Patent ID: 8226871

Claim:
A method of manufacturing an assembly by heat staking comprising the steps of: (a) providing a work-piece comprising first and second parts; (b) providing a thermoplastic heat stake comprising a base portion attached to the first part and a shaft portion that extends from the base portion; (c) providing a thermoplastic encapsulate attached to the second part and comprising at least a first opening; (d) over-molding or co-injection molding a thermoplastic retention component onto the thermoplastic encapsulate, wherein the retention component has a passage; (e) after step (d), inserting the shaft portion having a first end through the first opening so that the first end extends through the first opening and through the passage in the thermoplastic retention component so that the first end extends beyond the first opening and the passage; (f) after step (e), heating the first end of the inserted shaft portion; and; (g) after step (f), deforming the heated first end of the inserted shaft portion to at least partially overlap the thermoplastic retention component and to connect the first part to the second part.