Patent ID: 7685690

Claim:
A method for attaching a nut to the wall of a tubular part formed within a die cavity of a hydroforming die comprising: providing a nut having a nut body including a cylindrical body portion with a punch face at one end and an integral flange portion extending radially outward from the other end, positioning the nut within the die with the punch face engaging with the wall of the tubular part; extending an output shaft to drive the nut into the die cavity so that the punch face of the nut pierces a hole through the wall of tubular part to form a sleeve surrounding the cylindrical body portion and the flange portion of the nut forms a depressed wall portion in the wall to seat the flange portion upon the wall; after extending the output shaft to pierce the hole and form the sleeve and the depressed wall portion, then rotating the output shaft at speed and duration to cause heat buildup between the nut and the wall to weld the nut to the wall; after rotating the output shaft to weld the nut to the wall, then retracting the output shaft; and removing the tubular part from the die cavity.