  I had a couple buddies ask what they were when I was installing them. I said remember when you were a kid and got bumped off your bicycle seat and yelled, Boy my "Nutsert!"

[Ap1]

AP1,  Unfortunately I didn't document the nursert install since it was such a simple process. As I remember it involved drilling the proper size holes for the insert. Threading a small bolt with a washer and nut to squeeze the nursert which squashes and locks it into the hole. They make a specialized nutserts tools but I only installed a few to make removing the control panel simple. I also worried about the metal thickness so added a little JB weld in the holes but probably wasn't necessary. A post in the woodworking section couldn't hurt - Lots of knowledgeable there.

It's all good I found a couple vids of people doing exactly what you did. Harbor Freight for the win for me on em.

PS:  I had a couple buddies ask what they were when I was installing them. I said remember when you were a kid and got bumped off your bicycle seat and yelled, Boy my "Nutsert!"

I do remember something like that. I also remember a friend of mine jumping a small chain link fence. However he got his sack caught on the top. He said it split him like well you know...

Anyway that's methed up man!

[MartyKong]

Too funny
Glad you got it sorted.

[Ap1]

Response from Hammond engineering...

The 1456 series is made with 5052H32 aluminum alloy, Brinell hardness 60. We install this kind of PEM in our 1456 series often, of both aluminum and stainless steel material, so you shouldn’t encounter any issues doing so.

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So both aluminum & stainless steel PEM's are a go.

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While looking for a solve on the square carriage bolts holes it literally gave me a headache. As all I have been doing is going around and around. The square broach idea is really great but the thickness of the panel is too thin. It would just damage the panel because they don't come with fine teeth. So yea I'm still stuck on this part.

I really wanted all the holes to look professional. So I'm still looking if anyone has any ideas. I really really hate the idea of just drilling a large enough hole so the carriage bolts will fit and just hold them until tight. I have been all over the Roper Whitney JR website looking for a square punch set. It doesn't exist that I can find...

It seems the all arcade related carriage bolts can be described in these three sizes. #6, #8 & #10 with varying lengths up to 3". 
#6-32 x 1" Carriage Bolt
#8-32 x 1" Carriage Bolt
#10-24 x 1" Carriage Bolt

So I did find some square files but they only seem to cover one bolt size.