Lightweight structures and multi-material assemblies are of great interest to the automotive industry. However, joining dissimilar materials poses a challenge. Conventional joining methods, such as welding, bonding, screwdriving and riveting, have limited effectiveness due to differences in stiffness, chemical compatibility and thermal expansion.

A new mechanical joining method, using pin structures formed in one of the parts, has shown promise for assembling dissimilar materials. With this method, no additional elements, such as rivets and screws, are necessary to join the components, which saves weight.